Norco (2022) Southern Discomfort

This week on Critical Arcade, Dave and Nick leave the bright lights behind and head deep into the humid, industrial, and downright bizarre world of Norco. After the death of her mother, Kay returns to her hometown in the swamps of Louisiana, only to discover that her brother Blake has mysteriously disappeared. What starts as a search for a missing sibling quickly spirals into a strange mystery involving a powerful petrochemical company, religious cults, mysterious robots, surveillance technology, and a town that seems to be hiding more secrets than it has residents.As they explore the decaying streets, flooded swamps, abandoned buildings, and sprawling industrial facilities of Norco, Dave and Nick will slowly uncover a story about family, grief, corporate greed, environmental destruction, and the strange ways people try to survive in a world that seems determined to leave them behind. With its gorgeous pixel art, unsettling atmosphere, dark humour, and wonderfully weird characters, Norco is equal parts detective story, southern gothic nightmare, and surprisingly heartfelt family drama.Will Dave manage to piece together the increasingly bizarre mystery surrounding Kay's family? Can Nick keep track of all the strange characters, cults, conspiracies, and robots? And most importantly, how long will it take before they both start questioning whether anything happening in Norco actually makes sense? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.