Tell Don't Show: The Suicide of Rachel Foster

[@reign8723]

I've always hated the trend of just saying something contains "triggering content" because it's the least useful warning. "Triggering content" can imply an on-screen suicide attempt, or sexual abuse, or a car accident, or anything. It's not at all helpful. Thanks for talking about that in this video.

[@silentj624]

Well then what is supposed to be said? Saying exactly what is included could be triggering in and of itself.

[@reign8723]

@@silentj624 I don't know where you heard that, but that's not how triggers work at all? I've never been helped in my life by anyone saying "this movie contains triggering content" instead of specifying what content they're referring to.

[@silentj624]

@@reign8723 an important thing to understand that how you experience one trauma will not be the same as another experiences that "same" trauma. If you want to water it down exchange "trauma" for life experience.

[@slushy711]

i know, its like saying "allergy warning" on food wrappers and not telling which allergy

[@genericname2747]

This contains triggering content. What's the trigger? It's a surprise!

[@NightEyeStudio1995]

It feels like this games developers read Lolita, but didn’t understand that you weren’t supposed to side with the narrator. That and the massive amount of “She acted mature for her age” shoved in… it’s fucking gross. I’m so happy that I found reviews of this, so I can warn friends who like walking sims. The game looks pretty, but like cake made of shit… no amount of frosting can cover the fact that it is in fact a pile of shit.

[@heatherruth6734]

I wish I had watched this before I played this game. I winced when I read that the character I would be playing was someone who proudly marched against abortion, and wondered if this was going to be a problematic game. But then this theme of blame on Rachel and forgiveness for Lenard starting popping up and getting more and more obvious to the point that they were presented as having a mutual forbidden love, an idea spoken by the victim's BROTHER, and I was playing this game out with a total look of disgust on my face. And yeah, that finale had me shaking.

[@Kageribaby]

Right there with you. It's a horrible game I can't recommend for anyone.

[@lindinle]

Her being against abortion is what made you think this would be problematic? We all get situations like presented here but lets all be honest, thats not the reason for a gross majority of them.

[@duckiekay7347]

@@lindinle i think they meant in the first few moments of the game, like as a precursor to all the nonsense they saw "proudly marched against abortion" and went 'hm this seems a bit problematic, wonder if the whole game is like this' before being thrust into a whirlwind of fuckshit and chaos, yk?

[@lindinle]

@@duckiekay7347 no it means the OP has a fucked up minds eye.

[@lindinle]

@@duckiekay7347 cuz it denotes the op believes in wreckless sex with no responsibility.

[@roxiep2010]

I've been saying for years that since Netflix introduced the innovation of the "Skip Intro" button, what we need now is a "Skip Sex Scene" button. I'm just bored and uncomfortable, let me move on please.

[@pimscrypt]

YES!

[@alexdoorn234]

Oh yes that would make me so much more comfortable watching shows and movies. As an asexual I feel uncomfortable with sex scenes. I close my eyes during them.

[@penwrythe]

That would be so great!

[@coolbeans5911]

Brilliant, i need this😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@sarahsnyder2684]

Would be awesome but I doubt it will happen. Why? Because then they would have to ADMIT they have scenes that aren't plot relevant. With some films, they would also be rightly written off as softcore porn when you would end up skipping over half the film.

[@marianne4902]

"The game wants you to sympathize with a pedophile and the victim's complacent brother." I EFFING AGREE. This game's narrative was absolute ass, the premise was a disaster, the narrative was even worse. Thank god someone said it. Subscribed.

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

Points for realism at least, families do that shit all the time.

[@grandbean9031]

I hard disagree. Irving and Leonard are trying to get NICOLE to sympathise. They are trying to manipulate an already manipulated person to commit suicide. And yes, from their pov the love was true. But their pov is the pov of monsters. And seeing how obvious it is that Nicole is manipulated and in denial, it's imo very obvious that any and all sympathetic speeches given to Nicole are attempts at manipulation. The fact Irving tries to get Nicole to sympathise with Leonard before he is found out as stalking her and living in her attic, aka being completely dishonest, is clear indication that you aren't supposed to sympathise with Irving and Leonard, you are supposed to hate them. Nicole on the other hand may be too far gone to fight back, depending on your perspective.

[@HaveAPunch]

the4 narrative was leonard.

[@apex_prey]

Made me so wet.

[@Dradeeus]

I'd say the fact that Rachel's brother is just as invested in explaining Leonard's actions is borderline editorializing support. One unreliable narrator is an alternative viewpoint, but THREE people talking about how incredibly awesome Leonard was (including the MC) with the only villainous exception being the jealous, murderous mother... I mean, come on, dude. This isn't a Martin Scorcese movie where he wants the audience to see the complexities of a bad person anymore. They practically deify Leonard. The only way this could see this being excused is if it was intended like Midsommar, where the audience realizes they've fallen for the cult just like the main character. Leonard is sort of a Charles Manson who can even charm his victim's brother and his daughter into carrying out his wishes. (I do not think this was the intention.)

[@maca76]

i seriously thought Nicole was SA by her father and that she was being oblivious because accepting the fact he r*ped Rachel could open her own wounds. Irvin was the last straw, and the point where they went wrong af, if he had done anything to take Nicole out of her state of mind i would say this is a good game, or if he was in fact a villain working with the father without care for his victims, when he says Rachel was better with Leonard than in her home, this game becoms irredeamable

[@fleacythesheepgirl]

To me Irvin sounded basically like the game dev speaking to the player trying to justify their perv marry sue Leonard.

[@Niandra]

God, I refunded this game about 10 minutes due to the head bobbing giving me a headache and even watching this video, I'm like, this is so awful why did they do this lol

[@pimscrypt]

You made the right call.

[@vaguefairee]

This game could've been something so interesting and horrifying but it just falls flat on its face. Someone on tumblr pointed out you could have the exact same story, just make Rachel the reverends wife or something so it's no longer a creepy "love" story between a child and an adult. I feel like they made her 16 just for the shock factor. I was so disappointed in this game. I was genuinely invested in the relationship between Irving and Nicole, I loved Nicole as a main character and the hotel setting, they do make it creepy without relying on over used jumpscares. But it's like story wise the developers got lazy. I'm especially annoyed at how they downplay the pedophilia, they tell players they're not endorsing it and it's up to the players to think critically and that to me just comes across as lazy writing and a bullshit excuse. Rachel deserved so much better too, she was the central focus of the plot but we know nothing about her other than Leonard was obsessed with her, she had dyslexia and she was pretty. That's it. Oh, and her own father was apparently shitty but that seems to be glossed over. The story was a first draft just hastily slopped together.

[@MegaNorm64]

I was really liking this game until the story started to condone the acts of pedophilia. I was interested in seeing how Nicole would act and what she would say during these moments, then I realized that she started becoming just as twisted as Irving by sympathizing for Leonard. Then, the ending happened. Jesus.

[@bartdierickx4630]

The outside world in the story didn´t condone the relationship. You can find notes with threats and insults to Leonard. I also think it is an accurate depiction of the real world when victim blaming/shaming happens. Only the disturbed inner circle of Leonard did condone the relationship. Except for Claire. She was the most fucked up of all of them. She killed the victim as if she were to blame for anything. Tbh I think a story can be told from the perspective of disturbed characters. I don´t take offense nor issue from this.

