A 90's Vibe with a Zany Story--NORCO

Sometimes you find good video game suggestions in the strangest places--this is how I stumbled onto NORCO.  My main source of news is NPR (National Public Radio for the uninitiated) and they had an article with their picks for the best games of 2022 (so far--read it here).  I scoffed and figured that it'd be a list filled with the typical triple-A sports-y, shoot-y type of games.  The list, however, was actually filled with a decent variety of big name titles and games that skew more toward the indie side.  NORCO was featured with a small blurb praising good writing and a "thought-provoking story."  One the plus side, it was on sale for just $7.49, so I decided to check it out.

What is it?

A 90's style point-and-click game set in the New Orleans of a dystopian United States.  Check out the trailer below.

What is the story about?

You play as a character whose mother has recently passed away and who grudgingly returns home (it's complicated).  Once back at home you discover that despite her failing health, your mother was researching/investigating the corporate oil company that owns a huge refinery that dominates life in New Orleans.  Like any good returning home/mystery story, things get tricky fast.

Pros:

+ As indicated in the NPR article, the writing and story are both great.  Throughout the story you encounter numerous zany characters and they're all intriguing in some way.  The story is definitely the highlight and takes you on quite a wild ride--you can't even begin to predict what might happen and that's refreshing.  The dialogue is quite funny in places.

+ There's some replayability.  I know that I missed some stuff (there are achievements for characters I never encountered) and there might be multiple endings (I'm still not 100% sure on that though).

+ The controls and gameplay are very straightforward and easy for anyone to figure out.  There are times in the story where it might seem like you don't know what to do next, but the game is good about giving nudges toward your next objective.

Cons:

- It's short.  I finished in 6.3 hours.  The story and writing are so great that I wanted more!

Recommendation:

NORCO is extremely well-written and definitely worth a play.  If you're feeling an itch for something that's not stressful, that feels fresh and interesting, and that scratches that 90's point-and-click adventure game itch, I would encourage you to check out NORCO.