Screenshots
6About The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable is a first person exploration game. You will play as Stanley, and you will not play as Stanley. You will follow a story, you will not follow a story. You will have a choice, you will have no choice. The game will end, the game will never end. Contradiction follows contradiction, the rules of how games should work are broken, then broken again. This world was not made for you to understand. But as you explore, slowly, meaning begins to arise, the paradoxes might start to make sense, perhaps you are powerful after all. The game is not here to fight you; it is inviting you to dance. Based on the award-winning 2011 Source mod of the same name, The Stanley Parable returns with new content, new ideas, a fresh coat of visual paint, and the stunning voicework of Kevan Brighting. For a more complete and in-depth understanding of what The Stanley Parable is, please try out the free demo.
- Genres
- Adventure
- Followers
- 0
Player reviews
A quiet favourite
Roger Ebert once said that video games cannot be an art form, because they "by their nature require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control." This game shows how video games can be an art form not despite player choice, but BECAUSE of it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The Stanly Parable is, at it's heart, a parody of Video Game (and general) narration tropes. However the point the Stanley Parable tries to make is that narration, as done in most other linear mediums, can't (and furthermore SHOULDN'T) be handled the same way in video games, because the player controls the action and pacing (and sometimes the outcome) of the story in video games. even in completely railroaded and highly linear First-Person Shooters you can still decide to just stand in a corner for 10 hours and not do anything, which would obviously break up the narrative flow of any story. The Stanley Parable instead delivers a reactive story, one that adapts to any and all choices the player makes. You can decide to follow the narrator's instructions and get a totally boring and clichéd ending, or you can decide to stand in the broom closet for 15 minutes and look at a bucket. Both are narrated. In Short if you are interested in a game that's NOT just a AAA linear movie-esque railroad, but want to see a game that perfect utilizes it's medium, this game is for you.
- Graphics4.5
- Gameplay4.5
- Story4.0
- Value4.5
Still thinking about it
After playing The Stanley Parable for a while, Stanley decided that he enjoyed it so much that he had to write a review. He would carefully deconstruct his experience and share his unique view and opinions in tremendous detail, until he finally summed it all up with a simple "Thumbs up" gesture. Proud of his critique, Stanley confidently clicked the "Post review" button and -
- Graphics4.5
- Gameplay4.5
- Story4.0
- Value4.0
Stanley read this review and moved his cursor over to the "Add to Cart" button
Stanley read this review and moved his cursor over to the "Add to Cart" button. Stanley clicked the button, inputted his credit card details, and bought the game. Stanley rated this review as helpful.
- Graphics4.5
- Gameplay4.0
- Story3.5
- Value4.0
Own this game?
Claim it to take over the official profile — verified badge, editable media and the developer dashboard.
Comments0
Played The Stanley Parable?
Rate it across graphics, gameplay, story and value. Your review helps other players decide.
No comments yet — be the first to say what you think about The Stanley Parable.