#Norco series
#Norco windows

Paired with the excellent writing are the game's pixel art visuals, which give Louisiana an unsettling, gritty darkness where nothing is as it seems and to trust would be to potentially meet an early end. You can practically hear what certain characters sound like when they speak, as every person you encounter - no matter how minor - has their own personality and quirks. But where some point-and-click games suffer from bloated dialogue that adds nothing of substance, NORCO wastes not a single eloquent word - seamlessly making everything you click on relevant to the story, characters, or setting.

The game can absolutely be played impatiently for those who just want to experience the main story without indulging in any extra dialogue with characters or clicking on random objects and reading the wonderfully written descriptions. By the end of the game, even if you've never visited Louisiana, enough love has been poured into the fictional re-creation of the area, you'll feel as if you've lived there your entire life. Haunting, surreal, and beautiful all in one package, NORCO creates a futuristic nightmare for the residents of southern Louisiana that displays not only the nuances of the region itself, but also its many varied residents.

To single out its one strongest element would do it a great disservice, as it swings for the fences in terms of storytelling, writing, visuals, and soundtrack - and proceeds to knock it out of the park in every category. NORCO's formula is half classic point-and-click and half visual novel - with a turn-based fighting mechanic to spice things up further. It's rare when a game leaves you so effortlessly speechless and words seem to be unable to properly represent how incredible the experience is. Survival has a strange way of pushing people to do things they wouldn't normally do. With Louisiana on its last legs, Kay has to decide if the darkness that lines the path toward the truth and salvation is worth traveling. In the midst of all this, before Kay's mother passed, she was quite a prominent figure in the area who harbored her own secrets and designs, and Kay will find that it's not so easy to separate herself from what's come before - and what very well may come soon.

#Norco series

Shield, an oil refinery company partly responsible for Louisiana's downfall after a series of floods decimated the region and lives of its citizens, finds itself entangled in a mission to find a specific item that could change Louisiana for the better in the right hands - yet there's an obstacle that just wandered back into town who may throw a wrench in their plans. Haunted by the memories of a past she'd been trying desperately to avoid, Kay will encounter many eccentric people - both familiar and new - who further complicate Kay's journey, intentionally or otherwise. She quickly discovers that her brother, one of her last remaining family members, has mysteriously vanished, so she springs into action to find him. In NORCO, Kay returns to Louisiana after the death of her mother.

The story can get quite dark in tone and morally ambiguous at times, which mostly blocks out obvious, clear good morals and lessons for those seeking them. The game's controls are easy to learn and master, and NORCO also features a faithful representation of Louisiana's customs, nuances, and citizens in interesting, innovative ways. Some characters get visibly drunk, teenagers talk about getting high and take psychedelic drugs, and people become addicted to drugs due to their unfavorable circumstances. Cursing is also common, and sexual references are tame and infrequent. There's one instance of suicide: Players see a silhouette of a person performing the act, and violence in general is prominent throughout in the form of the gruesome aftermath of horrific, vicious actions. As the main character, Kay, players explore a futuristic southern Louisiana, going down a rabbit hole of mystery, intrigue, and horror to find Kay's missing brother and uncover the secrets of her deceased mother.

#Norco windows

Parents need to know that NORCO is a downloadable single-player point-and-click adventure game available for Windows and Mac.