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Review
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.
Comments on this review
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Hi! Normally I don't respond to reviews and such on IFDB, but I know I won't be writing a postmortem of any sort for Car 13, Seat 26, so I think this might be my chance to clarify something about the intentions and such behind what's going on here. Spoilered for those who won't want to see it - if you haven't read the two yourself or don't want it to color your experience, don't unspoiler the following, thank you.
(Spoiler - click to show)The narrators of the train will always pass you by and she came from the fog are, in fact, the same person. The She coming from the fog is more or less a personification of a concept of a city, while trains and tracks are mostly there as more or less metaphorical presentation of opportunities for a better life. the train... is heavily based on the mindset I used to have after pandemic essentially destroyed my ability to attend university and condemned me to staying home in my small village. So the narrator is in a similar situation - something beyond their control happened and now, they're stuck, unable to get back to the life they used to have. This is why in she came from the fog they say that fate isn't on their side, why She appears and disappears on the tracks, why She's on a train, and why the narrator talks about seeing her on the tracks when they go on their walks and dreams of not being able to follow Her along said tracks. Guess it all kinda connects together when you read it as one thing, but it's still distinct enough to be read as separate stories.
