Norco

Norco

Geography of Robots · 2022

Literary writing with bite and texture

92WhatsNext
Solo

The WhatsNext verdict

For Fans of literary point-and-click adventure games and Southern Gothic fiction: Exceptional prose and a deeply textured atmosphere bring its decaying industrial Louisiana setting to vivid, haunting life. Tradeoff: High reading volume and lightweight mechanics mean the experience prioritizes narrative absorption over complex puzzle-solving.

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

Xbox Series X|SPlayStation 4PC (Microsoft Windows)PlayStation 5MacXbox One

Genre

Point-and-clickPuzzleAdventureIndie

Vibe

Science fictionMystery
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