It's easy to look back at The Stanley Parable and laugh at it. It is, after all, a kind of self-important game that said things about video games that were getting pretty tired even in 2013. I loved the Stanley Parable when I first played the mod, loved it a little less when I played the steam release, and ultimately have found it less and less compelling as time goes on, as the times in which the jokes landed got more and more distant and the commentary got more and more trite.
One might reasonably ask why such an aging process has harmed Stanley when it hasn't harmed other games on quite the same level, and my argument for that would be that Stanley, to use a memetic phrase devoid of meaning, insists upon itself. There's little room for interpretation or multifaceted interpretation of it: Stanley Parable is a two-dimensional game, and what I mean by that is that it works on two dimensions: the jokes, and the commentary. There aren't really any other characters or themes or aesthetic twists and flourishes to appreciate: it's a game that is very blunt about what it's saying, and doesn't really have anything to it other than that. Which is fine! Really! But it kinda relies on the things it's saying being really good, and maybe they were, once on the facepunch forums or on ModDb. But now? Not so much.
Which is why the prospect of Ultra Deluxe intrigued me. It represented an opportunity to provide a new experience, to build on what came before, and make a case for Stanley Parable still being relevant, over a decade after the original mod came out. Perhaps I built some unrealistic expectations for it going in, as I did honestly think that a Rebuild of Stanley Parable was the right step to take for this, and I remember feeling similarly deflated by the steam release of Stanley hewing so close to the original mod, but regardless, The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe arrives with the enthusiastic impact of a wet fart in an empty room, not so much making a case for the relevance of the work in 2022 as making a supreme demonstration for it's growing irrelevance.
What we have here is an acceptable repackaging of the original game (with some pluses being options to sidestep some of the edgier stuff in the original release, namely the unbearably cringeworthy suicide sequence, and some minuses being the stripping out of jokes in the subtitles and the loss of the language of jokes that Source familiarity provided) alongside some, on the whole, pretty dire new content. Teeth-grindingly ancient observations on collectibles and DLC that would make CTRL+ALT+DEL groan paired with the Bucket. The fucking bucket. All the bucket stuff is absolutely unbearable humor that felt like being trapped in 2012-era reddit with people going on about narwhals and bacon. The superfluity of The Bucket Arc is clearly an argument about the futility of adding extra content in a re-release, but you still went and did it, and it was shit. It's satirical bent never rises above putting a dunce hat on itself and going "look at how dumb we're being". Ultra Deluxe has the same problem as Stanley Parable proper: it cannot help but slam you in the face with it's Point and it's Jokes, and when those land it works, but in Ultra Deluxe they almost never do, so you're just left trudging through a tediously unfunny experience reliving 2015 neoGAF in the most agonizing manner imaginable.
Ultra Deluxe is not without merit: there are truly talented artists and level designers at Crows Crows Crows, and they've crafted some really amazing spaces here. It's something they're really great at: their online multiplayer game/space TheClub.zone (which was shut down to give them time to develop this lol) is proof positive of that. But underneath the enormous weight of The Writing, they're never allowed to live, to breathe beyond the confines of The Writing's vehicle, and unfortunately, The Writing here is crap. It's as simple as that.
I wanted Ultra Deluxe to let me love Stanley Parable again. To prove once and for all that it has stood the test of time, that it does have a worthwhile place in video games and video game culture. But after seeing everything Ultra Deluxe has to offer, all I can do is sigh wearily, and type my review, which is as follows.
(ahem)
"Reddit Game."
One might reasonably ask why such an aging process has harmed Stanley when it hasn't harmed other games on quite the same level, and my argument for that would be that Stanley, to use a memetic phrase devoid of meaning, insists upon itself. There's little room for interpretation or multifaceted interpretation of it: Stanley Parable is a two-dimensional game, and what I mean by that is that it works on two dimensions: the jokes, and the commentary. There aren't really any other characters or themes or aesthetic twists and flourishes to appreciate: it's a game that is very blunt about what it's saying, and doesn't really have anything to it other than that. Which is fine! Really! But it kinda relies on the things it's saying being really good, and maybe they were, once on the facepunch forums or on ModDb. But now? Not so much.