[@thepinkestpigglet7529]

@@bartdierickx4630 I feel the game could have called real life out better

[@haileybrennan6195]

@@bartdierickx4630 it’d be nice if they did but they didn’t make that clear. We never hear from the outside and all the characters in this story treat the dad as a victim. I think that would have been great if that was the story they were telling. The story of a woman finding an way to clear her father’s name only to find out he was a monster. I even think Nicole sideing with her dad could work if they did it right. They needed to focus on this though they had to focus on how awful it was and not act like the dads a martyr. They didn’t treat this topic with respect no matter how you look at it. Even her BROTHER acted like it was okay and tried to justify it.

[@akirasaito1551]

@@bartdierickx4630 At the same time though, the game is clearly creating a narrative of how the outside world didn't understand the "true nature" of the relationship (which is implied to be true love, pure and transcendent 🤮). Plus, the game developpers defended it too so I don't think it's unfair for the players to get the sense that the game condones the relationship

[@plague_doctor0237]

@@bartdierickx4630 exactly, the issue with this game is not about the themes it explores, but rather how this game explores said themes

[@SOBEKCrocodileGod]

Everything I hear about this game repulses me. The fact that they try to romanticize this disgusting “romance” and try to convince us that this abuser is a good guy…ugh. The writers of this game should be put on an FBI watchlist. They can say they weren’t trying to endorse it but……at what point did we ever get a sympathetic view of Rachel’s side?

[@jamie1602]

I wouldn't say an FBI watchlist because they're trying to write some screwed up people but they're really trying too hard to make an edgy game. Too hard. There's edgy games that suggest pedophilia has been involved (The Music Machine) and they're a little bit better at the topic. While The Music Machine is a question of if the character actually did it (evidence leads to both) and you get to decide what happens to your companion (the girl in question) it makes you feel uncomfortable with every step you make. Neither character feels good and you can't help but wonder if your friendship with this girl may have made her far too adult for her time and you're the reason this is all happening... Not that you deserved to be murdered and you're now haunting her (which she tells you she's not happy about) but should any of this be happening? The Music Machine is much more faithful to the idea of Lolita and the developer understood the assignment. The protagonist, though dead, is a learned man who very likely assaulted someone and is facing ramifications for what he did... but can he do the right thing? I'd suggest The Music Machine over Rachel Foster ANY DAY. It's much less graphic... and it doesn't have to be. Because it talks about lives broken instead. It's an older game... and the developer is still around. The dev has some edgy work as well but honestly? In comparison? His most edgy is tasteful compared to this.

[@apex_prey]

Bwahahhaa cry harder.

[@SOBEKCrocodileGod]

@@apex_prey ok pedo

[@haileybrennan6195]

I’m glad to see other people hate this plot. Their literally blaming the CHILD for the horrible things these people did. An unsympathetic biased protagonist can work. As gross as Lolita, a story simpler to what this story was. You can tell it’s being written by a biased author we should not sympathize with. This story though, no matter how you look at it isn’t doing that. They’re being completely straight and Nicole is a complete b*tch throughout the game. She barely even brings up poor Rachel and only talks about her great memories with her dad. The story could have been improved two fold if it was just focused on Nicole realizeing what a peice of crap her family was before dying. Or if it was about Rachel getting revenge on the family for being monsters. That could be an interesting phycological horror as Nicoles resolve and everything she thought she knew about her dad was a lie. Slowly being morphed into Rachels shoes as she becomes even more unsympathetic. This is a weird example but take the Phzar of Gorlovia level in phyconaughts. Where you go through tha amusement ride and it becomes more and more obvious nick from the mail room was a spoiled brat who idolizes his childhood and himself to unhealthy levels. That’s the type of energy this game could have had a burn that only gets worse as you go to the point even the main character can’t ignore the truth which eventually comes out. Make it blatantly clear we shouldn’t be sympathize in with Nicole in this. Make Irving someone who’s constantly trying to snap her back to reality. Trying to wake her up from the fantasy where it’s all this child’s fault. Don’t have him start out confrontational but have him get more and more upset till the end of the game to the point he’s screaming at Nicole that her dad was a monster. In this version he’s also not related to Rachel he’s just a stranger looking in. At the end you could have the video but instead of your dads last words it’s a video of your dad helping the mom bury Rachel or something the comfort she was looking for never existed. In the end you can have Nicole commit suicide finally acepting the reality but not being able to handle it, feel remorse and try to fix the mistakes of her parents, possibly leaving the story open ended as she walks out into the storm or let her keep being a monster and Irving, at the end of his rope decides to kill her losing his own mind and hope for a good world after watch Nicole deny and blame Rachel for everything. Yes, it’d still be pretty dark and I don’t know if I trust this studio to actually pull it off but it’s better then SIDEING WITH THE PEDOPHILE. instead her father Gose from a victim to the vergin Mary and Rachel is treated like a disgusting problem. This game makes me sick and it deserves to burn in a fire.

[@ProfessorFlowers]

"I of course would have preferred that this game didn't exist at all, but it does. And the best thing we can do about that, is to learn from its mistakes." I really appreciate how thoughtful you are in the media you interact with. I feel like suicide or suicidal thought is actually a pretty common issue, but it's often played up for shock in media, rather than actually being dealt with. I would really like to see media deal with sincerely wanting to die, and what to do with that intense feeling and state of mind. I haven't played too many games in a while, but I really want to check out "The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories". Thanks for the great video!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much for the kind words! And I can’t say it enough, but thank you so much for contributing to this video! And yeah, I highly recommend trying The Missing! It’s not perfect, but the message is ultimately a good and effective one. And it’s definitely something other developers should look at if they want to understand how the subject of suicide should be approached as a whole. (Also it doesn’t take too long to play through which I highly appreciated!)

[@aidenpearce6624]

I think the game was very interesting, the music was very good and graphic was good, too. But I really don't liked the way they framed the "simple love" between an at least 40yo and a 16yo. And the ending... That was shocking and way to much. You do not need to turn the engine on, but still. Just disrespectful and disgusting. Well at least the music was good.

[@silentj624]

Happy endings don't always happen. If I hadolayed the game I would have chosen death

[@lindinle]

The main character was on the side of a nonce. Suicide is the only option.

[@RLane-xz5cj]

Trigger warnings can communicate plenty without spoiling anything. Fan fiction proves it all the time. A warning that the game "Contains graphic depictions of suicide" wouldn't have spoiled the ending. It may have even made it into a bigger twist, because I think the natural assumption players would have had would be that RACHEL'S suicide was going to be shown at some point. The ending would still have been shocking.

[@crowdemon_archives]

Lol yea, you can say someone died without specify *who* died, after all.

[@alannanelli8674]

Honestly, that’s why I’ve always been confused about comments of ‘trigger warnings spoil the story’. Like ok, you can tell me that x, y, and z occur in a story, but that doesn’t mean I know who it’ll happen to or when or why or how it’ll effect the rest of the story. I might have to get halfway through the story before I’m like, wait I know x is going to happen sometime and it looks like it might be leading up to that. Honestly that might cause even more tension for me wondering if my theory is correct. And even if I guess it correctly, if it’s a good story I will still enjoy it even knowing this ahead of times. People don’t go watch Hadestown or Elf multiple times because they think the story is going to change and it’ll end differently!

[@troin3925]

The game just had a huge update. I don't know what else it added, but it altered the disclaimer to specify that the game involves grooming and suicide, and added things like "if you're a victim of sexual abuse" stuff like that. Given the sudden recent attention that this game has gotten thanks to MertKayKay's video, it's very clearly damage control that's about 2 years too late.

