Mystery and Intrigue in The Stanley Parable

From HonestDragon

Another game I had the pleasure to play for Indie Month is one of the more unique titles I have seen. The Stanley Parable offers players the chance to see how much they will follow the game's instructions or completely take things into another direction. From the shoes of Stanley, you will have many choices to make in this game. Obey or rebel? Follow or lead? Please or anger? The choice is yours. This is The Stanley Parable.

Inside the mundane, yet surprisingly fulfilling life of Stanley, you find a mystery that leaves Stanley completely bewildered. His once simple existence as a keyboard typer has taken a turn for an odd circumstance. His directions on his computer are gone. His coworkers have disappeared. What has happened to Stanley's workplace that he enjoyed going to? Well, that's where you come in, dear gamer.

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From the get-go, the Narrator (voiced brilliantly by Kevan Brighting) tells in detail what is going on in the story. He gives specific directions of where Stanley is to go and do; however, there is always a time for the player to offer a twist. This is where the fun begins. How far are you willing to follow the Narrator? Will you comply unconditionally or veer off a bit? Will you absolutely be a rebel for a cause and tear the story apart?

From your first-person viewing of this story, you take control of Stanley and move about his workplace. The lifeless void of the office space leaves a feeling of utter isolation, but the Narrator accompanies you throughout the entirety of the game. Once the story begins, you have the chance to make your choices. Even from your first choice of going through the right door or left door, you can set the tone for where the story will go. Sometimes you don't have to do anything and the Narrator will most likely comment on your inactivity.

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Gameplay is simple. You move around and click to interact with some objects. The main attraction comes from you (as Stanley) going with the flow of the story or going against the grind. As a result of your ability to choose whatever you want to do, you can go through multiple endings. In my playthroughs, I managed to unlock nine endings. All of them are rather humorous, but it's worthwhile to check them all out.

The clever writing and choice system makes The Stanley Parable shine. Even though Stanley doesn't have any dialogue, his ability to make the Narrator go through many emotions through action alone is often hilarious.  The Narrator can be either your best friend or your worst enemy. The replay value comes from being able to experience new endings and take multiple paths in your playthroughs. Give The Stanley Parable a shot. It's on Steam right now. Enjoy the writing and the laughs that come with it.

Day 18 | Galactic Cafe

[randomass171]

Let it be stated right here that Kevan Brighting is one of the best voice actors ever. His delivery in this game is hilarious! :D

[Derekvinyard13]

I need to experience the endings in this game. Dragon says he found nine. NINE ENDINGS!

[BiggCMan]

You should see Heavy Rain!! Hahaha.

[MrxDeath]

:) this game have a lot of endings !!
and Kevan Brighting has a perfect voice

[beepbopadoobop]

I love games with lots of choice throughout

[dictionary]

I've read many good things about Stanley Parable and its narrator

[shadowvisa]

cool

[oasdada]

the coding and level design of this game was out of this world...! and the narrator... man he gets in ur head!!

[ichizon]

The Stanley Parable is simply amazing. I know it received some criticism from people who bought it and thought it wasn't a game, because you can "finish" it in under 5 minutes. They simply don't understand it.

I had a very good times going through the various routes in the game. It's like a choose your own adventure with seamless route changes. I guess that it could have been larger/longer, without playing the silly 4 hour game, but I have no complaints about it.

[MightyNoX]

Nice.

[XtraTrstrL]

Good voice for the narrator.

[SpeedDemon]

Never heard of this game until now, seems to have got some high critic reviews.

[LukeFair]

In my first play i'm going to choose the rebel path. I'm curious to see what will happen after

[pyrocloud7]

I hate to spoil anything, but I will say what ultimately happens most of the time that you defy the narrator is a very interesting study on human nature.

[BiggCMan]

I do love these types of games, I need to get on this ASAP!

[paulogy]

I love that we exist in a time where interesting games like this are made :-)

[rambi80]

i just loved this game cause it rewarded disobedience....also the baby thing(no spoilers)

[Disagree]

sounds fun and mysterious

[BenTheWicked]

I absolutely love that they disguise the concept of obedience and authority with humor. This game says so much about both subjects, yet through the use of humor, players get the opportunity to explore their submissive and rebellious nature without fear of punishment. Are there any other games that give and react to player freedom like this?

[Snowb420]

Looks interesting. Wish I had a bigger gaming budget.

[dota2champion]

This game was on Steam Summer Sale for $5.99; you should of gotten it during that time

[Snowb420]

Unfortunately, the summer sale came at a time that I had to use my extra cash for something else.

[Monster_Tard]

So what genre would this game fall under, puzzle?

[dota2champion]

narrative-driven, would that be consider a genre?

[coolbeans]

Walking Simulator is what I would use. Depending on how you would define "game," it might be considered a non-game.

[dota2champion]

I'm hoping the next game you guys released will be on par if not better than The Stanley Parable.

[Pixolator]

Any plans of releasing this game on different platforms?

[CrimsonAzure]

Most Indie games have some kind of mind-boggling stories, and I've enjoyed all of those. I'm in.

[Virtua_Awesome]

Thanks for the write-up, HonestDragon! With so many choices to make, to go with or against the narrator, and so many endings to see, this game just sounds wonderful :)

[nunley33]

I need to play this game, it looks fun!

[MisterAV]

First person, wonderful narrator and a strange place.. remmebers me of portal 2!

[LostFlock]

the writing in this game is fantastic and funny as hell. Love it.

[MasterofMagnetism]

Will definitely check this out.

[gobluesamg]

I might have to see what it's like to be Stanley.

[RexDD]

Man I really want to play this now.

[MYDEATH21]

To me this game is shaping up to be awesome

[coolbeans]

The Stanley Parable may still rest atop the best of the best of 2013 for me (from what I've currently played).

Yeah, yeah pretentious hipster indie cred and all...but I think the basic concept of the game is so interesting.

[grashopper]

I really like the voice acting. The whole package seems very polished. Quite impressed.

[Mokastro]

Love the setting & the narration. Very nicely done. Always have this nagging feeling that there is more to be discover, after completing much of the available routes. LOL, reminded me FEZ's there is always still Stones left unturned.