The Suicide of Rachel Foster

Lead programmer Lorenzo Bellincampi stated that the game was not a horror game and described it as being geared toward "nostalgia and mystery rather than fear or terror".[3] The studio intended to create a psychological horror game evoking "unease and fear" without having to resort to traditional monsters or tropes.[13] The horror was intended to be internal, with players being scared by their own expectations and imagination.[9] From the beginning of the game's development, the studio wanted the narrative and gameplay to complement one another, rather than finishing the story first and then choosing an appropriate gameplay style.[7] The game was made a walking simulator due to the genre's high emphasis on narrative, allowing for the exploration of real-life topics.[13] The game has over 100,000 words of dialogue.[5]

According to Graziano Pimpolari, it was fundamental that the game's environment felt real.[8] Montana was chosen both because it allowed the developers to place the Timberline Hotel in an isolated area, as well as having a "religious population and legal framework that offered a plausible setting for the narrative of psychological horror and moral taboo [the developers] were making".[13] The hotel was designed to cause fear and feelings of isolation in the player, being set in an enclosed space to increase the claustrophobia.[13][7] The Timberline Hotel was designed to look authentic for its time.[8] The team implemented architectural and proportional studies to create the hotel, so players could identify with it and be interested in exploring it.[7] The team researched various real-life hotels to create the hotel's floor plan.[9] The hotel's design drew heavily from the Overlook Hotel, featured in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980).[13]

Azara stated the developers were challenged with portraying and discussing topics such as child sexual abuse, grief, and suicide without becoming overly morbid and depressing. To achieve this and portray these topics with sensitivity, they sought advice from partners and professionals.[7] Regarding Rachel and Leonard's ephebophilic relationship, One-O-One stated they were interested in exploring the moral implications of such a situation.[13] Since Rachel and Leonard never properly appear in the story, the developers stated that having their relationship explored through Nicole and how she was affected by the tragedies surrounding it was "central to the horror experience".[13]

Rachel and Leonard's relationship was presented from various perspectives to encourage players to think critically about such a relationship and the repercussions it can have.[13] The team wanted players to reflect on the game's topics after playing it, especially as they believed discussions of these topics can lead to healing.[7] Leonard and Irving seemingly condone the former's relationship with Rachel; the developers included this ideology to showcase how people's emotions can blind them and cause them to justify immoral acts.[13]

One-O-One stated that the "controversial decision" to have Nicole potentially commit suicide at the end, and putting her fate in the player's hands, was something they felt was in line with the game's themes and viewed as an "intriguing game mechanic".[13] According to Azara, the game's ending caused many cast members to cry.[9]

According to review aggregator Metacritic, all versions of The Suicide of Rachel Foster received "mixed or average reviews".[14][15][16]

The game's setting—the Timberline Hotel—was complimented, as was the sound design for helping create an appropriate atmosphere. Jens Bremicker of ProSieben Games complimented the hotel's design,[20] as did Jerome Joffard of Jeuxvideo.com.[18] Rachel Watts of PC Gamer called the environment "engaging" and capable of creating tension,[19] while Eurogamer's Edwin Evans-Thirlwell described the hotel as "creepy" and its design "predatory".[4] Peter Morics of Screen Rant commended the hotel's atmosphere, while praising the game's sound design for keeping the players "on [their] toes".[21] Bremicker praised the sound design for creating an appropriate atmosphere,[20] with Péter Nagy of IGN Hungary also commending it for creating a sense of loneliness.[17]

Despite the Timberline's positive reception, there was criticism of the lack of engagement with the setting and its puzzles. Joffard critiqued the linearity of the game's plot, as it did not allow for a proper exploration of the entire hotel.[18] Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun, while appreciating the hotel's design, denounced its scope and the fact that the puzzle items were rarely required to be used, making them redundant.[22] Bremicker criticized the lack of puzzles in the game,[20] while Evans-Thirlwell found the few existing puzzles overly simplistic.[4]

The game's plot and ending received mixed responses from critics, with many finding the ending inconsistent with the rest of the game. The Washington Post's Christopher Byrd described the game's overall mystery as "obvious" and lacking in scares.[6] Joffard denounced the narrative for not being engaging enough, causing the player to become a spectator.[18] as well as the game's ending and twists, finding them inconsistent with the rest of the game's story.[18] Bell said the game's ending caused the story to "go 'off the rails'",[22] while Nagy found its twists to be ineffective.[17] Though Evans-Thirlwell enjoyed the game's first half, its second half and ending were criticized and described as "melodramatic".[4] Watts stated that while the game initially showed promise—appearing as a ghost story—it eventually became a "melodramatic soap opera".[19] Though Bremicker was critical of the plot for taking too long to truly begin, the ending and its twists were praised.[20] Morics praised the game's plot and described it as "thrilling".[21] While he found the ending "emotionally satisfying", its "logical concerns" were also acknowledged.[21]

The characters Nicole and Irving were commended, as were their relationship and voice acting. Evans-Thirlwell praised both characters, as well as their voice actors' performances,[4] while Bell complimented the voice actors for making the characters interesting.[22] While Nagy found Nicole and Irving to be unoriginal, he applauded their consistent personalities and voice acting, as well as the depiction of their relationship.[17] Watts enjoyed their relationship, likening it to Henry and Delilah from Firewatch (2016),[19] while Morics commended the dialogue between them.[21] Bremicker called Nicole as a strong protagonist, showcased through the game's writing of her conversations with Irving, and the layout of her room.[20] Joffard applauded the voice actors for bringing the characters to life, although they criticized scenes in which Irving calls Nicole without being prompted by the player.[18]

The game's depiction of the teenaged Rachel Foster's relationship with Leonard polarized critics.

The game's depiction of ephebophilia and suicide, especially the relationship between Leonard and Rachel, proved polarizing. Bell criticized the portrayal of Leonard and Rachel's relationship,[22] as did Watts, who argued that the game portrays the relationship in a romantic light.[19] Furthermore, Watts found fault with Rachel's lack of agency in the story, and criticized the lack of sensitivity afforded to ephebophilia and suicide, finding the game to sensationalize them instead.[19] Similarly, NME's Vikki Blake did not believe the developers succeeded in causing the game's audience to consider the game's topics, denouncing the portrayal of Leonard and Rachel's relationship since it makes the players sympathize with them.[23] Evans-Thirlwell argued that the portrayal of the game's controversial topics does not create a further understanding of them. While he noted the game does not condemn Leonard's relationship with Rachel, he acknowledged that how the characters reflect on the relationship is not indicative of the developers' opinion.[4]

The game's handling of suicide, especially regarding Nicole's suicide attempt at the end, was also polarizing.[22] Blake disliked the game's ending and the decision to potentially have Nicole commit suicide, arguing that it contrasted her earlier characterization, and criticized it for making players complicit in someone's suicide attempt.[23]

The Suicide of Rachel Foster was nominated for the Best Italian Game at the Italian Video Game Awards in 2020,[24][25] and at the TGM Awards 2020 in the categories Dynamic Adventure and Tell Me a Story.[26][27] At the 2021 DStars, the game won Game of the Year.[28]