Walking simulators have got a lot to answer for. Before the likes of Gone Home, Firewatch and That Dragon, Cancer came along, we’d been so used to mowing down indiscriminate waves of aliens or questionably-motivated terrorist types without getting any of “the feels”. Take away our guns and make us sit through emotionally charged experiences, though, and we’re not ready for it. Oh, you can pretend you are, but there’s always something in these games that hits the right sad spot and that’s it, you’re off. The Suicide of Rachel Foster is no different, and that’s a good thing. Well, it’s not, when I actually get into the story, but on the whole it’s great to experience something that makes you feel human, for better or worse, from time to time. Now, I have to say this as a disclaimer (much as the game does on its intro screen) that there are strong themes of grooming and possible child abuse in the game, and as such, will be touched upon in the review. So, prepare thyself, as we go back to the past… I won’t leak any major spoilers, but it’s the setting and theme that runs throughout the game. Our story begins with our protagonist, Nicole, making her way back to the Timberline hotel (named after the real life lodge that whose exterior was used as The Shining’s Overlook Hotel). Not after a holiday or anything, but having not stepped foot in there in the last ten years. Inheriting the property from her now-deceased parents, Nicole has to make the arduous journey back to the neglected hotel to get all the paperwork and affairs in order to sell it on. She’s picked the worst time for it, though, as the nastiest of blizzards has made its way to the mountains, effectively trapping her against her intentions in the hotel.

The suicide of rachel foster day 9