The advertisements for the game didn't mention it at all. But as soon as the game starts I was like "Wait is this Whidby Island"?
Which actually kind of backfired on me since for work I had to regularly drive through Whidby late at night. Some of the games monsters were hard not to think about alone at 3 AM. 😂
Technically it’s set in Washington, but fictional Bright Falls is based on Snoqualmie WA, North Bend WA (similar to Twin Peaks) and then also Crater Lake OR
If that's what the devs said, sure. But the game does literally start with you taking a ferry to an island which always see very whidby/orcas/san juan.
But I'll admit to my bias, I was driving through whidby at night on a regular basis when I played the game so they always seemed linked to me.