Norco is a gothic point-and-click adventure game that grapples with personal tragedy in a noisy modern world.
With how busy March was with new games, no one can blame you if you missed a few. On March 25 alone, players got Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. But just one day before that, a game that’ll likely stick in my mind longer than any big-budget title launched: Norco.
While Norco tackles weighty themes that make it a haunting reflection of our own reality, its interpersonal relationships create its true tragedy. At its heart, Norco is a game about a family that’s been torn apart by the noise of the modern world. That stillness quickly dissipates the moment the protagonist steps outside and reunites with the family’s sentient security robot. From that moment on, the personal story is buried underneath a sprawling sci-fi mystery that’s rooted itself throughout southern Louisiana.
Cracked portrait That’s the grand tragedy plaguing its central family. The deeper the story gets, the more the protagonist’s deceased mother is reduced to a pawn in a convoluted war between corporations and technological entities. Her last painkillers, sprawled out on the kitchen table, become a bargaining chip for a convenience store clerk who’s been automated out of a job. Outside of that quiet opening, there’s no space to grieve for her past her home’s front gates.