I barely know anything about this character apart from the fact that she was groomed starting when she was young, got pregnant by a man three times her age, and then took her own life. No letters, no flashbacks, no pages from a diary, nothing that attempts at giving her any voice. For a character whose name is in the title of the game, I know very little about her. The most damaging aspect of how the game frames this relationship is that Rachel has no voice throughout the entire game. It made me cringe, especially as the game's marketing focuses on Rachel's retainer, an object that emphasises how young she is. There's a line where Rachel is described as 'mature for her age' as if it's some sort of excuse to her father's relationship with the teenager. An attic with fairy lights hangs above a bed where sketches of the teenager posing naked lie scattered on top. The relationship is even more worrying because it's seen as romantic. Now that both of her parents have passed, Nicole hopes to fulfill her mother’s last will to sell the hotel and make amends to Rachels relatives. It's revealed that Rachel was nine weeks pregnant when she died and clues indicate that she was groomed by Nicole's father from a young age. Ten years ago, teenager Nicole and her mother left the family hotel after discovering her father Leonards affair with, and pregnancy of Rachel, a girl her own age who eventually committed suicide. As the second half of the game begins to delve into the details about Nicole's father and Rachel's relationship, it becomes clear that One-O-One Games is treading into a territory that it is not equipped to handle. However, rummaging through Nicole's belongings and unearthing the history of the hotel is where Rachel Foster gets problematic. I felt like it was heading more in the direction of a ghost story than a mystery, which I was somewhat looking forward to. Another section has you watch the old battered VHS recordings of a ghost-hunting group that captures the crew's terrified reactions to something off-screen. In one chapter the power completely goes out and you have to navigate the pitch blackness using only the flash of a polaroid to guide you. Rummaging through Nicole's belongings and unearthing the history of the hotel is where Rachel Foster gets problematic It serves as a cosy safe haven within the confines of the hotel. Nicole's room has been kept exactly the same as when she left it. You go from being scared about what around the corner of a narrow corridor, to massive ballrooms, dining halls, kitchens, and lounge areas where anything could be lurking. The hotel uses both its corridors and open spaces to build tension.
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