[@brawler5760]

It still doesn’t make the story any less garbage.

[@jererants9513]

The update didn’t alter any of the content. All the bullshit, pedophilia apologia is still there, and the awful out-of-left-field ending is still there. I bought the game, played it, finished it, then uninstalled it. The only good decision I made there was the last one.

[@troin3925]

@@jererants9513 I know, it just altered the opening disclaimer.

[@troin3925]

@@jererants9513 The only defenses that I would ever make for this game are the atmosphere and sound design.

[@charlieni645]

Lately, Dontnod Games released a Q&A about their upcoming game featuring a trans character. The story is supposed to be about the main characters piecing together what kind of a person their mother was. Dontnod straight up spoiled the ending to reassure players that there won't be any transphobia in their games, which is an incredibly bold move in terms of content warning.

[@pimscrypt]

I didn't read the spoilers myself, but I heard about Dontnod doing that and I really applaud them for it. It doesn't guarantee that the trans representation will be good across the board of course, but it really shows how serious they are about trying to do it right!

[@charlieni645]

@@pimscrypt Yeah, I'm worried about how they would tackle it. Dontnod is always well intentioned in minority representation and progressive politics, but the execution can feel somewhat exploitative. Life is Strange 2 is the prime example.

[@pimscrypt]

@@charlieni645 Oh! I only played the first Life is Strange. That sucks to hear. Hopefully they listen to feedback and learn from those mistakes!

[@charlieni645]

@@pimscrypt Sorry if I spoiled it for you! Of course I'm criticizing a game about a pair of Latino brothers as an Asian man. Maybe it's not my place to call whether it is exploitative.

[@pimscrypt]

@@charlieni645 Oh no problem at all! I kiiiinda know what's going on in that game, so no worries!

[@caitlinbrewer4843]

I think the person who wrote this was never told that Herbert from *Lolita* was an unreliable narrator.

[@cam4636]

That's what I'm thinking. I don't know if they literally read it, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that was the idea behind this game.

[@JewTube001]

@@cam4636 ike, it wears that on it's sleeve. it's based on the shining and lolita. the kubrick versions.

[@thefollowingisatest4579]

An incredible analysis that puts words to so many things I've felt but haven't been able to articulate. Thank you.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you! I'm really glad you appreciated it!

[@spiltmilk0204]

i thought irving would be a good hidden antagonist in this story for a moment, but then he started encouraging the pedophelia and the disappointment i had in him was immeasurable. the whole game is awful, but i hate it most for ruining my former favorite character >:C

[@goyjin5676]

How is being attracted to a 16 year old pedophilia?

[@anthonykarnes6804]

Wouldn't that encouragement reinforce him as an antagonist, a bad guy?

[@songbird6414]

I’m not even five minutes in but I’m already so impressed because you discussed how unnecessary sex scenes are

[@MortalGlare]

This is one of the hardest videos i've ever watched, very well done . Came here from Eurothugs recommendation and damn, it was tough but glad to see this conversation is happening.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you! It wasn't an easy video to make, but I think it was worth it in the end.

[@DetournementArc]

Between this, the gratuitous aping of a real world death for YIIK's solipsistic story, and what I've heard about games like Bloober Team's "The Medium" and LKA's "Martha is Dead"; it seems like The Games Industry is SWOLLEN with developers who race for serious subject matter to give their work some kind of gravitas. I feel like more game devs need to get forced to hang out with Shigesato Itoi until they Face Up To God.

[@distraughtlesbian]

i can’t speak to the medium, but i played the demo, and i think martha is dead kind of got blown out of proportion. the particular “interactive cut off your dead sister’s face!

[@noheterotho179]

@@distraughtlesbian (Spoilers for the game ahead if you care) From what I've seen online it's not *just* that scene because honestly, it didn't disturb me at all, neither did the 'cutting a fetus out of your sister' scene or any of the other 'controversial' scenes but I'm very unphased by gore. What I think OP meant is everything *else* in that game, because honestly the plot reads like it was AI generated. You find your dead sister, you pretend to her, you find her mutilated dead boyfriend who was killed by Nazis, you find a letter that says your sister (who faked being deaf?) was pregnant and pretended to be you at the lake so that your mother would beat her to death and then the Nazis kill your father and then you cut out a fetus from your dead sister's stomach and you shoot your mother to death and then find out that you killed your sister on the lake because you have an unspecified mental illness from your childhood abuse where your mother made you eat your dog. See how it contains a plethora of serious subject matter/shocking subjects but doesn't really have a coherent story? I'm not saying you have to dislike the game or that it's objectively bad but it's pretty clear to see that putting a 'btw you had to eat a dog as a child' at the end of a 6ish hour game is blatant shock value.

[@anonymouswind1]

SPOILERS FOR THE MEDIUM: I just finished The Medium and the whole pedophilia thing was REALLY unnecessary. Like if you cut that part out it wouldn't have changed Lily too much as she still had trauma from her mother dying giving birth to her sister (where she had an unhealthy hatred for her afterwards), being a medium herself and constantly being bullied by the other children at Niwa for being "weird". Then tack on the fire and being locked away by her father for over 20 years she would have come out relatively the same. In the game spirit Lily never talks about it except for one instance where she doesn't want to see her abuser but after that it was just pushed aside for the whole Henry thing.

[@tarotsushima3332]

I find it's a pretty bad precedent being set especially with more realistic looking or interactive games where there's a bigger reliance on drumming up controversy for more sales than fleshing out heavy topics and doing better with writing the narrative because Martha Is Dead's story is pretty confusing with all the twists and shocking mechanics that it gets kinda bloated.

[@ghostofpolaris]

Truly if someone wanted to "Explore" dark elements, I feel like the devs absolutely could have gone through a path that would not be exploitive. With such serious topics being thrown in this game, it was horrifying to see how awful they handled it and how much pedophilia and assault were glorified and romanticized along with the suicides in this game. That's primarily what this game is: romanticized exploitation of awful situations happening to people. It doesn't teach "critical thinking" and helping people see "other views". It is absolutely unhealthy and not in an "educational" ways.

[@r_ns7150]

This game gave me an uncomfortable vibe than the others... Great analysis, the developers should condone these behavior as much as possible

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you! And yeah, I really hope the developers will take all the criticism seriously.

[@SamuelBlack84]

Some forms of media have to portray dark themes to bring them to light Life isn't sunshine and roses. Awful things happen all the time

[@gurvysnake]

I'm sorry but One-O-One did a horrible job... “We want players to think critically about this kind of behavior”... Meanwhile they basically endorse it in the game :/.

[@dracomalfoyvevo]

It is extremely suspicious that the developer behind it hides it's name. I watched a playthrough of this game and it feels like one of those people on Tumblr who have werid daddy issues wrote the game. It's just disgusting

[@idgafcadf]

Thanks for approaching this sensitive material so well. The only point I would add with regards to suicide representation in film is that "Wristcutters: A Love Story" does show scenes of suicide attempts (successful and unsuccessful) and the film would be worse for excluding them. Still agree that more comprehensive TW/CW are super important.

[@pimscrypt]

I considered watching that film for this video! Specifically because it was marketed as a romantic story about suicide. Then I completely forgot about it. But yeah, the most important thing is the improvement of CWs I feel.

