NORCO Reviews

Synopsis:

-NORCO is a 2-D Point-n-click adventure game. You play as Kay, a young woman who returns home to the small town of Norco, Louisiana, to find her missing brother. You also play as her mom, Christine, in small flashbacks that help fill in bits of the story.
-You bond with a cyborg named Million, as well as several other friends that help you along your journey.
-There are several elements to the game, including different modes of fast travel, and like any good PNC game, dialogue to progress the story only appears when all prerequisites are met.

Pros:

-The story is good. This is one of the better PNC adventure games I’ve played. And, it’s short enough that you can finish it in an afternoon, with a guide.
-There are some achievements that made me laugh including Felicette, and Cats and Dogs. If you know, you know.

Cons:

-There’s a lot going on here. Seems like there were several elements of point-and-click games just kind of mish-mashed together. There didn't seem to be a ton of consistency in gameplay, but then again, I was flying through it.

Analysis:

-Storyline is Dynamic
-Gameplay is Ok
-Mechanics are Good
-Graphics are dark
-It isn’t too difficult

Is it worth it?

-Is the game worth the price? I probably wouldn’t buy this title, but if you like PNC games, its worth $15
-Is the game on game pass? Yes
-Is the grind worth the gamerscore? Yes
-Easy completion? Somewhat
-Would I play this game if it had no achievements? Possibly.

TBD Score: 6.42

I covered this game as part of my coverage of the Xbox Game Pass for April 2022

A Dystopian future that lacks an interesting angle.

Norco is trying to be something special. It’s written in a style that is almost unrecognizable from normal games. It tries to use a lot of flowery language and evokes the main experience just from the text on the screens and images. It’s a similar style to Disco Elysium or Kentucky Route Zero. However, where Disco Elysium is like a strange and unique trip, and Kentucky Route Zero just lives off the beaten path, Norco just writes overly involved descriptions while being a rather limited point and click adventure.

I couldn’t get into the writing. It didn’t help that Norco seems to fall back on the mundane when it could go outlandish. There are combat systems for no reason, and skill tests that feel like they don’t matter. Even when the game does introduce an interesting mechanic like an Alternate Reality Game, it’s still mostly about figuring out the right location to see specific sites then actually experiencing something different from the rest of the game.

Pick this up if you want a boring Dystopian future. I know there’s a decent amount of people who enjoy this game, but the writing just never felt interesting or unique. I loved Disco Elysium, I understood why people might like Kentucky Route Zero, but Norco just wasn’t as good and isn’t something I’d probably recommend, but maybe I’m just missing something. It is at least unique in the style presented instead of being like every other game out there.

If you want to see the video this was taken of, or more from me on the Xbox Game Pass, check out: