she came from the fog

Note that this review will discuss both games in the Car 13, Seat 26 project.

If you squint, “the train will pass you by” and “she came from the fog” are decidedly similar. While told from different perspectives, each is about a character who, for a brief moment, is able to consider a world that is different from their own. In the former story a first person narrator longs for the escape of a nearby train. This train comes close to the narrator, but it never stops. In the latter story second person narration describes something resembling a romantic encounter that is doomed to last. In short, both stories are about a temporary escapism. I must admit that I find myself partial to the approach “she came from the fog” takes to telling this narrative. While the details of she who came from the fog are bizarre and impossible, the drama following two intimate characters with misaligned intentions provides a compelling narrative grounding to the rest of the story.

Both pieces are short and present interesting ideas. It is only after stating this that I feel comfortable noting that I wished some of these ideas could have been developed further. I find the general sentiment expressed in “the train will pass you by” relatable, but I’m unsure as to whether that’s a good thing for the work. The relative sparseness of concrete details about the village and about what is holding the main character back cause these experiences to feel oddly universal as opposed to feeling specific, but this may just be a consequence of the piece’s short length.