The WhatsNext verdict
If you want literary point-and-click storytelling rooted in Southern Gothic decay, Norco delivers an unusually specific and atmospheric journey. Play it for the writing, place, and mood, provided you are comfortable reading a lot and accepting a mostly linear structure.
What it does best
A humid, haunted portrait of a collapsing town
Literary writing with bite and texture
Places carry the history of the people who live in them
Pixel art that makes decay feel beautiful and uncanny
What might put you off
Heavy reading and deliberately ornate prose
Linear adventure structure with lightweight minigames
The setup
What you are walking into
Norco is a Southern Gothic point & click narrative adventure that immerses the player in the sinking suburbs and verdant industrial swamps of a distorted South Louisiana. Your brother Blake has gone missing in the aftermath of your mother's death. In the hopes of finding him, you must follow a fugitive security android through the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of suburban New Orleans.
Where it lives
Genre
Vibe
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