NORCO is a point-and-click mystery that calls itself a “Southern gothic” tale, and it wears that label on its sleeve. It’s set in the real-world town of the same name, located just 30 minutes from New Orleans, USA. To its North-East lie lowland swamps, and back in the bad old days, it was the site of a number of sugar cane plantations that profited from slave labour. It’s a rich history, if a melancholic one.

This isn’t just set dressing – the story is subtle yet intrinsically linked with the town and its history. The fictional Norco’s oil refinery actually exists in real life – though it’s owned by a fictional company called ‘Sheild’. The details layered within this narrative masterpiece could only come from the mind of someone intimately familiar with the town and its people, like NORCO’s developer Yuts. It makes the game’s alternate future hit close to home, sometimes uncomfortably so. The protagonist Kay, her family, and the town at large all bear the weight of Norco’s history.

Kay has reluctantly returned to town after the passing of her mother Catherine. Upon arriving, however, she learns that her brother Blake has gone missing. She and an A.I. android called Million must investigate his disappearance, but soon discover a tangled web of secrets connecting her mother, the oil refinery, a strange cult, and the town at large. 

NORCO does not market itself as a Cyberpunk tale, but it shares many of the themes and hallmarks of one. I have long been of the opinion that the best Cyberpunk stories are ones that focus on individual struggles. What better way to explore the ways in which our futuristic society might fail to fix our societal problems than focusing on a small cast of characters that actually face those issues? Stories about grand cyber conspiracies might sound good as the elevator pitch, but it doesn’t often allow the subtler, more intimate themes of the fictional world to come to the forefront. 

NORCO excels at just this kind of worldbuilding. The mystery that begins with Kay’s brother’s disappearance grows into something larger, sure, but it always remains local. As the story progresses, we learn more about Kay’s mother and the terrible loss the family has experienced, which puts the characters’ actions and motives into context. Things that seem to be individual struggles turn out to be connected to other people in the town, and to the oil refinery that dominates the town landscape. Even when things take a turn to the truly bizarre, it is still at heart a family mystery. The journey is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, at times intriguing, weird, funny, or very very depressing. The shining star of NORCO is by far the narration, which guides you through each twist and turn with wonderful detail. 

The pixel art accentuates the emotional nature of the story every step of the way. It isn’t always exactly pretty – the people, in particular, aren’t portrayed very charitably. Some even look quite horrific, keeping with the game’s gothic tone. So much emotion is conveyed through these illustrations and backgrounds, showing the ugliness, dilapidation, and beauty of the town. Every character you speak to, no matter how minor or eccentric, slots perfectly into the story and is completely believable within the world. The result is an engrossing mystery story told by a narration so well written it reads like poetry. Animation is limited, but that only serves to make the town seem eerier.