I could write an essay on this game and its use of suicide notes. I've mentally drafted the outline multiple times. Maybe I still will at some point. The problem is that my conclusion is a giant shrug. Receiver 2 treats the topic of suicide with as much care as any piece of media I've seen, but that level of care is matched only by how deeply it disturbed me. There's one particular note that felt like it crawled beneath my skin and started burrowing into my marrow. And I still have absolutely no idea what any of this means.

Is it effective? Yes. Is it in line with the game's themes? For sure. Am I reacting this way because of my own history of mental health issues? Maybe! Could the game make the same point without the notes? I don't know. Is it necessary? Again, I don't know. On some level I appreciate that a game has made me engage with such complicated feelings, but I have to stop just short of praise. It leaves me with a messy jumble of thoughts and emotions that I'm incapable of shaping into a single coherent opinion.