I was pleasantly surprised with NORCO, as I’m not really a fan of Point-and-Click adventure games and really only wanted to try it because it's leaving Game Pass this month. Lo and behold, NORCO is one of my favorite experiences I’ve had in gaming this year. As soon as I started the game, I was hooked due to the immediately compelling narrative, gorgeous pixel art and a creepy futuristic southern gothic aesthetic that I absolutely fell in love with. This game goes places that you would never expect, and is beautifully harrowing, macabre, and sometimes downright fucked up in its subject matter. Your journey starts off small in scale but by the end of the game, you’ve realized you’re in way over your head and that you could have never imagined how deep the rabbit hole really goes. I love how overtly NORCO ties religion to social media, as well as the tactful ways this game parodies internet culture and shows the dangers of the mob-mentality that is so abundant in our world today. Occasionally you’re met with some hysterical moments as well, which really do help to break up an otherwise deeply disturbing adventure. Only negatives are the “combat” in this game, if you can really call it that, and the fact that some characters lacked development and could have easily benefited from being explored more thoroughly.