[@Elly-z7q]

the only slight disagreement i have is Irving he was a ignored kid, his beloved sister was being bullied and someone was finally paying attention to her giving her the "respect" and "love" he believed she deserved like he was so messed up with his life that he didn't see the true horror of what was happening that a grown ass man was "in love" with his sister like I think Irving was slowly figuring out how bad that really was like (he mentioned that he and Nichole were just kids but then he went on to say that they should have done something) the fact that the ending of the game was suicide or madness (?) bitch wheres the third option of saving Irving AND telling the cops the way age gaps are so normalised in society just when a man is with a younger woman BUT reversed older woman with younger man (who remembers when people got pissed when a 50 year old and 40 year old started a relationship but didn't really get that outraged about a 16 year old and a 20+) basically good game the ambience, the story (for the most part) and the voice acting EDITED TO ADD: its amazing how bad the cops were because poor Rachel was murdered with a hockey stick very different wounds from a fall (that happened a little bit after death) also imagine the game without the "romance" between dad and rachel? like imagine if all the creepy drawings and things were planted by Claire (or somebody else) to take the blame off themselves?

[@thesun5275]

they could have kept the romance if they just didn't worship Leonord like a god who could do no wrong. Like irl we see people defend the pedos all the time, especially if the pedo is in the family, if grandpa was touching the grand daughters then oh no, that sucks, anyways don't leave the kids alone but they shouldn't be dressing skimpy. Imagine if this was just Nichole unaware of everything that happened and just the detail that her father was involved with Rachel. Have the whole thing be her slowly learning how sick her father really was and coming to terms with the fact that the man she idolized was a monster.

[@OSCARMlLDE]

If you want to see the biggest stupidest case of brain worms on the internet, check out the steam discussion page for the Suicide of Rachel Foster. I have never seen more people falling over themselves trying to justify and downplay pedophilia. Genuinely disgusting to read. I stand by that I had the ideal experience playing this game. I somehow missed the prompt to pick up Irving's first call in the apartment and spent a joyous hour and a half wandering around the hotel, enjoying the music and trying to piece together a story from item descriptions. The instant I started the actual story, everything immediately started getting worse.

[@mojowwwav4357]

I hate how they just give it a positive review solely based on how beautiful and well designed the hotel is, I'm almost convinced that their positive review is done to spite the people who have an issue with the romanticisation of pedophilia.

[@mojowwwav4357]

@Banni hey man, regardless they contributed to the story telling in their own way, and if that's the case they must have worked on that stupid suicide scene in the car. But sure, let's be generous and say they were oblivious to the story being set in the world they helped build.

[@mojowwwav4357]

@Banni fair enough, I can appreciate the hard work, I just hope they asked for better pay when they realised their name would be attached to such a work.

[@goyjin5676]

@@mojowwwav4357 maybe not everything is about you? You truly are a narcisist if you feel so personally scorned by this video game that you think every bozo who just got it on steam and liked it is doing it just to spite you.

[@LeeroniLee]

The Rachel Foster interview comments I .-. . It's like they started making a game and a story second. It's really one of *thoose* types of games. Games not made to tell a genuine story. But rather designed around general ideas and stories the author themselves liked and wanted to replicate. I can see a lot of story beats and similarities to shows like Broadchurch. Happy Valley, True detective etc etc. It's not made to be empathetic or tell the stories and take you along a mystery. It's made to just shock you because the devs didn't understand why they liked what they liked from the media they borrowed from. Great video tho :) I feel like after thirteen reasons why creators of all kinds have been trying to one up each other in being awful, I'm happy people are talking about it :)!

[@pimscrypt]

I think you might be on to something. And it's not just story beats that feel somewhat tacked on. Like, there are items that you collect throught the game. One is a camera which you use to light up your path while the power is out. Just minutes later you find a flashlight. You still keep the camera in your inventory, but there is not a single time after that where it's required. You barely even need the flashlight after that chapter. It's just an awkward game to play, in more ways than one. And thank you. I'm glad you liked the video! :)

[@GeraldMountaindew]

@@pimscrypt The microphone is the same way.

[@zeroanonymity9736]

The first episode of the BBC show Flowers. It starts with a man walking up a hill, hanging a noose, trying to kill himself, but failing miserably. My own father killed himself, and I had suicidal ideations as a teen, so seeing that was shocking, horrifying, and... relieving. It's a depicted suicide attempt that genuinely needed to be in the show in my opinion. The act and his family's struggle to understand why he tried to do it is the crux of the narrative. Without seeing him in that moment of vulnerability it just wouldn't work.

[@emperorcrown3469]

I finished playing this about an hour ago maybe, really wish I'd done what I'd normally do and check KZbin or Google for reviews. I didn't know what to make of it at the end because I was in so much shock at what I'd just witnessed and heard, but I'd like to thank you for this video because you've really helped put it all into perspective for me. I can gladly say it's no longer a part of my library and I won't be recommending it any time soon. Fantastic video, keep up the incredible work.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you for the kind words! I'm sorry you had to go through all of that.

[@crowk5287]

Blessedly I haven't played this myself, but I did watch a video about it which I guess is why this one also ended up in my recommendations despite being a year old. And I think a LOT about how this game is constantly trying to tell you Rachel was "very mature for her age", then proceeds to show you a recreation of her room which is... very much a child's room

[@DogFlamingoXIII]

One of the endings you can choose in the game "Cyberpunk 2077" is to take your life, rather than suffer the expected slow death or difficult choice facing V and Johnny. It was one of my favorite endings though, despite the fact that I as a survivor could never play it. The reason I really loved it was that the camera pans away from the characters, after they say goodbye, and the sound is heard. It then cuts to the game credits, where you are then given a painfully long list of video calls from all the people in their lives and the reprecussions of their choice. You are given understanding, anger, pain, confusion -- a complete view of what you'd likely leave behind if you do this. I thought that watching it would make me feel terrible, but it actually made me feel much more understanding of what you leave behind. I'm guessing that the game writers did speak to therapists about this outcome before doing it

[@goyjin5676]

As a survivor of suicide? You mean... not killing yourself?

[@strawberrysangria1474]

I've commented on Rachel as a victim before, but it irks me that the suicides aren't true suicides (maybe Leonard's is but it's hard to know). The following deaths are incredibly cult-like as they're killing themselves for someone already dead, or Rachel who is more of a pawn than a child character. It would have made the story so much better if Nicole had to confront the truth of her father's pedophilia while trying to escape Irving who wants them both to die for family's honor. It's dark, it's controversial, but it doesn't make someone like me who was suicidal feel like an "intriguing game mechanic". That said, I don't think they could pull it off. They lack the skill, empathy, and expertise for anything that dark. They completely missed the mark on pedophilia and suicide, no doubt they'd miss the mark on attempted murder-suicide too.

[@goyjin5676]

If something ever makes you, as a person feel like «an intriuging game mechanic» that’s entirely your fault.

[@mellowmallow4855]

The game was realistic in showcasing how the families of predators can be their biggest apologists. Nicole was young when all this happened. She herself admitted that she knew her mother was the murderer and pretended it never happened. Then you have Irving committing unaliving himself in real time, so that didn't help. It would have probably been more digestible if an OUTSIDER was investigating the abandoned hotel. Not a family member. And who knows what the heck Irving witnessed in their household.

[@EveCat2343]

I think you can keep most the game as is, but it would have been good for Irving to be the voice of reason. The whole game he hears her talk about how great her dad was, and how even when faced with explicit evidence of what her father did, she would down play and excuse his actions. When the twist of Irving's identity was revealed, I thought he was going to be the "bad guy", angry that Nicole can't see the monster her father was. It would show that Nicole's stance is the character's beliefs and not the game's, but when Irving says that "it was just love" mixed with not even giving us Rachel's thoughts (I would have added a diary or *something* so we can know Rachel's side of things). It becomes clear that the game wants us to see a tragic love story and not the horrifying reality of what took place.

