10 Small Video Games That Left HUGE Impacts

Created by husband-and-wife team Ryan and Amy Green, That Dragon, Cancer tells their story of raising their terminally ill child, Joel. And the game is just as emotionally gut-wrenching as that premise sounds.

That Dragon, Cancer isn’t a conventional video game. It exists somewhere between the realms of a game and interactive movie. It’s abstract and players will not know what to do in certain sections, but that’s all part of what makes this game work.

This is an incredibly personal project which invites players to experience a tremendously difficult part of the Greens' lives along with them. From devastating lows, glimmers of hope, and the different methods in which the family chose to manage their grief, nothing is held back, and everything is laid bare in all its emotional rawness.

Moreover, the inclusion of the Greens’ voicemail recordings from this period in their lives alongside messages left by those who’ve went through similar hardships lends an unshakable sense of realism to proceedings. It reminds players the emotions are real and allows each section to hit all the harder.

While That Dragon, Cancer can be completed in less than two hours, the impression this game will leave will last a lifetime.