NORCO

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 66 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 66
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 66
  3. Negative: 13 out of 66

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  1. 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
  2. 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.
  3. 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
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Best PC Game of 2022
93
#93 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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