NORCO

The first narrative game developed by Geography of Robots is a real gem! Norco immerses you in a dystopian pixel art Louisiana. You'll explore an impoverished Bayou where grief and environmental decline combine. With its poetic narration and surreal atmosphere, this point and click game combines cyberpunk and magical realism for an award-winning gaming experience.

Fully deserving the awards it won at the Tribeca Film Festival, NORCO turns point and click conventions on their head by telling a story tinged with fantastical elements that is at once beautiful, dark, and extremely human. In this adventure, you play as Kay, a young woman who has returned to her hometown in Louisiana following the death of her mother. But don't be fooled by the charm of the Bayou: beneath its welcoming exterior lie some very dark mysteries indeed.

Accompanied by her faithful stuffed monkey and Million, a security bot converted into a handyman, Kay sets off in search of her disappeared brother and the answers to her questions. The game lets you explore a parallel secondary plot, where you'll travel back through time to experience strange missions as Catherine, Kay's mother.

The gameplay is based on environmental exploration and narrative interactions. This is standard point and click fare, but you will also be faced with a few turn-based confrontations that add a strategic dimension to the experience.

We liked the dark, Kafkaesque game world where the bizarre and the tragic combine. Reality becomes weirder the further you advance through the plot. You'll find a clinic where you can upload your consciousness to a smartphone app, located near a baroque puppet theatre that puts on surreal shows beneath a motorway slip road. Your best friend in these ventures is a sensitive fugitive android, while a giant bird who lives in a storage unit tasks you with recovering a mysterious artefact. These fantastical situations are what makes the game so unique.

Our favourite part? The way the game can switch between serious and light-hearted situations. One moment, you might be laughing at an outlandish anecdote, and the next you find yourself among a sect that promises to send teenagers to a rocket to escape the Earth. This duality makes the NORCO universe as fascinating as it is unsettling.

Our tip to help you on your way? If you feel the need for greater freedom, try out expert mode for an experience with less handholding, but take care not to lose your way out there in the Bayou!

Who will enjoy this game? NORCO is perfect for fans of immersive stories and narrative games. With its themes of loss, mystery, and the search for identity, the game is suitable for gamers aged 16+.

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