That Dragon, Cancer

An age-old question has finally come for video games: how much does authenticity in art matter? That Dragon, Cancer has so many obstacles to being widely accepted: it’s an experimental art game, it’s probably the most overtly religious game I’ve ever played, and of course, there’s the other age-old question of why you’d want to engage with something that’s just going to make you sad. But what it has in spades is authenticity. This is an extremely personal story of a husband and wife grappling with their toddler’s long and tragic battle with cancer. The parents voice themselves, re-enacting their own inner turmoil and not shying away when their thoughts are ugly or irrational. There are segments featuring them interacting with their children, and I can’t tell if they’re re-enactments or actual recordings.

The game exists for them as much as it does for any potential audience, and that calls into question a lot of the rules of game criticism. It doesn’t seem fair to say, “This memorial for your son has wonky mouse controls, and the low-poly graphics don’t always look right.” The game is presented as a series of vignettes, and there are some that I genuinely do not understand in the slightest, but if they make sense to the parents, then who am I to say they don’t belong? There are just as many that made me sit up and think, “Oh shit, I get it,” so the meaning is well-conveyed on average. My issues with the controls may actually be part of the point, as I usually find that the mechanics of most vignette-style games are snatched away just as you’re getting to grips with them. Overall, I think That Dragon, Cancer serves its purpose, but that purpose may not be something you want to spend money on.