Which is why the prospect of Ultra Deluxe intrigued me. It represented an opportunity to provide a new experience, to build on what came before, and make a case for Stanley Parable still being relevant, over a decade after the original mod came out. Perhaps I built some unrealistic expectations for it going in, as I did honestly think that a Rebuild of Stanley Parable was the right step to take for this, and I remember feeling similarly deflated by the steam release of Stanley hewing so close to the original mod, but regardless, The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe arrives with the enthusiastic impact of a wet fart in an empty room, not so much making a case for the relevance of the work in 2022 as making a supreme demonstration for it's growing irrelevance.
What we have here is an acceptable repackaging of the original game (with some pluses being options to sidestep some of the edgier stuff in the original release, namely the unbearably cringeworthy suicide sequence, and some minuses being the stripping out of jokes in the subtitles and the loss of the language of jokes that Source familiarity provided) alongside some, on the whole, pretty dire new content. Teeth-grindingly ancient observations on collectibles and DLC that would make CTRL+ALT+DEL groan paired with the Bucket. The fucking bucket. All the bucket stuff is absolutely unbearable humor that felt like being trapped in 2012-era reddit with people going on about narwhals and bacon. The superfluity of The Bucket Arc is clearly an argument about the futility of adding extra content in a re-release, but you still went and did it, and it was shit. It's satirical bent never rises above putting a dunce hat on itself and going "look at how dumb we're being". Ultra Deluxe has the same problem as Stanley Parable proper: it cannot help but slam you in the face with it's Point and it's Jokes, and when those land it works, but in Ultra Deluxe they almost never do, so you're just left trudging through a tediously unfunny experience reliving 2015 neoGAF in the most agonizing manner imaginable.
Ultra Deluxe is not without merit: there are truly talented artists and level designers at Crows Crows Crows, and they've crafted some really amazing spaces here. It's something they're really great at: their online multiplayer game/space TheClub.zone (which was shut down to give them time to develop this lol) is proof positive of that. But underneath the enormous weight of The Writing, they're never allowed to live, to breathe beyond the confines of The Writing's vehicle, and unfortunately, The Writing here is crap. It's as simple as that.
I wanted Ultra Deluxe to let me love Stanley Parable again. To prove once and for all that it has stood the test of time, that it does have a worthwhile place in video games and video game culture. But after seeing everything Ultra Deluxe has to offer, all I can do is sigh wearily, and type my review, which is as follows.
(ahem)
"Reddit Game."
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is an enhanced version of a classic game with more content. Originally developed exclusively for PC, this deluxe edition brings the game to all modern consoles.
During the game, we control Stanley, an ordinary office worker. One day, he discovers that all his coworkers have disappeared, and he explores his workplace to find out what is happening. Meanwhile, a narrator tells us what Stanley is doing and what he needs to do. It is up to the player to decide whether to trust the narrator or not.
It is a puzzle game with different endings that take around 30 minutes each. To unlock all the endings, you need to explore all the different possibilities. There is no one true ending, and you have to explore everything to understand what is happening.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe offers new content for returning players. Although I haven't played the original version, the game makes it clear what the new content is, so I believe that even those who played the game when it was originally released will have a great time.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a unique game. It demonstrates how video games can differ from everything else in the entertainment industry. The Stanley Parable is a work of art.
During the game, we control Stanley, an ordinary office worker. One day, he discovers that all his coworkers have disappeared, and he explores his workplace to find out what is happening. Meanwhile, a narrator tells us what Stanley is doing and what he needs to do. It is up to the player to decide whether to trust the narrator or not.
It is a puzzle game with different endings that take around 30 minutes each. To unlock all the endings, you need to explore all the different possibilities. There is no one true ending, and you have to explore everything to understand what is happening.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe offers new content for returning players. Although I haven't played the original version, the game makes it clear what the new content is, so I believe that even those who played the game when it was originally released will have a great time.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a unique game. It demonstrates how video games can differ from everything else in the entertainment industry. The Stanley Parable is a work of art.
