NORCO

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 62
  3. Negative: 14 out of 62

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  1. t_bone
    Apr 28, 2022
    10
    Stellar: a must buy. Seriously, get it.

    Pros: - graphics are beautiful - story is.... amazingly thought provoking. There's so much to talk about, so many ideas that it deals with intelligently, that just throwing them out here would do you a disservice. Seriously: the game speaks for itself. And beautifully so! My translation of it's ideas would just be muddying things. - minigames    Stellar: a must buy. Seriously, get it.

    Pros:
    - graphics are beautiful
    - story is.... amazingly thought provoking. There's so much to talk about, so many ideas that it deals with intelligently, that just throwing them out here would do you a disservice. Seriously: the game speaks for itself. And beautifully so! My translation of it's ideas would just be muddying things.
    - minigames are fun.
    - the amount of side-missions that you can stumble into are really neat and range from hilarious to depressing.
    - a lot of earnestly funny moments

    Cons:
    - too short
    - not meant for people who want a lot of fast-paced action, or dislike reading
    - not a game for people who don't like stories or complex narratives
    - the ending is very philosophical and interesting, but as the reviews show, it can definitely go over some people's heads.    … Expand
  2. FelicityFenwick
    Mar 31, 2022
    10
    Just an incredible game. I'm not sure what EDGE was thinking (or Playing), but it's an early GOTY candidate for me.
  3. Yallmae
    Apr 15, 2022
    9
    For me the best Writing since Disco Elysium. If you enjoy great writing/Story in Videogames thats must buy.
  4. GVB
    Jun 23, 2022
    3
    First of all, i'm a huge (HUGE) fan of Disco Elysium and Kentucky Road Zero, and for that reason i don't understand the comparison. Yeah, it's well written and sometimes can be evocative, like these games. Yeah, the setting and atmosphere remind somehow to KRZ... but that's it. The plot doesn't do anything new or interesting, and doesn't explain the mysteries and weird things that happens.First of all, i'm a huge (HUGE) fan of Disco Elysium and Kentucky Road Zero, and for that reason i don't understand the comparison. Yeah, it's well written and sometimes can be evocative, like these games. Yeah, the setting and atmosphere remind somehow to KRZ... but that's it. The plot doesn't do anything new or interesting, and doesn't explain the mysteries and weird things that happens. The characters are... simply ok. And the mix of humor and trascendental/religious themes may work in some points, but in general i'm disappointed.

    in my humble opinion, I think that the game tries too hard to be deep (without achieving it).    … Expand
  5. Robyntries
    Mar 26, 2022
    10
    Amazingly beautiful pixel art, great soundtrack and sound design, the writing of this game is sooo good you won’t be disappointed!
  6. bancandrei
    Apr 25, 2022
    4
    This one is overrated. Yes the writing is pretty good, at least not banal, at least in the beginning. But I had no fun with it. The atmosphere was good enough, but the story was not.
  7. DickPain
    Jan 3, 2023
    2
    I'm a big fan of point-and-click puzzle games, and pixel art, but I found this game really, really dull. The puzzles can barely be called puzzles, more of a waste of time. The story and characters were really unengaging. I'm surprised that this game has gotten such high scores, I found little to make me feel as though I wanted to continue playing.
  8. Spassbremse
    Apr 24, 2022
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The third act of this game and story "resolution" is, to put it nicely, insane. In Act 2 we see Kay's mother working for a rogue AI to find a "stone" of some description, which once found looks to be some sort of alien technology. What is the stone exactly? Where did it come from? What does it have to do with Shield? Why does a cult of yahoos following an influencer turned false profit want the stone? **** you, the game never answers any of these questions.

    In Act 3, the influencer is beheaded off camera and then a homeless lunatic who believes himself a herald of some sort of...god...takes over the cult, builds a rocket to send you into space, kidnaps your brother, exhumes your dead mother, and then just sits back and waits patiently for you to board the rocket and bring the stone with you. Why does he do any of this? What's his true motivation? Why did he do any of the weird things we see him do in Act 2? Where does religion come into this story when the vast majority of the story has been dealing with dystopian politics of mining ruining a small town? **** you, the game never answers any of these questions.

    Quite frankly, I was on board LOVING this game until Act 3. And in Act 3 the devs forgot to write a meaningful, coherent ending. It's a shame. This could've been great, but sadly, it just did not come together to anything meaningful at all.    … Expand
  9. Kizershroom
    Apr 20, 2022
    7
    Good. Reminded me of the Jake Hunter series and Portopia Serial Murder on the Famicom/NES. A visual novel type of game, you would like it if you like narrative focused games.
  10. ytmerc
    Jul 7, 2022
    0
    0 через те що немає української озвучки в цій грі та навіть немає українського інтерфейса
  11. timmytime
    May 30, 2022
    9
    Easily the best point and click adventure game I've ever played. Smart writing, interesting characters, funny moments, some mild and intuitive puzzling.

    The exact midpoint of Kentucky Route Zero and Disco Elysium.

    You can get a bad ending if you miss a few things but, there is an autosave that you can reload to
    rectify it.