[@JewTube001]

yup, the characters are both loonies closely connected to the crimes. it's like the shining but with 2 of the crazy protagonists, and with even less side characters to bounce them off.

[@callamastia]

“unaliving” isn’t a word.

[@mellowmallow4855]

@@callamastia it is now since KZbin can be weird about comments sometimes. Better to be safer than sorry.

[@callamastia]

@@mellowmallow4855 i use the word “kill” in comments all the time.

[@snflwrchan8019]

I'm so glad I had trouble running this game on my laptop, gave up and asked for a refund. It's like my laptop knew what's up and said no.

[@gallifrey1212]

I never heard of the game untilI stumbled across a review of it on KZbin. I looked up the game on Steam but honestly didn't expect to find it on there because of the disturbing portrayal of the subject matter but it's there, even now. The summary for the plot is deceptively vague: "Coming back to the family hotel after years, a young woman finds herself trapped with the ghosts from her past and an old cellular telephone as the only way to unveil a terrible truth." The trailer is just as misleading, making the story seem like some sort of supernatural muder-mystery. The game itself is absolutely disgusting with its romanticised depiction of predatory relationships and the gross "sympathy" the devs tried to conjure up for the abuser. Not even Rachel's own brother saw her as a victim of abuse! He says Leonard and Rachel "fell in love." Who the hell even thinks that besides other pedos? I suppose he could have been in denile but I seriously find that hard to believe since he is an adult during the game. I'm pretty sure he would have figured out while growing up what his sister actually went through wasn't "romance" but sexual abuse. This could have been a good game IF the subject matter had been handled properly. I honestly wanted to see Nicole break down at the end and finally ACCEPT that her father was a sick pedophile and her mother was a cold-hearted murderer and victim-blamer. I wanted Rachel's character to get some justice, like Nichole bringing to light what actually happened and bringing peace of mind to herself and Rachel's family and friends. I also wanted some sort of documentation that showed Rachel's perspective on the abusive relationship she had to endure with Leonard. Like it's stated in this video: Rachel has no voice and she's the victim in all of this. Taking away a victim's voice is exactly what an abuser wants. I won't ever buy a game from these devs. Hell, even if they make a free game, I won't play it. I don't want to give my time or money to something made by pedos.

[@mylilbirbsart2735]

with trigger warnings its so easy to have it both ways, you can do the classic disturbing content warning with a button prompt to either see the detailed spoiler list of content or to skip this to not be spoiled, also they can add a 'view content warnings' option in the settings letting players come back to it anytime if they skipped it at the beginning. this was just off the top of my head, im sure there are many other ways to effectively implement more detailed warnings

[@captainbeastwinger4940]

13 reasons why is a good example of what would happen if they showed instead of telling It would've been even worse Because glorification of rape and suicide is just... wrong

[@bananatiergod]

10:02 And this is their first mistake: Seeing it as a type of tragedy. This isn't a tragedy. It's a fucking horror story about a pedophile grooming and impregnating a minor. There's no way to explain it, no place to justify it. This a terrible, horrific action that no sad emotions can excuse and the fact they didn't understand it is beyond me.

[@pineapple3753]

Thank you! I see a lot of loving the game or people defending the developers/ the game saying stupid things like “they don’t condone it they just wanted to make something disturbing 🤓” or “the people that made the game don’t condone it guys chill out 🤪”. My answer to those idiotic statements; It doesn’t matter! People can still not like and disagree with the game’s message! Also the creators of this game made it the story and knew where they were going with this! The whole time they blamed Rachel and made Leonard look like the victim. This kind of shit hurts actual victims! This game should be removed everywhere!

[@goyjin5676]

This game doesn’t hurt anybody. It’s a video game. Why should it be removed because it made you feel bad

[@shinybearevidra]

I saw a longplay of it with no commentary and my brain just shut off. It couldn't compute what was happening and only later rationalized that yes, I had just in fact seen the most disgusting example of a group of people condoning pedophilia.

[@unripetheberrby6283]

Man, those poor good va's having to participate in this.. unknowingly awkward story :(

[@SamuelBlack84]

As long as I was being paid I wouldn't care

[@troin3925]

This is a shame because the atmosphere and sound design were fantastic.

[@magnus1383]

I wish Bioware would add options to just...not see the sex scenes in their romances. They're completely unnecessary and Bioware banking more and more of how thirsty their fandom is get a little uncomfortable.

[@ArchieRatsworth]

It took me four viewings of the Matrix movie to see the relationship and chemistry between Neo and Trinity. The two are very subdued and insular. But I kinda get it. Neo is led out of the dream, into a harsh world of philological debage, extensional threats and impossible expectations and the only one who relates to his struggle is Trinity. She is patient and sympathetic where everyone else is demanding or begging. Look at the elevator scene, where they both steal a moment of human passion, finally able to explore emotion and desire outside the expansion of the matrix. Then the door opens and a crowd is waiting, begging for a messiah. Neo flinches away, frightened of the weight of their desperation and looks to Trinity...who smiles sadly and backs away, willing to surrender him to his destiny even as he begs her to stay by his side. That is their chemistry. Neo wants something real and immediate, like a physical connection, he fears the weight of his fate. Trinity trusts her fate and is willing to savor a few moments of joy before giving everything up to fulfil her purpose.

[@caitlinsnowfrost8244]

As an asexual who is also sex-repulsed, I just have to say I really appreciated your opening discussion on how unnecessary many sex scenes in media are. They've often ruined otherwise perfectly good movies for me, like Batman: Assault on Arkham.

[@goyjin5676]

As a morbidly obese black genetalia attracted person with scoliosis person i really appreciate your furry profile picture. I’m glad this youtuber could make you feel so appreciative for expressing an opinion, you know, you being an asexual who is also sex-repulsed and all that

[@kkins670]

Thank you sm for making this video, I recently played the game and while I did enjoy the relationship between Nicole and Irving in the beginning, the game just ruined it for me with everything else. I really really REALLY wanted to see this game succeed and when it didn't I was so torn...But this video made me feel better so thanks!

[@TBT707]

This game seemed really cool but after seeing that it doesnt really say that Leonard was a pedo i dont want to buy it anymore, Imo if they had went a different direction with this game it would have been better. The graphics are beautiful, but that being said i hate the fact that they never show leonard to be a bad guy.that really bothered me.

[@pimscrypt]

Yeah if there’s anything I actually like with this game it’s how it looks.

[@lucia_kidtech]

As a person that tried to kill myself the way Rachael was blamed for her death and even though it tuns out she didn't kill herself and was in fact murdered, suicide doesn't happen in a void we don't because suicidal on our own it happens because of the people, things and events around us. And let me say, do not kill yourself. Killing yourself will not solve your problems. The voice in your head telling you all those awful things, isn't your voice. You are strong enough to save yourself, to live on and live a full life and do your best to be happy. It makes me so angry to think that anyone thought this game was ok the victim blaming is discussing and gross as hell. I would not be surprised if the developer was a "age is just a number" or "the age of consent is 13 in Japan" type of person. Rachel never speaks, not once in the game. That show's how little developers cared to show "varying narratives" but, they did show us by pure accident. What happened to Rachel, the child's bedroom which even the characters call a child's bedroom shows exactly what happened to her. She was a child who was assaulted not a "muture women beyond her age" or "someone who behaved like an adult"

[@goyjin5676]

As a person with a deeply narcisistic need to make everything about the tragically heroic fairy tale image i have of myself in my head i’m so happy communities like this exist so we can endlessly over indulge in our undeserved self importance. I too have had something bad in happen in my life and experienced negative emotion. That’s why this games writers are so despicably evil. They failed to represent a subject i have personal experience with in a way that i didn’t like. That is just unnaceptable.

