| The Suicide of Rachel Foster | |
|---|---|
 Cover art featuring Rachel Foster's retainer | |
| Developer(s) | One-O-One Games |
| Publisher(s) | Daedalic Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Daniele Azara |
| Programmer(s) | Lorenzo Bellincampi |
| Writer(s) | Daniele Azara |
| Composer(s) | Federico Landini |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Suicide of Rachel Foster is a 2020 adventure video game developed by One-O-One Games and published by Daedalic Entertainment. The story follows Nicole Wilson on a visit to her family's Timberline Hotel during December 1993. Having left ten years prior with her mother after learning of her father Leonard's affair with the teenaged Rachel Foster, Nicole plans to quickly inspect the Timberline and sell it. She is forced to stay longer due to a heavy snowstorm, with Federal Emergency Management Agency agent Irving Crawford as her only contact with the outside world. Stuck in the Timberline, Nicole decides to investigate Leonard and Rachel's relationship, as well as Rachel's mysterious suicide. The player controls Nicole as she navigates the Timberline, collecting various items to solve puzzles and progress with the story, all the while able to use a radio-telephone to converse with Irving through a dialogue tree.
One-O-One Games aimed to create a horror game that emphasized suspense and fear over traditional monsters, and developed the narrative and gameplay simultaneously so they would complement each other. They designed The Suicide of Rachel Foster as a walking simulator—a genre of adventure game focusing on exploration—to explore real-life topics, given the genre's emphasis on narrative. The Overlook Hotel from the 1980 horror film The Shining served as inspiration for the Timberline. The developers sought professional advice for the depiction of topics such as child sexual abuse and suicide to portray them with sensitivity. Daedalic released The Suicide of Rachel Foster for Windows in February 2020, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in September 2020, and for Nintendo Switch in October 2021.
The Suicide of Rachel Foster received mixed reviews from critics. Praise was aimed at the setting and sound design, as well as Nicole and Irving, their relationship, and vocal performances. Conversely, the plot and mystery, as well as some gameplay aspects, received a more mixed reception. Critics responded overwhelmingly negatively to the depiction of child sexual abuse and suicide, arguing the game does not handle these topics sensitively. The ending was particularly criticized for forcing the player into the position of a character who commits suicide. A sequel titled The Fading of Nicole Wilson was announced in October 2024.