The Suicide of Rachel Foster

From user reviews it seems like I may be in the minority… but for me it just isn’t worth it. It’s a short experience (though feels far longer than it needs to be) and I think your money would be spent elsewhere.

The Suicide of Rachel Foster is a good thriller, which deals with strong and difficult themes. Due to the good writing and successful atmosphere, we recommend giving it a chance.

If you can forgive a terrible ending, then perhaps The Suicide of Rachel Foster is for you. Otherwise, better take a rain check on your reservation at the Timberline Hotel.

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.

The Suicide of Rachel Foster is primarily 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.

Flirting with delicate subjects, The Suicide of Rachel Foster manages without excessive pathos to tell us a gripping and disturbing story. It sometimes turns the player into an inactive spectator, perhaps a little too much, but we enjoyed exploring this decaying hotel that holds a major place in the game. The adventure is not very long, but it's long enough to become attached to the characters.

The Suicide of Rachel Foster is an interesting game. There are many ways to approach and critique it that will reveal myriad facets to it, and this is but one observation of narrative discourse. Within this subgenre, it stands on the shoulders of giants or at the very least tall minotaurs. But it doesn’t quite deliver the all-encompassing experience it might hope to.

The Suicide of Rachel Foster is more of an interactive experience than an actual game. Its dense atmosphere reminiscent of beloved horror novels such as Stephen King’s The Shining is its biggest strength and gets by without unnecessary jump scares. No puzzles and no freedom for the player can feel restrictive at times, though.

Small issues aside, The Suicide of Rachel Foster is a truly riveting thrill ride. The story plays out perfectly in the first-person narrative video game medium. You owe it to yourself to discover the secrets of the Timberline Hotel - just make sure you've got a few hours spare, because you're not going to want to put it down once you've started.

After all was said and done, The Suicide of Rachel Foster remains an intriguing story exploration game with great suspense, and I felt that the conclusion justified the journey. However, despite being captivating at times, I did wish the truth revealed would’ve conveyed more of a message and less of a story.

The Suicide of Rachel Foster has all the ingredients to create a good mystery story: a mountain hotel, a family tragedy, death and a past to uncover. And yet, we arrive at the end somewhat disappointed, thinking that many of the answers are somewhat capricious and unconnected with the information the player handles.

This adventure borrows liberally from some obvious role models, but fails to live up to their examples, despite innovative audio mechanics.

It seems like the writers had solid ideas for the beginning and the end of – but not quite for the middle of the story. Ultimately it is very straightforward, lacks twists and false leads. [04/2020, p.60]

Neat set design aside, The Suicide of Rachel Foster‘s middling, unremarkable progression (not to mention some odd characterization in parts) don’t quite gift the experience with the tension and unease it’s so obviously seeking.

On paper, The Suicide of Rachel Foster promises a spooky ghost tale grounded in the drama of a family driven apart. While some of that potential is eventually made good on, the road there is a bit too bland and unengaging to make the whole experience shine as brightly as it should.

This is a good interactive thriller, with a great story and some clever design… although it doesn’t make the most of them. If you like this type of game and you’re just looking for a new alternative, you’ll enjoy it.

I find about 80 percent of this game incredibly compelling, and if you don’t focus on the progression of the story or the ending, there are amazing moments here. The unfortunate part is that narrative games live and die by, well, their narratives. Still, I’m glad I played it. I find some sort of weird excitement in being monumentally disappointed by stories — they give me context on what we appreciate in the titles we do enjoy. So if you are like me, The Suicide of Rachel Foster might just be worth your time.

Quotation forthcoming.

With inspiration taken from What Remains of Edith Finch or The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, The Suicide of Rachel Foster is clearly sub-par relative to those games, to the point where it's difficult to recommend it for any reason, even if the story isn't that bad.

In the end, The Suicide of Rachel Foster feels like the quintessential first draft of a horror/drama flick latched to a graceless gameplay template. The excitement and deliberate pacing early on suggest learning from the industry’s best exemplars. Ominous warnings suggest ghosts are roaming The Timberline’s halls. As it progresses, however, uncoordinated game design and tonally-tangled storytelling turns that engagement frozen stiff. Like walking through a grand hotel with years of decay, you can’t help but wonder how it could fare under new management.

While audio issues stop it from reaching its full potential, The Suicide of Rachel Foster is a dark and intriguing walk-em-up that will keep fans of the genre on their toes. Just be ready to weather some frustrating technical problems to get to the good bits.

Regrettably, the revelations the story builds to are obvious, and the characters are not charismatic enough to transcend the limitations of the plotline.