[@lucia_kidtech]

@@goyjin5676 are you agreeing with the games that makes apologies for a child rapist's? For a pedofile?

[@amysteriousstranger1221]

@@goyjin5676you seem like a deeply lonely and pathetic person

[@daytonmargramarnsom1641]

Fantastic. Please keep making content like this! I would watch all of your videos

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

[@felixmarlin3178]

You know I guess my thoughts on this kind of thing are so negative that I didn't even consider it being impartial when I played it. Glad I watched this because it really brought to light the issues I hadn't seen before.

[@felixmarlin3178]

Obviously except the ending which was very obviously in terrible taste both ways

[@felixmarlin3178]

Last note, you're channel needs to blow up! Really great content

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you!

[@oussemajebara8976]

I don't understand the hate against this game. For me personally, a disturbing game (or movie or book) is a good work of art. The father's character was horrible for impregnating a 16yo (even if 16 is the consent age for that state) let alone for cheating on his wife, the mother's character obviously was so bad and extremely evil for killing a teenage girl in such a way, even the protagonist girl had such an awful character, self centered and egocentric for a hero game character. Nonetheless these elements (and the rest of the characters and the story) made the perfect combination for me to experience this tragedy in a horror game that is a new genre of horror I think. No jump scares, no vulgarizing screaming or monsters or ghosts, just the reality of life and how horrifying it can be. At no point the game tells you that the father is right, or that you should emphasize with him. Opinions you hear about the father in game are opinions of Irvin, a psychopath that lived in that hotel for years, and opinions of his daughter that is one self centered girl that almost killed herself and then decided to rebuild the legacy of her sick family lol At no point the game tells you to lose yourself to these opinions. And that exactly makes the horror experience more intense, because you feel truly alone in this hotel, where no one seems to have common sense or objective opinions. Not every time the protagonist has to be the 'hero' who saves the day, this kind of 'protagonist' in The suicide of Rachel Foster really works with the story and the experience that we get all along !

[@jrdeborja0000]

same. tbh. but they have a point about their criticism of the elements they pointed out. its probably a miss on the delivery fpr them. i view the entire story as a cautionary tale. BUT. the what if about portraying it better or less edgy, would the game have wprked. who knows.

[@EmoSamara333]

Snowflakes being snowflakes. The game is supposed to be disturbing but that seems to fly over the peoples head. I have no clue where they got the part of father being a good person at all. Feels like hate for the sake of hate. The story for me was very bland.

[@maysheartzz]

i honestly cant believe i even played that game. especially the line when Irving goes “it’s just simple love” or whatever. i absolutely hated every second of that game but i played through till the end and honestly i was baffled by how this game ended.

[@TheAbigailDee]

I just thought and hoped this was going to be some kind of like, point and click moment murder game or something. This was NOT IT! But your analysis IS IT! Well done!

[@disappointeddegenerate3186]

The Steam page makes it seem similar to At Dead of Night, a much better game.

[@violets_drop_seeds]

//slight spoiler One of the worst parts for me is the fact that despite the significance of Rachel Foster (HER NAME IS IN THE DAMN TITLE) she never gets enough recognition or anything. Also, the part when we hear Leonard's point of view, the characters just accept it as all of the information they needed and sympathize with him. Every single thing they tried to execute effectively are flawed and problematic.

[@pastelmoon8506]

I like games like this because the intention is to make you question everything you've been taught to see. It challenges your viewpoint, even though it's clear that you're being manipulated. Far Cry 5 and Spec Ops: The Line did this. It takes horror to a new level because it genuinely makes you wonder if you're the villain. This game makes you wonder if you're the villain for judging them based on societal standards and viewpoints to make you feel like the villain. And when you consider the possibility, you feel like the villain anyway for considering such a horrible point of view. It's creative and difficult to pull off, but when done properly it's more disturbing than any horror game out there.

[@jonaskoelker]

> [when are sex scenes ever plot relevant in movies?] The one in The Terminator is pretty relevant to the plot. ... aaaaand I'm out of examples.

[@osteenvlynne1]

This game honestly should have been called "The Gross Abuse of Rachel Foster." The first time I watched someone play this game I only half paid attention and thought it was a boring mystery game, the second time I really paid attention and couldn't finish the video because I was so uncomfortable about everything. On one hand I wish we got Rachel's view on the other I think this game wouldn't do it truly justice.

[@FrokenKeke]

You're not allowed to uninstall it yet, you haven't gotten all of the achievements!

[@pimscrypt]

But uninstalling it was the greatest achievement of all!

[@paxtonsievert5925]

5:00 Huh, I was under the impression it was meant to draw in people looking for a murder mystery/thriller game, but that's an interesting point

[@SafieLiverpool]

This game feels really insidious personally, because it’s exactly the kind of game I could’ve been tricked into playing. It kinda resembles Gone Home (one of my favorite games), but with a darker tone, a spooky snowy setting, with a mystery to solve, all things I really love. If I hadn’t heard about the left turn of a cliff this game takes and maybe found it on Steam, with its MOSTLY POSITIVE reviews, this definitely *looks* like a game I would play. I just cannot understand what the writers were thinking with the ending, why, WHY did they think “yes, this is the most sensible action these characters would take in this situation”? They don’t even seem like people at this point, just weird little puppets doing what they’re told.

[@dcscruz2970]

I think only good sex scenes are in comics or soap operas where the sex scene is the culmination of the love plot or character relationship we so desperately have been following for episodes. For example, the sex scene in La novela Betty la fea where the sex was used as means for Armando to please Betty and show his duality. More when before it she tells him of her insecurities and bad things that happened to her for her looks which show that these moments are of the authors showing her vulnerability

[@lostythevoid]

Came from Ragnar, stayed for the good content! Gonna go back and watch your other videos as well, already subscribed halfway through the video!

[@pimscrypt]

Very happy to hear, thank you! :D Glad you're watching Ragnar's stuff as well. He's really fricking good!

[@lostythevoid]

@@pimscrypt been following him for a while and consider him a good friend as well! Glad that he's sending me to such good channels as well xD I trust his judgement and he hasn't failed me yet!

[@SamanthaSaunderz]

this is a important video for any game dev and even story teller! i had some serious cringe moments that you explained from this game.....yikes

[@pimscrypt]

Another fitting title for the game would've been "The Many Yikes of One-O-One Games".

[@SamanthaSaunderz]

@@pimscrypt Press E to YIKES

[@sovietvirus9270]

His talk about sex scenes in the beginning of this vid is exactly how I feel about all the porn scenes in Game of Thrones.

[@TheVletHansen]

Considering the topic of visual, detailed depictions of certain themes (i.e., suicide, murder, rape, etc.) I only approve of it's depiction in the media if it's shown specifically and clearly in a negative, repulsing, disturbing and overall unpleasant manner. Yes, like in the movie "I spit on your graves". Because a worrying lot of people romanticize those kinds of things, most of them teens. And showing how unpleasant, grounded and dirty it really is could change their mind on that topic. Of course, this doesn't apply to the game in question, because it very obviously glorifies and romanticizes child abuse, grooming, teen pregnancy and suicide as "noble, true love, the only real ending" and somesort. And it's disgusting in a whole different way that it is in "I spit oh your graves".

