thatgamecompany has launched Dear Van Gogh, a new interactive experience inside Sky: Children of the Light. The update lets players step through playable recreations of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings while learning about the family support that helped preserve his work.
Dear Van Gogh is available now through Sky on iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam.
Van Gogh’s Paintings Come to Life
Dear Van Gogh turns several of the artist’s best-known works into playable 3D spaces. Players move through painterly fields, night skies, and other scenes built around Van Gogh’s brushwork and use of color.
The experience follows key points in his life, from early uncertainty to his time in Paris and the fragile final years of his career.
A Story About Support
Rather than focus only on Van Gogh as a lone artist, Dear Van Gogh centers on the people who believed in him.
The story draws from the letters between Vincent and his brother Theo, showing their bond through doubt, ambition, and loss. Theo’s wife, Johanna, also plays a major role, with the experience showing how she helped promote Van Gogh’s paintings after his death.
thatgamecompany CEO and Creative Director Jenova Chen said the team wanted players to feel what it means to be believed in during moments when you cannot believe in yourself.
Painting With Other Players
Dear Van Gogh also uses Sky’s shared play structure. Players can use a brushstroke mechanic with others to bring color and light back into the paintings.
After finishing the experience, players can reflect on what they saw and share what moved them.
Dear Van Gogh is available now in Sky: Children of the Light.
