It’s said that when someone kills themselves, the pain doesn’t go away, it’s just passed on to others that have to go on living. The Suicide of Rachel Foster takes this a step further in showing that it doesn’t just impact those that are close to the person who gave in to the battle with their own personal demons, but extends beyond those close to them in ways they could probably never imagine.

You play as recently orphaned Nicole, a twenty-something who returns to her family’s hotel that has been mostly abandoned for a decade, with the exception of her recluse newly deceased father whose death is the catalyst for her return. Per her mother’s request, she’s selling the hotel and must return to inspect the building and sign off on the papers to put this chapter of her life behind her. Nicole is rather eager to put this behind her, as this was the location of Rachel Foster’s suicide, which happened to be her father’s pregnant 16-year-old mistress, which set off a chain of events that split her family in two. A wrench in the form of a massive blizzard results in her being stranded at the hotel indefinitely.

Much like What Remains of Edith Finch being peppered into Firewatch, the game focuses on exploring the hotel and revealing family secrets, although the title focuses more on the realistic side of this than the stylized levels that made up the bulk of the previous games. Spanning the course of nine days, you’ll guide Nicole throughout the hotel with her only contact being with a FEMA employee by the name of Irving. This takes place over an ancient style cell phone that works more like a CB or walkie talkie since the narrative takes place during the 90s. Over the course of the game, they develop a deep connection which is well written, but at times feels distracting. No one in this situation would realistically take time to discuss future plans for coffee or drinks, with some of the secondary, much more pressing concerns afoot that I won’t get into because I don’t want to spoil the mystery for you.

This is the very definition of a slow burn, almost to the point that I wanted it to wrap up so I could move on to other games I have to review; but around the seventh day, which is a little late in the game, the game hits its stride and becomes a much leaner experience that trims almost all of the fat from the concluding chapters. Early into the game, it plays with its audience by misdirecting and toying with the ideas that Rachel isn’t really dead, there are otherworldly events occurring, and that maybe Nicole isn’t so alone in this large vacant structure; but they are often brought up and quickly forgotten, as Nicole and Irving deep dive into her family history.

Since this is a walking sim, I must point out that this is an experience that relies heavily on story and is really light on gameplay. To clarify, I mean there really isn’t any gameplay. Almost 100% of the objectives task you with going to specific areas, which are almost always clearly communicated on your map and only ask you to flip something on or off, or to find a tool or key to unlock the next clue. My only gripe with the limited amount of gameplay is the fact that Nicole walks extremely slowly and her jogging ability isn’t much faster, even at points where the story would assume you’d have some hustle in your step.

This is a title that walks in the footsteps of a few games that are arguably masterpieces if nothing more than for their unique storytelling devices; sadly, this just falls short of reaching the same standard due to some small, yet annoying issues. My number one nuisance with the overall package is how the communication between Irving and Nicole occurs. It’s not because it’s over a radio, but they connect and hang up regularly, and take frequent breaks at very awkward points in the conversation. It’s not these breaks that really ruined this for me, it’s the 1995 dial-up modem tone that made my eye twitch every time Irving called, sometimes three or four times back to back. The same can be said for the tools at your disposal to light the way forward – a Polaroid camera and a janky flashlight that both provide an acceptable amount of lighting for three seconds at a time, and that’s being generous. This issue is limited to a single day, which focuses on fixing a busted electrical system that’s left Nicole in almost total darkness, but left me frustrated wandering around blind. I was able to circumvent this by turning the brightness to the max for the duration of this chapter, but that’s obviously not the intended solution.

The presentation, much like the narrative, is just short of greatness. There are some ultra-lifelike textures and lighting effects present, but the immersion is lost for me when I look at some of the varied assets placed about that just look proportionally off, such as packs of cigarettes that look comparable to the floppy disks found in Nicole’s teenage bedroom. There was one solid scene that was awful from top to bottom, in which Nicole reviews some found footage of a news crew that was covering a story while staying in the hotel. This one plays out over a VHS tape that is set sometime in the ’80s/’90s, they hear some spooky stuff, lose it, and start running around the room acting a fool. Instead, it looks like they were first-time actors dealing with a CGI threat that was going to be added via green screen later, but it never happened and there was no tennis ball or stuffed animal for them to “act” around. It’s terrible and soured what would’ve been an above-average visual treat. The sound design is also noteworthy, as the creaking doors and groans made from the manor were so lifelike; I had to stop to question whether someone was wandering around in my own house on a few occasions. Our two major characters are well-acted too, despite some lulls in the writing here and there.

I think next to the narrative, which is engaging and well-crafted despite being a little predictable (I figured out about half of the big twist that comes late into the game around chapter three), I really appreciated the soft use of horror themes that peek out here and there just enough to remind you that there may possibly be something in the shadows ready to attack. I won’t say this was a terrifying game because it isn’t, but the feeling someone’s watching you is a near-constant once the wheels start spinning and gaining traction.

I want to avoid spoiling the story since it is the bulk of what you’ll be diving into with this game, as again, the gameplay is strictly limited to walking around; but it is a huge downer that carries some heavy emotional weight. I won’t say I walked away depressed, but it was every bit as shocking and bleak as thematic elements from The Last of Us 2. Once the credits started rolling, I just sat there with my jaw hanging down in awe, partially thinking “that’s it?” and then just being in downright shock of what I had just witnessed, for the duration of the short cast that brought this story to life – a first for me.

The game is relatively bug-free, with the sole exception being that not a single of the Xbox Live Achievements popped for me throughout the playthrough. As of this writing, it’s sitting there with a 0% unlock rate, and I’m assuming this is something that will need to be patched. This doesn’t impact my score in the least, because this is a story that is well worth your time, but I know there are people that this will turn off from playing it since the walking sims are known for offering up some super easy achievements.

The Suicide of Rachel Foster falls just short of being a masterpiece like Firewatch, What Remains of Edith Finch, or The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Its cast of memorable, highly relatable characters (except for the pedophile, he deserved the wood chipper), and picturesque visuals add many layers to the well-written narrative and makes for a story that is guaranteed to thrill mystery or horror fans.

8 out of 10

Pros

• Mostly Picture Perfect Visuals
• A Stunning Narrative Full of Twists and Turns
• Light Use of Horror Themes
• Likable, Relatable Characters
• Realistic Audio Effects

Cons

• Screeech….HISSSSSS….CHCKCKCHCKK….HISSSSS
• A Slowburn That Demands Patience
• Unimpressive Tools
• A Lack of Gameplay May Turn Some Off
• Broken Achievements

The Suicide of Rachel Foster was developed by ONE-O-ONE GAMES and was published by Daedalic Entertainment. The game is available on PC, PS4, and X1. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you’d like to see more of The Suicide of Rachel Foster, check out the developer’s site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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