[@evamordacq3650]

Great video, thanks ! also i love that you learnt how to pronounce your patreons' names that's very thoughtful ! more people should do that instead of just saying mid name "sorry idk how to say that". youre great !

[@frownyclowny6955]

I love how you highlight the bs idea of trigger warning being there for “snowflakes”. People are different, and just like how people have different tolerance levels for stuff like amusement park rides or alcohol, so too do people have different “graphic media” tolerances. Sometimes, some rides are too scary, rough, or unsettling to get onto. Also, adding detailed content warnings also allows better control and gaming choice for the consumer. If this ride isn’t intended for someone who prefers calmer rides, then don’t try to hide that. Otherwise, that person could get hurt and not enjoy the ride at all. I am not a programmer. I wish I had the mental capacity to understand code and programming languages better, but I’ve always wanted to build worlds through every creative medium under the sun; videos games included. You bringing up content warnings with specific descriptions of what to expect is a genuinely good way of conveying in short yet specific terms what is in a particular game. So if I ever do make a video game, I’ll try and remind myself to include one, even if there’s no real discussion of “graphic media”: simply because content warnings are another way of defining your game and it’s genre. Tl:dr normalize content warnings more and detail why your game needs one.

[@rubywhiterose6888]

Sometimes it’s best tell not show because if you show it may be shocking and disturbing to allot of people.

[@llcdrdndgrbd]

Neo and trinity always seemed to have a younger brother older sister vibe to me

[@sheracovington5877]

There are websites where this game has 4+ stars. I’m disgusted

[@brawler5760]

This is worse than Diablo Immortal…

[@invu_lynn]

What I think is so unnerving is that Rachel is meant to be a teenager in the 80s that wears a retainer. But they used a modern girl to represent her. An image that would make her seem “older”…..

[@aaronmoon1805]

I went through a very similar situation, even having a similar deadname to Rachel, obviously not including the suicide. This game was insanely triggering and I can’t stop thinking about it. I appreciate you covering it so I can process it a little more

[@goyjin5676]

Yes, everything is all about you and your tragic story. I’m so happy our entire online culture is commited to protecting and reinforcing your shallow self obsession

[@aaronmoon1805]

@@goyjin5676 Aw thank you! 💕💕

[@mgzwei1648]

The fact that the devs disabled the supposed ''bad'' ending achievement speaks alot lmao

[@crowdemon_archives]

They, what?

[@pewniipaws875]

@@crowdemon_archives I think another video mentioned the ending but I could've sworn that it was either the car scene or another one in game, I think it was with the radio guy or someone of the sort.

[@itsemmallright]

I nearly lost my life to an edgy joke from the Family Guy where they said enough detail for me to do it.

[@goyjin5676]

That’s too funny

[@oroontheheels]

I remember watching play-trough of this particular game. The moment that brother character started talking about “love” i started getting angry. This whole story feels like “oh they had age difference but they LOVED each other, then BITCHY jealous wife ruined their LOVE, and killed the girl and man killed himself” and also town folks calling out Leonard for p*dophilia feels more like bullying, like it’s a bad thing. Whole game and the way story presented makes me feel like devs expected players to sympathize to predator. And yeah. We don’t have Raichel voice recording, we don’t have her letters, dairy, anything.

[@namkia205]

Love out of cheating isn't love. Even worse when the affair is a freaking kid.

[@oroontheheels]

@@namkia205 who cares is if it’s cheating or not when it’s sexual abuse to begin with??

[@WeskerFoda]

In the first minutes of gameplay i already remembered The Shining

[@SamuelBlack84]

I found this game to be one of the creepiest games I've ever played in terms of the horror themes throughout of being isolated I a deserted hotel in the middle of nowhere. There was a constant feeling of being watched and the fear that something was about to jump out at you from around a corner Especially the haunted room with the door creaking It really does a good job at recreating the atmosphere of the Shining

[@tashibalampkin8555]

I agree. I just finished a watching a gameplay of the game and I thought the game ended terribly. I was so uninterested that I skipped a head. I was like, "This game was so bad."

[@GeekGamerGui]

This game is meant to make you feel uncomfortable. It does not promote child abuse and suicide, it just reveals that this kind of shit happens. As for the brother defending Leonard, it's important to take in consideration that he was still young and could have been easily influenced. The story ends badly for everyone involved as the result of Leonard's actions, so the game definitely does not promote immoral stuff, it just shows the awful consequences without making concessions.

[@DerNiko]

This game was disgusting, I'm sorry. As soon as I got to the end I deleted it from my Switch. What the f*** were the developers thinking? Romanticizing sexual abuse and pedophilia, and SPOILERS Actually making you kill yourself in the end!? WHAT THE FUCK!?

[@bozo4466]

i don’t think they’re deliberately pro-pedo, i think they took a book like lolita where we have an unreliable narrator and to show the power of trust in books and stuff. if i was writing a book and told you the sky was red, you would think in my world the sky is red. What they’re trying to do is show that through lennards eyes it was love. and he has twisted everyone else to think so too. Lennard truely thinks they are in a deep love, but it’s not. He is using his charming nature to convince everyone what they have is genuine and to post the blame on everyone. they just horribly executed this tactic and there isn’t enough build up ot reason for him fo do anything other than pedophrllia for his actions. there is not enough compassion in his character, there is nothing for us to grow to like about him (like in bojack horseman, a bad person who we end up sympathising with) becayse we never see hkm, meet him, or find any sort of explaination behind his actions. this is why what they’re tryna fo by seeing the world through the villains eyes doesn’t work

[@dcscruz2970]

Worse is that in Lolita we are told from the beginning that Humbert memoir is for the jury to go and give him slack. In bojack he gets punished for his bad behavior. Here? No

[@gg1t3k51]

The things that the game done good were the pressure you felt during the game. I mean there was no jumpscare but you were playing the game ready to something that will happen soon. The subject helped that a lot i can't imagine another thing that make you uncomfortable during the game without any horror objects. I didn't played it but when i am watching i was like "oooof" "fuck" "serious?" "are you joking?" and etc. But as i said the thing that made this is the subject. I am not saying "pe.. and su.. thing is good". yeah as you said it kinda wants you to sympathize with it. If the game's aim was the showing the people they are bad (the two thing you know) it will be a good "game" as i say "game". These are the things that exists in our world but somehow we try to escape from them. So if you want to show them in a thing that people will easily can afford, there is no point of showing "each perspective"(they didn't show the true perspective as you said they were all like "ahh okay no problem thats okay"). Because it's not a normal mans job to see and understand how a p. thinks. this is like when you are watching a documentary about lions and the lions eating a deer you will feel okay but if you see that scene in a deer documentary we all be like nooooo don't eat them. the thing i am trying to say is this. The subject choice is not bad for me i am saying that. But the way they use that is bad, very bad.

