Fears to Fathom - Norwood Hitchhike is a horror game and the second entry in the Fears to Fathom series developed and published by Rayll. The game was released on Steam for Microsoft Windows on January 6, 2022.
In the second episode of Fears to Fathom, you play as Holly Gardner, a 19-year-old who was driving back home from a gaming convention, as the traffic got horrible she decided to take the long way to avoid the traffic which leads to an unplanned trip to a motel. Little did she know what was going down in the Norwood Valley.[1]
Plot
June 16, 2010
Returning home from a gaming convention, teenager Holly Gardner opts to take the forested back roads to avoid heavy traffic on the highway. Driving in the middle of the night, Holly stops at a gas station to refuel her dad's car but is warned by the attendant that if she sees a girl in a white or blue gown to keep driving. After filling up on gas, Holly continues her drive home but is forced to stop after finding the road blocked large logs that seem to have been intentionally put there.
Despite moving both logs off the road, Holly is suddenly unable to start the car and is unable to call for help due to having no cell phone service. Holly is reluctantly forced to hitchhike and is eventually picked up by a man named Jason, a man she had met earlier at the gas station. He gives Holly little time to pick her stuff up and put it in the trunk. Jason drops Holly off at a motel called the Roadway Inn that also offers roadside assistance but warns her to be careful of strangers before leaving.
June 17, 2010
At 12:08 a.m. at the motel lobby, Holly pays the manager Joe for a room for the night and for the roadside assistance. Joe gives Holly the key to Room 9 and arranges for his employee Tommy to take care of Holly’s car the next morning but warns her not to wake the other guests. Holly enters her room but is shocked to find a man in her bathroom who turns out to be Tommy, who tells her to grab her stuff as he finishes cleaning the room. Tommy assures Holly that he’ll get her car in the morning but tells her that the room’s phone isn’t working before leaving.
Feeling uneasy about the events during the night and her current situation at the motel, after an unknown man spies her, Holly opts for a cup of coffee from a vending machine in order to stay awake. However, the coffee instead sedates Holly, and she begins losing consciousness, but she manages to return to her room before passing out. An unidentified man hides in Holly's closet when she is knocked out. Holly later waking up and to be confronted by Joe, who accuses her of making noise and disturbing other guests. Holly brings up her experience with the coffee machine but is told that the motel doesn’t have one. Holly becomes further disturbed when she attempts to show Joe the machine, only to find it is no longer there.
Growing increasingly frustrated with Holly, Joe orders her to go back to the room and stay there but tells her to check the table by the television. Holly finds a bottle of pills in the table drawer that she takes with some water before returning to bed. Later, a strange man comes by the room and attempts to get Holly to open the door by asking for help. The strange man becomes increasingly aggressive after Holly asks him to leave and begins breaking down the door. Holly quickly hides in the closet before the strange man breaks into the room and begins looking for her. As the strange man is searching the room, Holly can do nothing but watch until Joe arrives and ambushes the strange man.
Despite everything that happened, Joe opts not to contact the authorities, feeling that it would negatively affect the hotel’s reputation. Holly comes to believe that the town was home to a cult or drug ring and leaves as soon as Tommy returns with the car. After that night, Holly opts to never go on long road trips again, only traveling to any future conventions by plane.
There are several points in the game where the stalkers have followed Holly from start:
At about 100 meters away from the gas station, you can see a very suspicious looking man walking into the forest. This suspicious man happens to be the stalker in blue.
When at the gas station, you can see a man, the stalker in blue, tamper with Holly's car, and proceed to drive off.
In the opening driving section, the car that overtakes Holly and speeds off has a hand poking out of the trunk.
The car that overtakes Holly, with that hand poking out of the trunk, happens to be in the parking lot of the motel. If you position yourself next to the trunk, you can hear breathing. Later on in the game, the trunk is opened, but with no one or anything inside. It's revealed that the stalker dressed in white who breaks into Holly's room, was the one hiding in the trunk, confirming that there were two stalkers.
The other stalker, dressed in blue, is staying in one of the motel rooms and can be spottted at some point in the game:
Walking into the forest just before you reach the gas station.
When he's running into his room after watching Holly through her room's window.
When Joe, the manager, is at Holly's motel's room door asking why is she making so much noise.
When at the gas station, if you throw too many items off the shelves, the cashier will threaten to call the cops.
Just outside of room 4 there is a red car. When the trunk of the car is closed, you can hear quiet breathing noises.
In the TV of motel, we can see "Superman the Mechanical Monster" of 1941.
Miscellaneous
This game got a 7.6 out of 10 on IGN.
The stalker will ambush Holly in the following non-scripted events which can be avoided if the player is careful enough:
Checking the cupboard after waking up from spiked coffee-induced sleep. One of stalkers are hiding there.
Trying to open the door to confront the stalker who attempts to enter Holly's room head on.
Hiding in the bathroom instead of closet.
Being noisy in the closet.
Joe wears the same shirt as the Gas Station cashier.
The vending machine in the gas station has snacks that can boost Holly.
At about 100 meters before Holly reaches the gas station, a suspicious looking man can be seen walking through the woods on the right.
As usual, the player can only bring two items; so bring them, throw them in your room then, repeat it twice.
This is the first entry which...
... features antagonists who talk to the protagonist outright
... features an antagonist group
This is chronologically the last episode of Fears to Fathom.
