Norco, a point-and-click adventure from Geography Of Robot, has an unnerving tone. In the game’s “mind-map” menu, where memories and ideas can be connected via dialogue choices, it conflates a 21st-century Louisiana and dystopian science fiction, creating an oppressive darkness that weighs on my mind. It was dizzying to remember I was in a regular kitchen with a microwave in the corner that might have a cockroach shell in it.
It’s a stunning piece of magical realism fiction, clearly influenced by Disco Elysium, including its text formatted in left-right panels. Basically, Kay, a woman in her 20s, returns to her childhood home after her mother dies of cancer. The house is still alive with half-finished chores from her mother, and, well, there’s a robot in the backyard. You can tell this isn’t quite our world by the years. YX2R, for instance, is denoted by letters and numbers. Second is Million, a self-aware robot with a translucent face that shines with stars. Despite this, Norco feels much more like our real world than some sci-fi dystopia. It’s far more relatable because of all its dystopian ways.
A grim, rundown place on the banks of the Mississippi. Frequent flooding has left its mark. Businesses are destroying the environment, while residents are feeling more melancholy. In the game’s narrative choices, you can lean into a lack of hope, or avoid it. From the nature of your relationships with family, determined arbitrarily by you near the start, to your day-to-day choices. I found myself comparing it (in superb ways) to one of the best pieces of television ever, The Leftovers, as the story grows. Even though things may seem fine on the surface, they both have that same subtle mendacity. Kay’s story is woven with those of her mom’s in alternate flashbacks, with a peculiar cult, a worrying corporation, and the nagging absence of your brother.
While there are inventory puzzles to solve, this is a game primarily focused on its writing, overlayed with fantastic pixel art. When I think about it, I picture it in lavish watercolour, and then I’m surprised to see it in screenshots and see the pixel art. Thankfully, the writing itself embraces that magic realism theme, sometimes poetic, but sometimes stark and pessimistic too. Let me share some chunks out of context as an example. First one is just insignificant if you’re looking west. Stunningly unsettling and uncanny, this piece plays its cards with great subtlety. I love seeing Southern Gothic depicted in a video game, and it leaves just the right amount of mystery.
