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The depiction of child sexual abuse and Rachel and Leonard's relationship was lambasted; some critics argued it was romanticized. Watts criticized the portrayal of Leonard and Rachel's relationship for being presented in a romantic light, Rachel's lack of [[agency (philosophy)|agency]] in the story, and the lack of sensitivity afforded to the handling of child abuse, arguing the game to sensationalize the topic; alongside suicide.<ref name="PC Gamer"/> ''[[NME]]''{{'}}s Vikki Blake denounced the portrayal of Leonard and Rachel's relationship for making players sympathize with their "romance" and believed the developers failed in making the game's audience to consider its topics.<ref name="NME"/> Bell criticized the framing of Rachel as a "[[star-crossed|star-crossed lover]]" instead of an abuse victim, and how neither the characters nor the narrative acknowledge Leonard as a pedophile.<ref name="RPS"/> Evans-Thirlwell, while acknowledging that how the characters reflect on the relationship is not necessarily indicative of the developers' viewpoints, criticized the characters' and narrative's framing of Leonard's abuse.<ref name="Eurogamer"/>
The handling of suicide, particularly Nicole's attemptinteractive tosuicide killattempt herself atduring the endending, was also criticized. Bell argued that the game does not handle suicide "frankly[,] sensitively[,] or in a meaningful way", also stating thatdescribing Nicole's suicide attempt isas random and "isn't even [un]earned through what the game does up until that moment".<ref name="RPS"/> Blake dislikedcriticized the ending and the developers' decision to have Nicole potentiallytry committo suicidekill herself, arguing that it contrasted with her earlier characterization;, she also criticized itand for making players complicit in someone's suicide attempt.<ref name="NME">{{cite web |last1=Blake |first1=Vikki |title=Video Games Should Cover Mature and Evocative Themes – But They Have to Do It Right |url=https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/video-games-should-cover-mature-and-evocative-themes-but-they-have-to-do-it-right-2764028 |website=[[NME]] |publisher=[[BandLab Technologies]] |access-date=August 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811121639/https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/video-games-should-cover-mature-and-evocative-themes-but-they-have-to-do-it-right-2764028 |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |date=September 29, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Academics Myfanwy King, Tim Marsh, and Zeynep Akcay argued that ''Thethe Suicide of Rachel Foster''game discusses "several sensitive topics poorly", withespecially suicide being the most prominent.{{sfn|King|Marsh|Akcay|2021a|page=144}} TheySpecifically, arguedhow thesuicide gameis employs suicideemployed as a plot device that existsused solely for [[shock value]], which theydetracted believedfrom "detract[ed]the from [its]game's "potential to tell an emotional story".{{sfn|King|Marsh|Akcay|2021a|page=144}} SpecificallyMoreover, they criticized the ending for forcing players in the position of a character that wishes to commit suicide—Nicole—withoutsuicide without offering any "viable alternative or chance to get help",{{sfn|King|Marsh|Akcay|2021a|page=144}} arguing that Nicole's decision to kill herself is an "outcome that feels underserved and insensitive",.{{sfn|King|Marsh|Akcay|2021b|page=160}}
===Accolades===
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