The Suicide of Rachel Foster

No spoilers! This game is narrative-driven and the only games I can compare it to are The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and Tales Untold. The game really draws you in and the story is very compelling. Voice acting is great and the dialogue options immerse you deeper into the story. If you like to partake in a mystery thriller for 4 hours I strongly recommend this game. It is something different. If the game would have added more “detective work” and riddles I could rate it 5/5. More subjective feelings: It is a game where you can almost smell the old rug on the floor in the long hallways, you can imagine how wholesome and pleasant the good days must have been in this old hotel. The team behind this game have done so many things right and their approach is something that sets them apart from bigger projects. The environment is treated as a character and exploring it helps you understand the bigger picture. This whole approach was a welcomed change. I see a lot of potential for the future of this studio and hope they will improve on puzzles, interaction and choice.

The term "walking simulator" tends to connote a certain freedom of movement -- that you can explore anywhere, in any sequence, at your own pace. In that respect, this game is less walking simulator and more rail-mystery-story. If you are the least bit observant, you will realize you need certain articles, only to discover the game obstructing your path. For example, at one point I observed that I was going to need a screwdriver. I knew exactly where The Screwdriver was located, walked from one end of the map to the other to get it, only to find that the game wouldn't let me pick it up, because I hadn't gotten to that point in the script yet. Likewise, some doors/passages are blocked by objects until you reach the appropriate point in the story, at which point the obstacles have magically disappeared. Because the game won't really let you do anything except what The Script Says You're Supposed To Do, there's essentially no real puzzle-solving. This game is essentially all atmosphere, relying entirely on the map design and the story. There is a definite spookiness wandering around an empty hotel in varying degrees of disrepair (complete with secret passages) and, as others have described, the map is fairly lovingly detailed (although, if this were a real building, the architect should be fired -- who puts the dining area and the restrooms at opposite ends of the building?). However, while the story isn't exactly bad, I didn't find it particularly compelling, either. That, coupled with the annoying restrictions imposed by the script logic, keeps me from awarding a higher rating. I don't want to hate on the game -- I bought it on sale, and I'd say I got my money's worth -- but this is probably for people who enjoy exploring atmospheric settings purely for its own sake.

TSORF is a walking sim, plain and simple. It's the story of Nicole, a young woman who travels back to a shut down hotel that she has inherited from her now deceased parents. The family's history ended in tragedy due to your father having an "inappropriate" affair and without spoiling the story: this is where the title of the game comes in. Nicole is forced to check out the vacant hotel in order to sell it off but manages to arrive during a freezing blizzard and surprise surpise, Nicky is now trapped in the hotel and starts trying to unravel the tragic story of Rachel Foster. The screenshots might look pretty but this is not a visually impressive creation (although the in-game rendered cutscenes are nicely animated) and technically it is functional but not much more than that. Movement is sluggish and gameplay-wise there isn't much besides walking forward and equpping a flashlight once in a while. Basically a 2.5 out of 5 stars, there are better walking sims to play but if you enjoy a short semi-scary story, give it a shot.

... except walking, very slowly. The atmosphere is empty-hotel-good. It gets a bit scary at times, but nothing too bad. The story is okay, but nothing great. In the end it does'nt even make too much sense, and it's absolutely linear and gets shoved in your face without you participating much. There is almost no feeling of exploration. Which is a killer for this type of game. It goes like this: You listen to them talking on the phone, then you head to that one place which drives the story fowards but get lost in the corridors on the way, find other, probably story-relevant things that you cannot yet interact with, find a lot of things you can pick up and look at, which you do, because the game told you to keep close watch, but you soon find out that absolutely nothing is to be found out about all these packs of cigarettes lying around ... and after arriving at the right spot, you listen again. Very disappointing.

Let's get rid of the elephant in the room first: Yes, this game has grooming and can be disturbing to some people, judging the negative reviews here. Is it a bad game? No, not really. I'd say it's average. The Suicide of Rachel Foster tries too hard to be like Firewatch, which is a masterful walking sim. The graphics are nice but nothing special. The soundtrack and voice acting is okay, but the real star is the location. Our main character Nicole needs to hide in her deceased parents old hotel during a snowstorm, which brings up memories of The Overlook Hotel from The Shining. It even has similar carpet and furniture. Here she discovers family secrets she's unprepared for. Her only contact during her stay is some FEMA agent she talks to on satellite phone, but can she trust him? Sounds familiar? The story never trancends that of a regular Midsomer Murders episode, with some grooming thrown in there. People shouting 'pedophilia' have probably never heard of 'ephebophilia', which is exactly what the theme in Rachel Foster is. Yeah, it's still wrong, but judge the game on it's gameplay instead of its disturbing theme, will you? I wonder if people like this also protest movies with similar dark themes. A sad bunch of snowflakes and prudes if you ask me, not ready for the real world. Anyway, play Firewatch instead, or if you want horror Amnesia: The Dark Descent. If you really want to see what all the fuzz is about, wait until this is for sale for a couple of bucks.