I love you Crows Crows Crows but as the kids say, 'this ain't it, chief'. In a post-[One Shot/Undertale/Pony Island/The Magic Circle/The Beginner's Guide/Anodyne/Frog Fractions 2] gaming landscape there needs to be more that pushes the metanarrative envelope. There are some moments I think are rather great, particularly the Memory Zone and its acknowledgement of reviews and their effects on the creative process. At the same time, the Memory Zone's nostalgia for the original Stanley Parable exemplifies the difficulty if not impossibility for Ultra Deluxe to live up to its predecessor and the expectations placed upon itself. Rather than make some attempt, however foolish or brazen, to be an ambitious step forward, Ultra Deluxe is content with doing little and hoping it is enough.
There is the distinct possibility that Ultra Deluxe is not made for someone like me. That my exposure to so many metafictitious works has built in me some tolerance which necessitates a greater boundary break to achieve a similar high. Unfortunately it's impossible to say for certain.
As Woodaba has already highlighted, the bucket detracts more than it adds, amounting to little more than the equivalent of a mirror mode in Mario Kart. But whereas a mirror mode brings about a new perspective which is refreshing, the bucket's shines a spotlight on Ultra Deluxe's abject failure to say anything that hasn't been said. The idea of the bucket is vaguely funny in theory, but the actual effect on the player is that I am playing the exact same content as I was in 2013 but there is now a bucket and altered dialogue to reflect my ownership of the bucket. It simply isn't fun or enjoyable because it renders so crystalline the fact that nothing has changed. The meta has been replaced by the memetic.
The removal of Minecraft and Portal in favour of Rocket League and Firewatch are utterly bizarre to me. That rights have lapsed and neither bear the same cachet is plain, but their inclusion in spite of growing irrelevance would fare better than what we have ended up with. Firewatch is sensible insofar as it's another walking simulator, but it is even more irrelevant than Minecraft. One was the best selling game of all time which has had a profound and unwavering effect on our culture, the other is a good walking simulator which was renowned when it released and isn't really thought of any longer. I cannot say what would have worked better in its stead (Gone Home? Fortnite? Roblox???) and I understand these too would bear their own challenges. Swapping out Rocket League in Portal's place is the much stranger replacement in my eyes. The Portal transition worked as well as it did because Portal is another first person perspective game, in the same engine (at least as the Source mod), with a gimmick that allows that sudden change in view to another place. We haven't had another game in that vein since, I suppose, but the choice of Rocket League is obtuse as well. Rocket League was cool at the same time as Firewatch, neither are particularly interesting now. Maybe this is a consequence of a long development cycle, again it is impossible to know what could have been, what was, and what could have been better. What I do know is my mom knows what Portal and Minecraft are. My grandmother knows what Portal and Minecraft are. Many 'gamers' I know have no idea what Firewatch is and/or have never played Rocket League.
This is all to say that Ultra Deluxe suffers from the Stanley Parable's success. Little could have lived up to all of it's hype as a follow-up to the original, but that doesn't mean the lack of trying should be excused. Crows Crows Crows can clearly do phenomenal work - Dr. Langeskov was superb and Accounting is very funny - but just because their writers are so witty doesn't mean the game should just be jokes. Something could have been said here, and instead I feel like I got the equivalent of an Applause sign.
There is the distinct possibility that Ultra Deluxe is not made for someone like me. That my exposure to so many metafictitious works has built in me some tolerance which necessitates a greater boundary break to achieve a similar high. Unfortunately it's impossible to say for certain.
As Woodaba has already highlighted, the bucket detracts more than it adds, amounting to little more than the equivalent of a mirror mode in Mario Kart. But whereas a mirror mode brings about a new perspective which is refreshing, the bucket's shines a spotlight on Ultra Deluxe's abject failure to say anything that hasn't been said. The idea of the bucket is vaguely funny in theory, but the actual effect on the player is that I am playing the exact same content as I was in 2013 but there is now a bucket and altered dialogue to reflect my ownership of the bucket. It simply isn't fun or enjoyable because it renders so crystalline the fact that nothing has changed. The meta has been replaced by the memetic.
