Otter Byte Review: "The Stanley Parable"

The Stanley Parable

New, but not Revolutionary

80/100 (B-)

Positives:

• Spot-on humor and voice acting
• Distinctive style that sets the stage for plenty of emotional twists
• More than a dozen endings, providing plenty of replay value

Negatives:

• Hard to truly consider a "game", plays more like an interactive movie
• $15 price tag fairly steep for such a short game
• Some endings nearly impossible to discover without using Google

The Stanley Parable is a game that is difficult to review or offer true critique of, partially due to the nature of the game itself. It is what might be described as an "anti-game". It's a game without the gameplay, if that really means anything. 

I have played through the entirety of The Stanley Parable and I have completed every possible ending the game offers. While I have completed all of the endings, I would not say I  have "beaten" the game. The Stanley Parable is a game that can't truly be beaten. You can experience all of the possible endings, but you really don't reach any set "goal". Instead, this particular game is about experiencing the consequences of minor decisions that you, the player, have control over. 

One of the main selling points of The Stanley Parable is the way it toys with the player's views on choice within a video game. As you make decisions of varying magnitude, a different narrative unfolds before you; yet despite the numerable choices given to you as the player, you are ultimately confined to a set number of endings, regardless of what you  end up choosing in the end. In this way, The Stanley Parable cheekily dismantles its own facade and lets the player see what happens when a player wants to make a choice the developers didn't account for.

Additional praise is in order for the impeccable voice acting and excellent writing, not to mention the top-notch atmosphere and environments. Going into The Stanley Parable, I knew only to expect the unexpected, and that's exactly what I got. The mood shifts frantically from playful banter to eerie silence and seriousness in a snap. As to not spoil anything, I will merely say that the endings offer an impressive roller coaster of emotions to experience, and I'd recommend you play them one after another, rather than with breaks in between.

While The Stanley Parable excels in its atmosphere and delivery, one of my favorite things about it is how it pushes the definition of what a "game" truly is. The Stanley Parable isn't something I would call "fun". I would, however, call it "entertaining". The Stanley Parable actually plays out a bit more like a movie than a game; you move Stanley around, yes, but you are really acting more as a vehicle to reveal all the various endings.

Now to explain what I don't like about the game, or the following it has developed. I don't have anything against The Stanley Parable; it was witty, clever, well thought-out and beautifully put together. My problems with the game are almost entirely rooted in the absurd amount of praise it received just for being novel. 

It doesn't bode well for the industry as a whole when a game is given excessive praise just because it didn't do what everyone else is doing. While it's good that The Stanley Parable aimed to be different, people seem to be rating it highly for no reason other than that it is different. As a result, The Stanley Parable almost comes across as a bit pandering; it felt very much like the video gaming equivalent of a film director purposefully releasing something outlandish simply to be noticed and praised for breaking convention.

While it certainly took a new spin on the idea of choice in a video game, it hardly changed my view of choice as a whole. This is why I am reluctant to agree with the gamers and reviewers who raise The Stanley Parable on a pedestal and treat it like some historic landmark in video gaming history. In reality, The Stanley Parable was really just a simple, clever concept that gives the player the illusion that they have hundreds and hundreds of impactful choices that will alter the story, when in reality, you can only end up with a set number of endings.

The Stanley Parable is still arguably a rather good game, mostly because it's not what most people expect from a video game in the modern era. I am glad I played it, and I would still recommend it to anyone who is fond of an "alternative" perspective on gaming. 
Alongside this recommendation, though, I must also include a piece of advice: don't play this game expecting it to be some sort of "gaming rapture" that will forever alter your idea of what gaming could/should/will be. The Stanley Parable is a game that is worth playing, but not worth worshiping.

Link to "The Stanley Parable" website, if you're interested!