Whose eyes will you see the road through?
The Shadows That Run Alongside Our Car is a visual novel created by Lox Rain released on August 19, 2016.
The game follows two strangers during the zombie apocalypse, driving down a road after leaving an abandoned gas station. The characters' pasts are shrouded in mystery and it is up to the player to reveal the story of them.
The Shadows That Run Alongside Our Car contains examples of:
- Alcoholic Parent: Shelby's dad was this before the apocalypse.
- Ambiguous Ending: The neutral endings for either character where Shelby doesn't turn into a zombie — the car is broken down, but they can still continue on in the morning.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Shelby's dad turned sometime before the game started. Shelby also turns in the bad ending.
- Batter Up!: This was how Shelby killed her dad. She even still has the bat in the trunk of the car.
- Blood from the Mouth: A single line of blood pours from Shelby's mouth after she turns.
- Downer Ending:
- The car has run out of fuel, with the next gas station god knows how far away. Even worse, Shelby will probably die from the bite in her sleep and kill Dustin. Even if Dustin is warned about her infection, there's a chance he might not have enough time to put her down or escape if she turns while he is asleep.
- The bad ending. Shelby succumbs to the infection in the car with Dustin, and it is heavily implied that Dustin is killed by her.
- Dying Alone: Discussed among the protagonists, particularly the idea of regretting what they spent their lives doing.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Both protagonists have shades of this in their respective routes; Dustin because he feels like he didn't do anything with his life, Shelby because she spent too much time working and has not told Dustin that she's infected.
- No Periods, Period: Averted. Shelby refers to this while comparing it to the pain she feels from the bite on her stomach.
- Mood Whiplash: An In-Universe example crops up when Shelby turns on the radio. It turns out the only station that isn't playing static is playing one mariachi song on repeat.
- Posthumous Character: Shelby's dad.
- The Ghost: Zombies are never actually seen in this game, only mentioned. The only zombie we see is Shelby in the bad ending, where she turns after succumbing to her bite and is implied to eat Dustin.
- Secretly Dying: Shelby, after being bitten. She can confess this to Dustin in her route.
- Zombie Apocalypse: The setting of the game.
