That Dragon, Cancer

 PC
User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 104 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 104
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 104
  3. Negative: 30 out of 104

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  1. bjadams
    Jan 13, 2016
    5
    This project had so much potential. It could have been another Papo & Yo. However it's more of a flyby with little interaction here and there rather than a "game". There are no real puzzles to solve. It's great as a story, telling the loss of a child, but as a game, it does not really justify the price tag.
  2. GreenMachineG
    Jan 12, 2016
    6
    That Dragon, Cancer is an emotional voyage through the eyes of game creator Ryan Green and his wife as they slowly lose their young son to cancer. The journey is such a soul-crushing and heartfelt sentiment, and evokes all sorts of emotion into the player. The game is well written, well-paced, and overall really well done.

    My biggest issue with the game, and I really tried to get past    That Dragon, Cancer is an emotional voyage through the eyes of game creator Ryan Green and his wife as they slowly lose their young son to cancer. The journey is such a soul-crushing and heartfelt sentiment, and evokes all sorts of emotion into the player. The game is well written, well-paced, and overall really well done.

    My biggest issue with the game, and I really tried to get past it, were the bugs and glitches. Several times I found myself losing sound, or having to re-start because the game would freeze up. I even hit a glitch where the beginning of the 3rd scene wouldn't continue because a visual cue wouldn't trigger, and no matter what I did I couldn't get the game to continue. Luckily, you can skip from scene to scene and I was able to continue past the 3rd scene altogether.

    Other than that the game features a neat polygonal art style, and cool point of view work, where you are constantly switching from who or what you are seeing the story unfold. The game uses point and click to do everything, include walk around (no WASD used), which was okay. If you get past the technical issues, and just take the emotion beat for beat as you go along, this story will touch you, and for anyone out there that has lost someone to cancer this game will take you right back to that time. The story and dialogue are out of this world, and some of the ideas are so out of the box that you have to give it a good thumbs up in those departments.

    I would definitely recommend everyone give this a play-through, and with proceeds going to charity there is no good reason not to try it. Well done Nominous Games!

    7.2/10    … Expand
  3. gamereviewes781
    Jan 15, 2016
    5
    This game is really interesting. Yet, it fails because of its lack of interaction that we get from the plot. I do get that this is an exploration game but I wish there would be different outcomes. The plot was also ridiculous. Graphics are okay (mediocre). I just don't really like this game. I don't feel like playing this game once more which is a major thing to consider. I tried my bestThis game is really interesting. Yet, it fails because of its lack of interaction that we get from the plot. I do get that this is an exploration game but I wish there would be different outcomes. The plot was also ridiculous. Graphics are okay (mediocre). I just don't really like this game. I don't feel like playing this game once more which is a major thing to consider. I tried my best to stay positive when I played the game but this is my final grade. 5/10… Expand
  4. Hadzi
    Jan 14, 2016
    7
    This is a game but it's more like a storybook. This game has it's great storytelling which is emotional. It really sends a powerful message. The game itself would have a lot lower ratings if it wasn't to this storytelling and message it sends because it has a ton of bugs and glitches, The story is about a loss of a child viewed trough eyes of his parents which is just soul-crushing,This is a game but it's more like a storybook. This game has it's great storytelling which is emotional. It really sends a powerful message. The game itself would have a lot lower ratings if it wasn't to this storytelling and message it sends because it has a ton of bugs and glitches, The story is about a loss of a child viewed trough eyes of his parents which is just soul-crushing, heartbreaking, terrible event that nobody should experience. Game is well written and a great idea but it lacks in execution. This review is one of my hardest because the game is bad but story and message that it sends are powerful. Basically you don't know what to say or write about this game… Expand
  5. moonlaba
    Jan 17, 2022
    7
    어떠한 감동, 극적인 충격을 기대하긴 했다. 하지만 이건 실화였고 그런 감동이나 반전은 없었다. 그저 한 가족의 담담한 현실을 옮긴 작품이었다. 어쩌면 그래서 더 좋았지만 지루한 부분이 없었다면 그건 또 그거대로 거짓말..

Awards & Rankings

100
#100 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
92
#92 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 39
  3. Negative: 1 out of 39
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 12, 2016
    80
    Daunting, exhausting and consuming confession of parents about living with the knowledge of inevitable death of their young son does not offer the challenge in terms of gameplay, but empathy. [Issue#262]
  2. GameSpew
    Apr 9, 2016
    100
    It expands the boundaries of what peoples’ idea of video games are; they’re not just sadistic shoot ‘em ups or mind-numbing ridiculousness. Sometimes they’re real life; they’re heartbreaking and devastating. If for no other reason than that, That Dragon, Cancer deserves your attention.
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  3. games(TM)
    Mar 8, 2016
    80
    All that needs to be known is this is a beautiful, affecting and emotionally challenging title that acts as a truly fine love letter and monument to a lost loved one. It will open eyes and it will help people with their very real grief, and because of that it is a success.
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