The removal of Minecraft and Portal in favour of Rocket League and Firewatch are utterly bizarre to me. That rights have lapsed and neither bear the same cachet is plain, but their inclusion in spite of growing irrelevance would fare better than what we have ended up with. Firewatch is sensible insofar as it's another walking simulator, but it is even more irrelevant than Minecraft. One was the best selling game of all time which has had a profound and unwavering effect on our culture, the other is a good walking simulator which was renowned when it released and isn't really thought of any longer. I cannot say what would have worked better in its stead (Gone Home? Fortnite? Roblox???) and I understand these too would bear their own challenges. Swapping out Rocket League in Portal's place is the much stranger replacement in my eyes. The Portal transition worked as well as it did because Portal is another first person perspective game, in the same engine (at least as the Source mod), with a gimmick that allows that sudden change in view to another place. We haven't had another game in that vein since, I suppose, but the choice of Rocket League is obtuse as well. Rocket League was cool at the same time as Firewatch, neither are particularly interesting now. Maybe this is a consequence of a long development cycle, again it is impossible to know what could have been, what was, and what could have been better. What I do know is my mom knows what Portal and Minecraft are. My grandmother knows what Portal and Minecraft are. Many 'gamers' I know have no idea what Firewatch is and/or have never played Rocket League.
This is all to say that Ultra Deluxe suffers from the Stanley Parable's success. Little could have lived up to all of it's hype as a follow-up to the original, but that doesn't mean the lack of trying should be excused. Crows Crows Crows can clearly do phenomenal work - Dr. Langeskov was superb and Accounting is very funny - but just because their writers are so witty doesn't mean the game should just be jokes. Something could have been said here, and instead I feel like I got the equivalent of an Applause sign.
The Stanley Parable is my favourite indie game of all time. It combines so many things that I love and crafts them into a hilarious mind bending experience that I really think everyone should try.
This game manages to create one of the creepiest atmospheres just purely via the sound design alone. The Stanley Parable uses silence as a tension builder really effectively as you normally have the narrator talking away but when everything goes silent, it really builds up that amazing creepy atmosphere.
Speaking off The Narrator, he is amazingly portrayed by Kevan Brighting who conveys so many different emotions so well through a character who you dont even see. The Narrator really makes this game what it is with all of his meta dialogue which is something that I am a huge fan of and this feeds right into the next part.
The Stanley Parable is one of the best non linear games you can get. I think there is 42 endings in total including ones added in the Ultra Deluxe edition, which makes for a good few hours of playtime. Thankfully most endings can be either stumbled upon or worked out by taking different paths. Since the game doesn't tell you which endings you have and haven't got, if you are going the completionist route looking up a guide is probably a good idea. Each ending feels different and has really unique dialogue, a few of my favourites are: "The Zending", "The Games Ending", "The Not-Stanley Ending" and "The Confusion Ending".
Visually for an indie game it looks fantastic, great landscapes and textures. The office looks great and is designed in a great way where you can never really know what you are going to turn the corner and see. It also features some amazing ambience music.
One of the best Indie games of all time and 100% worth playing.
This game manages to create one of the creepiest atmospheres just purely via the sound design alone. The Stanley Parable uses silence as a tension builder really effectively as you normally have the narrator talking away but when everything goes silent, it really builds up that amazing creepy atmosphere.
Speaking off The Narrator, he is amazingly portrayed by Kevan Brighting who conveys so many different emotions so well through a character who you dont even see. The Narrator really makes this game what it is with all of his meta dialogue which is something that I am a huge fan of and this feeds right into the next part.
