#THE SUICIDE OF RACHEL FOSTER IRVING FULL#

The pacing of the story is an interesting one, because it starts off slowly with Rachel’s suicide being mentioned, but not really tackled. A lot of this is back and forward phone calls with Irving, and then exploring more of the hotel for a particular purpose. The story is broken up into days, with you playing out the key moments of each. It’s a perpetual reminder, that no one is coming, and this journey of discovery is yours and yours alone. The relentless storm outside provides constant claustrophobia as the wind rattles the shutters, and howls through every nook and cranny.

#THE SUICIDE OF RACHEL FOSTER IRVING FULL#

Narrow corridors feel suitably cramped, restricting your field of vision, but even the wider open rooms are full of furniture and knick-knacks that prevent you from ever feeling at ease in those open spaces. The empty hotel quite rightly feels old and full of memory, its foreboding walls, rooms, and corridors could tell a thousand stories. Undoubtedly, this is a game dripping with atmosphere, through some very well-considered design decisions. You begin to accidentally uncover clues that feel out of place, that confuse and challenge Nicole’s perspective of what happened in her past. As you search more of the hotel, the mundane tasks of securing food and lighting quickly escalate as you begin to unravel more of your family’s past and how it is interwoven with Rachel’s before her death. But The Suicide of Rachel Foster feels equal parts horror and mystery to set up more of an exploration-thriller than anything else.

Wandering around a large abandoned building alone is a pretty well-traveled narrative trope, particularly in horror games. Her only contact with the outside world is via one of the first mobile phones, which keeps her in touch with Irving, a FEMA agent tasked with helping her through the transaction.

As the new owner, Nicole travels to the hotel to inspect it, with a view to selling, only to get trapped alone there due to a pretty nasty snowstorm. Not because her upbringing was hard or painful, far from it, but more so the tragic events that resulted in her abrupt departure ten years ago: the suicide of Rachel Foster. It is a place of childhood memories for Nicole, that she’d rather forget. The death of her mother sees her become the owner of the family hotel, The Timberline, high up in the mountains. Set in the early 90s, the protagonist of this tale is Nicole, a young woman who has lost both of her parents. Remember, you don’t have to go through things alone. It’s a message I would echo as well before we continue, given the serious nature of the plot.

Every time you begin a new session, there’s advice to seek help and reach out to others for support if you are struggling. It’s clear from the outset, there is a respect here for the topic at hand, and how the raw story they wish to tell could affect people. The Suicide of Rachel Foster is fairly blunt as titles go, though the approach by One O One Games is anything but. As long as the appropriate steps are taken to respect the subject matter and those who may be affected by it. I’m a firm believer that any subject matter can be covered in the medium of video games.

The suicide of rachel foster irving