NORCO Reviews

Imagine the vibes of True Detective set in a Blade Runner dystopia.

It's a shocking and yet touching game in parts, fairly linear but some great characters.

A southern sci-fi william gibson type rambling southern sci-fi narrative. Beautiful. The characters are sort of shallow in terms of back story, the plot jarring, but somehow it still illicits emotion, absurdity, and succeeds at world building. Can't remember when I bought this and installed on a whim, and was very pleased with it.

Norco boasts stunning pixel art and an atmospheric world, but its excessive text and overly complex dialogue often make the story feel lost in its own ambition. The puzzles are serviceable but uninspired, offering little challenge or novelty. While the game has a unique style, the slow pacing and convoluted narrative make it a tough recommendation. If you're looking for a more engaging adventure, there are better options out there.

Действительно экспирианс... Начало словно мистический детектив, где ребенок пытается выяснить обстоятельство смерти матери, но в итоге сталкивается с тем, что загадка крутится вокруг прошлого семьи. Третий акт был коротким, но сочным и увлекающим. Леблан как кивок в сторону диско элизиума, троп уже как кость в горле, но все равно приятно видеть. Русский перевод порадовал, текст очень хороший, не вызывает раздражение. Загадок считай и нет, но есть отличный пиксель арт и интересные локации с пугающим киберпанком, который сочетается с окружением ой как хорошо.

"I thought maybe we'd have breakfast together or something, I actually dreamed about it" This game is a masterpiece and I will never be able to put into words the way it makes me feel. One of the best pieces of southern gothic fiction of the last hundred years.

An excellent adventure game that reimagines the southern gothic in a steampunk setting (lots of overlap with Neal Stephenson in terms of gritty future tech). Norco really shines in its intimate moments and depicting the way southern culture interacts with the exploitation of its resources. The last act with its conspiracy cultists was the weakest to me--I think there was not enough lead-up for it to be believable. The complicated relationships that the player character has with her mom was really interesting. Norco makes an excellent bookend to Gabriel Knight. Both are set in New Orleans, but Gabirel Knight is the touristy, travel-adventure-writing version of New Orleans. Norco is the gritty slice-of-life magical realism (which turned into straight-up fantasy). I think the game would have been stronger if the supernatural force had been left ambigious.

we're all gonna die and are just puttering around like ants on the ground in the meanwhile. 10/10 except for the bits that aren’t 10/10 but that’s life

That was certainly an interesting game. Is it my favourite narrative game? Nah. Disco Elysium is considerably better, but this is still very good

After the death of your estranged mother, you return home in search of your missing brother and get drawn deeper and deeper into the disturbing mysteries that lie dormant in Norco. The story is essentially heavily text-based and contains depictions of violence, suicide and strong language, it also deals with topics such as family drama, poverty, health problems and conspiracies, so it's no walk in the park. When it comes to the pixelated presentation, the surroundings and characters are attractively detailed and reflect the peculiar atmosphere very well. Optionally, you can activate a CRT filter, and you can also select one of 6 fonts, a font color, line spacing and text speed. And while we're on the subject of options, there is an expert mode, which i chose for my first run, which gives significantly less hints, if you need more support, you can choose automated battles and unlock all chapters. Along the way, you meet many characters who weren't just thrown in there carelessly to fill in the gaps, instead they act in a predominantly credible manner and sometimes display a great deal of charisma. All in all, very creatively and interestingly written characters and situations, which fit perfectly into this cyberpunk and dystopian setting. The experimental soundtrack with its mix of weird, simple or old-sounding instruments and synth sounds contributes also significantly to the atmosphere. For me this was just one of those point and click games I prefer, yes it's weird and it's meant to be, but the vibe and the pull got to me and I had an emotional ride with it. It also deals poignantly with the search for solutions to the socio-economic crises we face and also reminds us that it is up to us how we shape our future.