The Stanley Parable is one of the best non linear games you can get. I think there is 42 endings in total including ones added in the Ultra Deluxe edition, which makes for a good few hours of playtime. Thankfully most endings can be either stumbled upon or worked out by taking different paths. Since the game doesn't tell you which endings you have and haven't got, if you are going the completionist route looking up a guide is probably a good idea. Each ending feels different and has really unique dialogue, a few of my favourites are: "The Zending", "The Games Ending", "The Not-Stanley Ending" and "The Confusion Ending".
Visually for an indie game it looks fantastic, great landscapes and textures. The office looks great and is designed in a great way where you can never really know what you are going to turn the corner and see. It also features some amazing ambience music.
One of the best Indie games of all time and 100% worth playing.
"The real bucket was inside of him all along. It was incredibly painful." - The Narrator
WHAT A FUCKING TRIP HOLYYYY
A tremendous, comedic, metafictional masterpiece that is also a REMARKABLY tedious game that I believe everyone should experience at least once in their lives. It's so full of ideas and has purposeful core messages about meaningful choices, about the dichotomy between personal artistry and a demand for content and sequels, and about video game narratives, despite appearing to be contrary. You have to 100% this game to really soak in all the incredible stuff, regardless of the dullness of repeat playthroughs. A true rebel of a video game. 8.5/10
WHAT A FUCKING TRIP HOLYYYY
A tremendous, comedic, metafictional masterpiece that is also a REMARKABLY tedious game that I believe everyone should experience at least once in their lives. It's so full of ideas and has purposeful core messages about meaningful choices, about the dichotomy between personal artistry and a demand for content and sequels, and about video game narratives, despite appearing to be contrary. You have to 100% this game to really soak in all the incredible stuff, regardless of the dullness of repeat playthroughs. A true rebel of a video game. 8.5/10
Wife’s Reaction:
“It’s like Portal andSeverance had a baby.”
THE END IS NEVER THE END:
This is the story of a man named Zassimick. Zassimick played a game where he was Stanley. Stanley’s game was simple: repeat the same scenario and find different endings. This is what Stanley did for 40+ endings, and although others may consider it soul rending, Zassimick enjoyed it all quite a bit.
“It’s like Portal andSeverance had a baby.”
THE END IS NEVER THE END:
This is the story of a man named Zassimick. Zassimick played a game where he was Stanley. Stanley’s game was simple: repeat the same scenario and find different endings. This is what Stanley did for 40+ endings, and although others may consider it soul rending, Zassimick enjoyed it all quite a bit.
Acredito que se essa fosse minha primeira experiência com Stanley Parable, eu teria gostado mais.
Acredito que me cansei dessa fórmula depois de fazer quase tudo que era possível fazer no primeiro. E acho que o jogo cai num espiral de piadocas que o deixa bastante previsível com o tempo, perdendo o elemento que o tornava tão especial que é a surpresa.
Acredito que me cansei dessa fórmula depois de fazer quase tudo que era possível fazer no primeiro. E acho que o jogo cai num espiral de piadocas que o deixa bastante previsível com o tempo, perdendo o elemento que o tornava tão especial que é a surpresa.
This review contains spoilers
astonishing how much dedication they put into running with one of the least funny gags from the showcase area for nearly the entire runtime of the new content
The more I sit with this one, the less I like it. Wreden seems to like doing meta-commentary on the nature of being a "creator" but it's much better realized in The Beginner's Guide. Plenty of fun gags surrounding that (the steam review sequence was great) but once you get that god damned bucket the writing gets pretty lame pretty quickly.
The majority of the new endings just boil down to "the same thing but you have a bucket now". The bucket museum ending strikes me as particularly bad compared to the original one, but none of them are all that good. It's just not that funny of a gag and the game runs with it for so long. I think you could handwave this one off as like, a commentary of "oh well it's bad on purpose because it's supposed to say something about how making a sequel when a game didn't need one is bad", but then, like, make it good. Kane & Lynch 2 exists. If you're gonna make your game bad on purpose, go for broke and don't just do something that's kind of unfunny that I probably would have thought was funny when I was like, 13 playing the Stanley Parable for the first time.