    This is on Gamepass so no reason to not check it out.
  12. NathanHiberDive
    Jan 21, 2023
    8
    The best thing it does is tell a very compelling, emotionally moving world, full of human weaknesses. There's cancer, dysfunctional family issues, corruption of the rich and powerful, gimmicks to make money and habitat struggles with nature. It has an appeal similar to a Radiohead album, it discusses and reflects on things many people struggle through day to day.

    Though it fixes the    The best thing it does is tell a very compelling, emotionally moving world, full of human weaknesses. There's cancer, dysfunctional family issues, corruption of the rich and powerful, gimmicks to make money and habitat struggles with nature. It has an appeal similar to a Radiohead album, it discusses and reflects on things many people struggle through day to day.

    Though it fixes the pacing issues of early 90s adventure games, some of the story beats are a bit loose like from that era. Along with an ending that doesn't wrap things well, could have been more complete but still a great experience.

    I am 100% looking forward to supporting Geography of Robots next game.    … Expand
  13. parallax_84
    Feb 7, 2023
    9
    Norco is one of those games that stays with you, the time goes by and you still remember those.
    It has a very well written story altough it turns a bit complicated towards the end but is good anyway.
    also beautiful pixel art, really good music and some memorable characters. To be honest i love PnC games but im not into text based games and this one has a balance that i never thought i    Norco is one of those games that stays with you, the time goes by and you still remember those.
    It has a very well written story altough it turns a bit complicated towards the end but is good anyway.
    also beautiful pixel art, really good music and some memorable characters.
    To be honest i love PnC games but im not into text based games and this one has a balance that i never thought i would like. Im very glad i gave it a shot.    … Expand
  14. rexicola
    Dec 4, 2022
    9
    Very entertaining, i like this game because you can complete it in a day, it has a compelling story and the ambient feeling is special, the design of the caracter is good too, not a single complain, i enjoyed it !
  15. Padudu
    Apr 24, 2022
    7
    Short and interesting story with delightful pixel-art and soundtrack alongside it. A tribute to old-point and click games with a very distinctive modernized approach. Most gameplay mechanics felt like failed experimentation and some exploration segments also felt less rewarding. The lack of voice acting was also detrimental to the experience.
  16. xp47
    May 21, 2022
    10
    One of the best writing in any point and click ever. Also feels like the next evolution of point and clicks it becomes a bunch of different games at times, creative way to do it. You won't regret playing this.
  17. snallegub
    Nov 20, 2022
    4
    Another one of these games that critics praise for NO reason. This game is pathetic really. Boring from start to finish. The plot barely makes sense and is on the level of something that L. Ron Hubbard might write. If you like to spend 5-6 hours reading walls of text and clicking on pixelated graphic screens have fun with this one.
  18. nep321
    Jun 13, 2022
    5
    I found the story to be very confusing, particularly toward the end. The turn based battles were not fun, the boating missions were a chore and the pixel art was a bit too rough for 2022 standards. For much of the early to middle parts of the game, I was engaged with the storyline, but it became quite confusing toward the end. Interacting with items and navigating the world was intuitive.I found the story to be very confusing, particularly toward the end. The turn based battles were not fun, the boating missions were a chore and the pixel art was a bit too rough for 2022 standards. For much of the early to middle parts of the game, I was engaged with the storyline, but it became quite confusing toward the end. Interacting with items and navigating the world was intuitive. The setting and atmosphere were eerie and interesting. But it's hard for me to recommend this game.… Expand
  19. RunFish12B8
    Apr 21, 2022
    10
    Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  20. royalguy07
    Jul 19, 2022
    7
    Norco features an engaging story and is filled to the brim with secrets and fun characters. I think the story got a little scattered and hard to follow as the game pulled the pieces in for the finale. I am not sure how many endings there are but the driving force of the game was seemingly unresolved at the end for me. The few non point-and-click aspects of the game were few and far enoughNorco features an engaging story and is filled to the brim with secrets and fun characters. I think the story got a little scattered and hard to follow as the game pulled the pieces in for the finale. I am not sure how many endings there are but the driving force of the game was seemingly unresolved at the end for me. The few non point-and-click aspects of the game were few and far enough between to be fresh and inventive. Would recommend this to any narrative style adventure game enthusiasts. Beat in just under 5 hours in one sitting, thanks again GamePass.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Best PC Game of 2022
94
#94 Most Discussed PC Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. GameStar
    Jan 25, 2023
    83
    Norco offers an incredibly atmospheric story - without gameplay surprises.
    Read full review
  2. Guardian
    Oct 9, 2022
    100
    Like Kentucky Route Zero and Disco Elysium, the writing here occasionally sacrifices clarity for floridity, although its ornate descriptions do add detail and texture to the rudimentary pixel art.
    Read full review
  3. Eurogamer Italy
    Sep 13, 2022
    90
    NORCO is hauntingly beautiful. A surreal tale that is dystopic and futuristic but at the same time extremely rooted in the hopeless and sad reality of the suburban industrial areas of USA. A sort of a great acid trip that we won't soon forget.
    Read full review
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