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Norco is a fantastic atmospheric point & click mystery game with a killer pixel art aesthetic. It oozes style, charm, and cult status the moment you boot it up. So, for those who’ve breezed through its relatively short runtime, you’re likely hankering after more depressingly bleak settings, compelling mysteries, and gorgeous pixel art visuals.
Fortunately, while Norco is a wholly unique and original experience, there are a ton of games out there that feature one or more of the key ingredients that make it so special. From games about anthropomorphic animals going inside of TVs - yep, that’s a thing - to trading stories with weary travelers, these games are sure to fill that Norco-sized hole.
5 Kentucky Route Zero
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If you’re looking for a point & click game with a dark and ominous atmosphere, then Kentucky Route Zero is perfect for you. This wonderfully written masterpiece offers players an eerie insight into a magical-realist world populated by strange people and even stranger happenings. Told through five acts, throughout your time with Kentucky Route Zero you’ll get to know its winding underground roads and troubled communities extremely well.
What makes this game so special - outside of its fascinating stories - is its cinematic style. Every location you visit, every character that you meet, and every bizarre occurrence are all framed beautifully. While Kentucky Route Zero doesn’t have the pixel art aesthetic of Norco, its exceptionally stylized visuals still manage to capture the same atmosphere. Suffice to say, if Norco is your kind of game, then Kentucky Route Zero should 100 percent be added to your backlog. Just be prepared for a slightly out-there experience. It’s going to get really weird from here on out.
4 Twelve Minutes
If Twelve Minutes hasn’t been spoiled for you already - if it has don’t worry, we understand your pain - then you should absolutely give it a go. This somewhat flawed yet incredibly interesting point & click mystery game has captivated the world over for good reason. All we’ll say is “dun, dun duuun!”. With a star-studded cast, gorgeous visuals, and some occasionally not frustrating gameplay - even in its worst moments the story still manages to pull you back in - Twelve Minutes offers a compellingly mysterious point & click experience.
Of course, compared to Norco, Twelve Minutes may seem like an entirely different game. Well it is, they’ve got different names after all. But despite that, these two games do offer similar thrills when it comes to unraveling their stories and immersing yourself within their worlds. Both games feature interesting characters with intertwined fates, foreboding and suffocating locations, and a tantalizingly teasing mystery to keep you enthralled. While Twelve Minutes may not feature pirates or androids - what a different game that would be - it does still offer enough of the same qualities to make even the biggest of Norco stans happy.
3 Chinatown Detective Agency
The cyberpunk aesthetic has been incredibly popular as of late. From the definitely-not-broken Cyberpunk 2077 to the ridiculously gorgeous ANNO: Mutationem, it feels as if this grungy, neon-lit sub-genre isn’t going anywhere. To continue the trend, Chinatown Detective Agency, a point & click mystery game all about running a - you guessed it - detective agency, is set in a depressingly bleak yet perpetually pink cyberpunk world. You’ll be tasked with solving nail-bitingly intense crimes, exploring a dystopian world, and even conducting real-world research. Finally, all those days researching for boring essays will come in handy. There’s a lot to see and do in Chinatown Detective Agency, so much in fact that you’ll likely be kept entertained for quite some time.
Of course, there are a ton of similarities between this neon-lit mystery game and Norco. Both games are set in a bleak world smothered by rain and dirt that you certainly wouldn’t want to visit. They both involve a cast of oddly charming characters and deeply perplexing mysteries. Better yet, they also both have a gorgeous pixel art aesthetic to complement their point & click style gameplay. Honestly, outside of the narrative - which granted is a large part of the experience - these two are similar enough that Chinatown Detective Agency should tick most boxes.
2 Boreal Tenebrae
So, you’ve played Norco, enjoyed its enthralling mystery, become acquainted with its colorful cast of eccentric characters, and thoroughly immersed yourself in its bleak and unforgiving world? Perfect, now how about hopping into a game all about toads hanging themselves? Okay, so Boreal Tenebrae is about so much more, but this surreal horror title gets pretty dark very quickly. From the aforementioned hanging frog people to girls being trapped in an eerie static world and forced to drink animal blood, Boreal Tenebrae is certainly not afraid to get freaky.
Fortunately, this is all expertly contextualized through its abstract narrative which features a colorful cast of eccentric characters, an enthralling mystery, and a bleak and unforgiving world. In fact, this backwater town filled with despondent anthropomorphic characters and the occasional human is fairly reminiscent of Norco’s bleak interpretation of South Louisiana. If you’re looking for a more horror-focused experience that shares some similarities with Norco, then look no further than Boreal Tenebrae.
1 Where The Water Tastes Like Wine
Where The Water Tastes Like Wine is by far one of the most unique narrative-driven games on the market. You see, in this beautiful indie gem, you literally trade stories with NPCs. You’ll travel across a depression-era America - which as you all remember was a super-fun time, hence the name - and meet all sorts of interesting characters. By listening to their tall tales you, can then re-tell them later to unlock additional interactions and thus continue the cycle. Every interaction you have is incredibly important, and every choice you make truly matters. So, before going in, you'll want to be aware of just the kind of experience you're getting yourself in for.
Like Norco, Where The Water Tastes Like Wine is all about the characters and the setting. The gorgeous 3D world perfectly captures the harrowing time period it is set in, and the 2D character portraits really help bring to life the charismatic storytellers you’ll meet. The stories you’ll hear are genuinely moving and captivating and really help to build upon the palpable atmosphere. Overall, while Where The Water Tastes Like Wine differs quite a lot in terms of gameplay from Norco, its atmosphere and character-focused narrative are absolutely reminiscent of the Bayou-based point & click mystery.