New point-and-click video game “Norco” takes users into the industrial swamps of Norco, a town in Southern Louisiana. It follows a young woman named Kay, who is traveling through a dystopian Western landscape when she learns her mother has died. She returns to her hometown — Norco — only to learn her brother has gone missing. Accompanied by an android, Kay explores the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of New Orleans in search of her brother, and uncovers the mystery of her mother’s past along the way.
As players enter the fictionalized version of Norco, the world is overshadowed by Shield Oil, a fictional oil refinery based on the real Shell refinery that looms over the Louisiana town. And in both the game and real life, the refinery has shaped the landscape of Norco and the lives of residents there. That includes the life of the game’s creator, who goes by the pseudonym Yuts — who grew up in Norco, Louisiana.