Norco is a dystopic sci-fi adventure game about a nomadic drifter named Kay who comes home after her mother passes to find her missing brother. Taking place in an overindustrialized part of swampside New Orleans, Norco's thematic ties to capitalism, oppression, connection, and loss flourish within a gorgeously bleak color palette of pixel art and a script that should be recognized as one of the medium's best.
Norco mainly plays out like a standard point-and-click adventure game. Much of the 6-ish hour runtime is spent hopping between locations, talking to the quirky characters, and finding items and information to move forward. These elements are standard fare and the game mostly swings on the easy side in terms of logic and item usage. There are no out-of-pocket inventory combinations and most instances of a puzzle can be solved with a few seconds of backtracking. I was only stuck at one moment of the game, where the mindmap didn't say there were new options to explore.
Speaking of, Kay is able to source her thoughts and progress into the mysteries of Norco with a detective-board-like mindmap. It's not very complex, but it was nice to browse when I came back to the game between sessions or wanted a quick summary after long conversations. Apart from the main plot, Norco has a knack for detail in its literature. Many of its best moments are the descriptions of the world, a land pulled apart by division of inequality and rebellion. The lore here is so rich that the game is most enticing when you can fully sink into the bats*** insanity of it all. There is also a light combat element, which I actually enjoyed. Using basic JRPG mechanics, you perform attacks with the characters in your active party by timing moves, akin to Paper Mario. It was a welcome addition that I actually wish was a little more frequent and had a broader purpose.
As I mentioned, the world is unbelievably realized in Norco. Each of the environments is a dark, twisted pixel masterpiece, and the character design and the grimy nature of the aesthetic connects you to Kay's home and her struggles. Norco isn't afraid to push boundaries, and several moments flip the traditional genre style and add in new ideas to the presentation that are clever and surprising. The relationship of the player to their audiovisual experience is played with in subtle, intelligent, and sometimes off-putting ways, but all to serve the story brilliantly. Special mention must go to the music, which is a blend of electronic hellscapes and funky tunes that capture the energy of a land seeped in culture on the precipice of insurmountable change. Many of these tracks I will surely be listening to in the coming weeks.
What I wasn't expecting most from Norco was its acceptance of choice. Right from the opening, you can choose elements of Kay's backstory, and you can continue to make foundational choices throughout your playtime. Dialogue doesn't just run you through every option, so conversations feel weighty and real, and several achievements and interactions have binary choices that have alternate options. I'm usually not a fan of having an amorphous approach to character like this, but Norco still manages to contain the setting and tone despite what options you choose for Kay and her family.
Norco is going to be one of 2022's best titles. In a year where more than ever, understanding the value of family, our homes, and the growing dissent in corporations, the internet, and humanity at large is at its critical mass, the game handles its lofty perceptions of reality and dials it in for a crafted, enjoyable experience you should not miss.
Norco mainly plays out like a standard point-and-click adventure game. Much of the 6-ish hour runtime is spent hopping between locations, talking to the quirky characters, and finding items and information to move forward. These elements are standard fare and the game mostly swings on the easy side in terms of logic and item usage. There are no out-of-pocket inventory combinations and most instances of a puzzle can be solved with a few seconds of backtracking. I was only stuck at one moment of the game, where the mindmap didn't say there were new options to explore.
Speaking of, Kay is able to source her thoughts and progress into the mysteries of Norco with a detective-board-like mindmap. It's not very complex, but it was nice to browse when I came back to the game between sessions or wanted a quick summary after long conversations. Apart from the main plot, Norco has a knack for detail in its literature. Many of its best moments are the descriptions of the world, a land pulled apart by division of inequality and rebellion. The lore here is so rich that the game is most enticing when you can fully sink into the bats*** insanity of it all. There is also a light combat element, which I actually enjoyed. Using basic JRPG mechanics, you perform attacks with the characters in your active party by timing moves, akin to Paper Mario. It was a welcome addition that I actually wish was a little more frequent and had a broader purpose.
As I mentioned, the world is unbelievably realized in Norco. Each of the environments is a dark, twisted pixel masterpiece, and the character design and the grimy nature of the aesthetic connects you to Kay's home and her struggles. Norco isn't afraid to push boundaries, and several moments flip the traditional genre style and add in new ideas to the presentation that are clever and surprising. The relationship of the player to their audiovisual experience is played with in subtle, intelligent, and sometimes off-putting ways, but all to serve the story brilliantly. Special mention must go to the music, which is a blend of electronic hellscapes and funky tunes that capture the energy of a land seeped in culture on the precipice of insurmountable change. Many of these tracks I will surely be listening to in the coming weeks.
What I wasn't expecting most from Norco was its acceptance of choice. Right from the opening, you can choose elements of Kay's backstory, and you can continue to make foundational choices throughout your playtime. Dialogue doesn't just run you through every option, so conversations feel weighty and real, and several achievements and interactions have binary choices that have alternate options. I'm usually not a fan of having an amorphous approach to character like this, but Norco still manages to contain the setting and tone despite what options you choose for Kay and her family.
Norco is going to be one of 2022's best titles. In a year where more than ever, understanding the value of family, our homes, and the growing dissent in corporations, the internet, and humanity at large is at its critical mass, the game handles its lofty perceptions of reality and dials it in for a crafted, enjoyable experience you should not miss.