[@viegas4633]

His hair says it all

[@ivorfoster7466]

Just found your channel today, I really appreciate your perspective and style of presentation! I'll likely subscribe when I'm done writing this. The act of visually depicting suicide is one of the problems I have in a lovecraftian horror game I otherwise am really fond of, The Last Door. It's literally the first thing that you have to do in the game and, while we do get to see the dead character's perspective through notes and flashbacks in the series, it really only served as a startling and unnecessary cold open as we later find the character's body. (There is another example of it happening that at least makes more narrative sense and you don't have to do it yourself, part of conveying the lovecraftian horror I suppose.) I think I used to find the misery of that game cathartic, how the MCs kept going despite the terrible events, but watching a livestream where this very problem came up made me realise just how egregious it was. (The ending certainly doesn't help with this, being ambiguous as to whether the MC will ever recover and lacking any hope whatsoever.) It's odd as the developers implemented accessibility options like a dyslexia friendly font and sound descriptions. Hopefully there are at least content warnings on its purchase pages(?).

[@AntheanCeilliers]

As someone who studies media and writes about media for a living, the belief that sex scenes need justification is what I would consider a common fallacy. Films are spectacle first before they are stories (they were created a s a sideshow for carnivals), that is their function, and sex is a spectacle. Would you look at an action film and ask why there are car chases? Look at a superhero film and ask why there are fights? The same applies to sex scenes, however discomfort with sex makes it feel like it needs more of a justification. There are films whose plot revolves entirely around sex scenes (In the Realm of the Senses comes to mind), and they are often accused of being "plotless" because we are conditioned to disregard sex scenes as meaningless. However, these scenes are merely more complex to read for an audience who aren't used to dissecting them -- they actually do contribute to the plot and sometimes they ARE the plot. The idea that sex scenes are interruptions certainly happens sometimes in some films, however I think that more often people dismiss them out of hand rather than putting in the work to assume they have a meaning and trying to find it. In the case of the Matrix Reloaded, the sex scene isn't about establishing Neo and Trinity's relationship, but instead to further emphasize the difference between the humans and the machines -- which is what the entire point of the Zion dance scene is: it's dirty and muddy and sweaty and very human.. Machines are clean and efficient and unerotic / mankind is messy and irrational and erotic. That has a purpose, whether you liked the scene (or read that purpose) or not. (With that said of course I COMPLETELY agree with you regarding The Suicide of Rachel Foster and appreciate the video a great deal)

[@AntheanCeilliers]

(All that said, even if you totally disagree with me I still completely respect your critical perspective and opinions and wanted only to share my own!)

[@Jenna-in4br]

Buddy, story is 100% more important than spectacles

[@AntheanCeilliers]

@@Jenna-in4br I mean, they both work together, but films exist first and foremost as visual media. Our brains 'experience' film before we process the narrative. Spectacle contributes to that narrative processing. The heart-pounding spectacle of an explosion or car chase affects how we process the narrative being told. The spectacle of a monster in a horror movie or the spectacle of a gorgeous sweeping vista in a romantic drama or the spectacle of a beautiful period costume all affect how we process the story being told. They are inseparable.

[@pimscrypt]

I genuinely appreciate this comment. In retrospect, if there was any part of this video that I would've removed or heavily edited, I would've drastically changed the opening. I still believe that sex scenes could often benefit from being more like in, for example, Sex Education. However, I realize that my original take was uncharacteristically prude coming from me. I still stand by some of the stuff I said about the topic (I, for example, still think that a kiss *can* convey similar information in a quicker and sometimes more efficient way) but I think you're absolutely right in pointing out this fallacy. It's the curse of a video essayist, I think. I'm happy to have learned from my previous videos, but those things that I now regret will always be out there for everyone to see.

[@AntheanCeilliers]

@@pimscrypt I'm glad you understand I wasn't trying to rag on you! I completely agree that sometimes it is entirely misused. Thank you for reading my comment and responding, I appreciate it a lot.

[@Transparencyboo]

The Matrix fuck scene is very important, fight me!

[@pimscrypt]

Debate me on Twitch, Snowflake!

[@eirinym]

On top of everything, it makes zero sense why Nicole would want to die herself after finding this out. Why wouldn't she think to get this information out there? She just wants to believe she can go back to someone like her father in an afterlife she thinks is there? I don't get it...

[@beepboop9750]

This game was just a shit show and honestly highly offensive to me and other victims.

[@goyjin5676]

Tfw a game offends Lara and other victims T-T

[@TheCreepyLantern]

this will SOUND sarcastic, but it's really not. I'd love you to follow up on this with talking about the dumb puzzle game "Squishy the Suicidal Pig" where every puzzle is helping a cartoon pig-man kill himself to sprays of blood. like i'd genuenly be interested in hearing you take your opinions here and applying it to that game

[@beepb00p78]

Okay honestly just about that first part, as an asexual person I have NEVER understood the significance of sex scenes. Every movie I've watched so far that has had one in it brings NOTHING new to the story and does jackshit for moving the plot forward? Why we gotta see that? I just couldn't care less and sometimes I'm kinda grossed out tbh.

[@goyjin5676]

As a hypersexual, pan, twink throdler i think sex scenes are visual gold no matter the medium they are put in and i think every good game, movie and show should have at least 3

[@beepb00p78]

@@goyjin5676 aight that's fair

[@ngrey651]

What about the Wedding Singer? The sex scene with Vince Vaughn tied up on the bed shows how incredibly messed up the woman is, but it also triggers Vince’s interest in her. It completely takes away his control and is also sort of a punishment for being such a colossal jerk earlier in the film who takes advantage of women at their lowest point, because now she’s doing the same to him!

[@beyondthegrave124]

postal 1 was actually scary, unlike hatred which was just edgy(but still fun)

[@dangerszewski9816]

for a great example of when a sex scene is used well: House of Cards, season 1-- they use the aftermath of a sex scene to say a ton about two characters and their relationship, in an instant: they're mature adults, comfortable with one another and very much in love, and they've been in a relationship for some time and are past any shyness or not wanting to be embarrassed. I can't think of a faster way to show all those things except the way they did. That's what GOOD cinema, and games too, can do, use a visual or short scene to pack in a lot of showing very quickly in a way that audience understands, but would actually take a lot longer to tell. When it comes to horror, I think a major psychological thing at play is by play-acting it out we reduce our own fear, we confront our fears. That necessitates a certain amount of graphic nature. The same effect happens with suicide, but in some cases lowering the fear has a very dangerous effect of lowering the barrier. The problem is it's a fear a lot of people have, so the horror function-- confront and examine-- can have a bad influence on a small percentage of viewers. I am not sure that justifies a position you should never go there, but I think it does demand you do so with intention, not just using it for cheap shock effect. Sexual violence is the same way-- it's a SUPER common fear so confronting it in media is common and, arguably, a good thing, but it also touches so many lives you need to engage thoughtfully, especially given the long history of using violence against women as cheap motivation for OTHER people (the classic "women in fridges" trope from superhero comics for instance).

[@ImperialDiecast]

bad writing is how at 7:30 it says how rachel talked and moved like an adult, but later on it is revealed she had dyslexia and a retainer and maybe even a speech impediment and other kids called her the r word.

[@OKHolly]

This was a great review of this game! I fully agree with you on the points you made, especially when it came to the "content warning" at the beginning of the game. It truly doesn't tell you enough to make an informed choice. I thought it would be a point and click murder mystery game. So as I played through it, I got more and more uncomfortable as I realized what the game was really about. And when I got to the ending, I was horrified. The fact that you don't get an achievement for finishing the game unless you let Nicole die? Awful. Skip this game.

[@Tlelkina]

What are your thoughts on Harvesters games? Like Burnhouse Lane or Catlady, that start with suicide of the main character

[@cognizant3252]

I want to leave a comment. But what do I even say? I'm speechless.