The Stanley Parable

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DaHeckIzDat
Posts: 1997
Joined: April 9th, 2015, 1:41 pm

The Stanley Parable

Postby DaHeckIzDat » March 23rd, 2020, 9:27 pm

I really don't like walking simulators. I may be a story fanatic, but even I'm not interested in a "game" with no gameplay. That being said, if you're going to make one, make it like The Stanley Parable. No, you're not doing much besides walking and listening, but it has three things that something like What Became of Edith Finch doesn't: simplicity, player interaction, and freaking sense of humor.

You are Stanley, a boring guy with a boring job in a boring office. But when his coworkers all mysteriously vanish and a smooth talking voice begins narrating his life, Stanley has to...well, I won't give it away. Suffice to say that the entire game can be beaten in a matter of minutes, and there are nineteen endings. Player choice drives the narrative, deciding whether or not to obey the narrator. And like I said, the game is funny. Listening to the narrator get more and more pissed off as you do the exact opposite of what you're told is hilarious. You're able to screw the story up so badly that even he doesn't know what's going on.

The only problem is that completionists are in for a world of hurt if they want to get all 19 endings, because there is one that's so ridiculously convoluted and time consuming that people have resorted to writing programs to go through the steps for them for the FOUR FREAKING HOURS it takes to achieve it.

I played Stanley Parable for maybe two hours, got a good laugh, and now I'm pretty sure I'm never going to touch it again. Pick it up for free on the Epic store for the next couple days if you're interested.

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velcrozombie
Posts: 610
Joined: April 12th, 2015, 3:37 pm

Re: The Stanley Parable

Postby velcrozombie » March 24th, 2020, 12:00 pm

I put about 90 minutes into this game back around 2014-5 and got maybe six of the endings. I never read anything about it so I didn't know about the number of endings or the crazy means to get one of them - I think I got it based on Yahtzee's recommendation (pretty sure it was his number one game the year it came out). I can't comment on walking simulators as a genre since this is only I've ever played (although I do have a few others from various bundles I've purchased through the years, such as Dear Esther and Gone Home) but this one is clever and imaginative (and genuinely funny at times, as @DaHeckIzDat said) and the endings diverge wildly in mood from ironic jokes to depressing to life-affirming. It feels like the type of game everyone should play at least once since there doesn't seem to be anything quite like it - I wouldn't mind going back to it one day to see if it can surprise me some more.

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Retro STrife
Posts: 2530
Joined: August 3rd, 2015, 7:40 pm

Re: The Stanley Parable

Postby Retro STrife » March 24th, 2020, 2:32 pm

I've heard good things about this one. Game Informer recently ranked it at #204 on their 300 Best Video Games of All-Time. That's what first drew my attention to it. But it was only released on PC and I haven't played a game on my PC in like 10+ years. Maybe I'll make an exception.

But hey, don't sleep on What Remains of Edith Finch. I liked that one. It was #224 on Game Informer's same list, and it elevates itself above the usual "walking simulator" field. More interactive than most too, and a pretty good story. I had fun with it and it was one of the few games I've played that my wife actually enjoyed watching. See here: https://videogamecritic.com/forums/view ... 12&t=16698


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