The Suicide of Rachel Foster Reviews
The complicated issues and themes hinted at in The Suicide of Rachel Foster present a haunting tale of digging up the past based on one's perspective. The start of the game hammers home Nicole's father as the leading cause of the death of teenager Rachel Foster, but when you first reach the hotel, the game's narrative focuses on her survival. Slowly day after day, things unwind, as memories come flooding back. A few plot twists are sprinkled throughout, but nothing should feel like a surprise once they happen if you are paying attention.
If you’re unsure whether you can handle some uncomfortable and disturbing topics, this is definitely not the game for you. If you’re looking for a creepy and dark mystery to get lost in for a couple of hours, or you’re curious who Rachel Foster is, this is worth a playthrough.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster offers up some wonderful environmental storytelling, creating palpable tension. Once everything starts to come together however, the game itself starts to fall apart. What could have been good ideas fall into thoughtless choices, and the strengths of the game as a whole are wasted on the finale. Outside of the gimmicky triggering ending, this game had the potential for something interesting.
As even the mention of suicide for some people, whether tied to their direct struggles or to those they love, can be problematic, I'm always leery of games that put it right out front...
My spooky investigation of The Suicide of Rachel Foster was overall enjoyable, and being compared at all to some of its obvious influences is a compliment in its own right. Nevertheless, I walked away feeling like the story could’ve had more to give. I spent just over three hours at the Timberline Hotel, which could have been extended some to prevent feeling rushed in the final act. Retailing at $17.99 USD, the money-to-time investment ratio could be fairly compared to purchasing a movie. If story-driven or horror-themed walking simulators are your preferred brand, this shouldn’t be a game you miss. Otherwise, a Steam sale sometime this year will likely feature this game at a nice discount.
Despite the heavy topics at its core, The Suicide of Rachel Foster in the end proves to be a bit overly melodramatic. It resembles the work of a playwriter that tried too hard to be dramatic, with overacting characters, the entire experience being a sizzle rather than a bang. But, thanks to the few moments when the tension can give you goosebumps, The Suicide of Rachel Foster is worth experiencing on a rainy afternoon, but only by the fans of the genre.
As a genre, walking simulators are not for everyone, but this is a good example of one that works well. If you have ever wanted to experience being alone (or possibly not alone!) in a snowbound hotel, this could the game of your nightmares.
A dark premise that, like most uncomfortable experiences, deserves to be told. A few technical issues knocked my pacing back slightly, but didn’t stop me from seeing this through.
I enjoyed the game very much and I am happy to have finished it. But I would not play it again. Not because the story didn't grab me, or because the above mentioned points would bother me too much. Rather because there are simply not, as for example in a "Life is Strange", different decisions to be made, which would dramatically affect the gaming experience. Furthermore, the player can neither find out more about the history of the game by exploring it, nor are there any collectibles. I think that's a pity. I had the feeling all along that the game was giving away a lot of potential. Still, if you're looking for a game with a gripping and exciting story, and that's the most important thing in the game to you, you'll have a lot of fun with 'The Suicide of Rachel Foster'. But be careful, the story may seem harmless at first, but can be very hard to digest. If you're having trouble with the general theme of the game, I recommend the same as the publisher: Don't play alone and get help.
Review in German | Read full review
The Suicide of Rachel Foster takes on some heavy subject matter but doesn’t quite nail the execution with all of it. Despite that, I did enjoy the story and the game’s great visuals and audio design made the hotel a very immersive setting for me to explore. If the subject material here doesn’t bother you then I do think it is worth a playthrough.
Dramatical walking through Hotel with weaker narration and interaction.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Uncovering the past has its ups and downs in The Suicide of Rachel Foster. While not a horror game, it only needed a slight nudge to become one and it would have been better for it. At least its roomy hotel setting is nice to explore, even if the world needed more detail and excitement.
Sad story of the tragedy and the truth behind it. Intriguing 'till the last minute.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Lolita and Jack Torrance share a hotel as the ghosts of their past haunt a daughter stranded in a blizzard.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster does its best to get you in that uncomfortable gameplay horror structure it aspires to achieve, and it succeeds in engaging and pulling you into the experience. The game just falls short in the story and never really brings the actual horror you would expect to the table, which hurts the gameplay. The long journey to start the horror and the payoff by the end doesn't match up. That's not to say you won't get something out of the game, at least some mystery and suspense, but your expectations of what you should get and what you want to get will never quite come to fruition.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster builds an environment with depth, intrigue and genuine atmosphere, surrounding you with sound and visual design that immediately immerses you. But its boundless potential is not seen to fruition, and ultimately the game fails to move past the narrative clichés of the first-person narrative genre.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster is primarely focusing on its chilling atmosphere and a subtle writing between two characters rather than spread jump scares everywhere as we're used to with most of horror games. Gameplay-wise, the game might seem a bit classic though and the protagonist is too sluggish.
Review in French | Read full review
Turning a blind eye to some uncertainties, one to discover the past of Nicole and Rachel remains a journey that is still worth taking.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Take yourself on a thrilling journey to discover the truth behind what Nicole thought was her mother's suicide. With no one to talk to besides a mysterious voice on the other end of the phone, rely entirely on your senses to discover and investigate the very location you grew up in. But be warned, you may not be as alone as you think...
An interactive story telling with some minor gamer input. Flawed, but eclipsed by the story and enigmatic experience.