The original (both mod and steam release) Stanley Parable was based around subverting expectations. When Ultra Deluxe does that, it's pretty good! Everything before the bucket is like a solid 8/10. Honestly seeing that "new content" door pop up made me grin like a stupid idiot with how hard the game read me, but again, once you get back into the normal cycle of things there just isn't much to take away from the experience, epilogue aside. And even then, the epilogue is really short, like it's actually maybe only 5 minutes long or something.
Idk, just kind of disappointing seeing this delayed for like 2 years just for this. Part of me thinks nothing could have matched my expectations, but like, the first couple hours of content did. The bucket is just really unfunny. It is a randem x3 reddit homestuck level joke and i mean that in the most negative way possible
The more I sit with this one, the less I like it. Wreden seems to like doing meta-commentary on the nature of being a "creator" but it's much better realized in The Beginner's Guide. Plenty of fun gags surrounding that (the steam review sequence was great) but once you get that god damned bucket the writing gets pretty lame pretty quickly.
The majority of the new endings just boil down to "the same thing but you have a bucket now". The bucket museum ending strikes me as particularly bad compared to the original one, but none of them are all that good. It's just not that funny of a gag and the game runs with it for so long. I think you could handwave this one off as like, a commentary of "oh well it's bad on purpose because it's supposed to say something about how making a sequel when a game didn't need one is bad", but then, like, make it good. Kane & Lynch 2 exists. If you're gonna make your game bad on purpose, go for broke and don't just do something that's kind of unfunny that I probably would have thought was funny when I was like, 13 playing the Stanley Parable for the first time.
The original (both mod and steam release) Stanley Parable was based around subverting expectations. When Ultra Deluxe does that, it's pretty good! Everything before the bucket is like a solid 8/10. Honestly seeing that "new content" door pop up made me grin like a stupid idiot with how hard the game read me, but again, once you get back into the normal cycle of things there just isn't much to take away from the experience, epilogue aside. And even then, the epilogue is really short, like it's actually maybe only 5 minutes long or something.
Idk, just kind of disappointing seeing this delayed for like 2 years just for this. Part of me thinks nothing could have matched my expectations, but like, the first couple hours of content did. The bucket is just really unfunny. It is a randem x3 reddit homestuck level joke and i mean that in the most negative way possible
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe accomplishes everything it set out to do. Having not played the original since it's launch in 2013, there were a few things I remembered, such as the downstairs ending and the broom closet ending. Beyond that, nothing had really stuck with me. Playing the game again now, almost 10 years later, it's shocking to see so many people clown on the game for one reason or another. The writing and humor is still very sharp. The jabs thrown at gamers and the games industry in Ultra Deluxe are well-deserved, my favorite among them mocking a Steam review that seems to have missed the point of the game entirely. Or maybe there's a layer beyond that jab that I'm missing, and now I'm the butt of the joke.
The hall of memories takes the game in such an interesting direction. It points out the flaws in sequels as a means to extend things beyond their natural life. Perhaps my favorite part of the Ultra Deluxe additions comes from the collectathon. The game explicitly tells you that you will receive no achievement nor congratulations for collecting the figurines. Yet, I felt the game was trying to point me towards collecting the figurines anyway. After collecting them, I was met with exactly what they told me: I was not congratulated, and I was not rewarded. The ending therein was a bit extended as a result, but I felt the dive into the minds of completionists was an interesting choice. And, after that ending, the game simply resets as it would after any other ending. There truly was no sparkly achievement or reward given to the player. The only reward was the same as playing the game any other way: an ending and then a reset.
I'm not smart enough to figure out what exactly the point of it all is, nor do I really care to. The game invokes a lot of feelings in me that remind me of reading a well-written book or watching a beautifully crafted talkie. For that reason, I think The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is worthy of having at least two museums dedicated to it within itself. #BroomClosetGang
The hall of memories takes the game in such an interesting direction. It points out the flaws in sequels as a means to extend things beyond their natural life. Perhaps my favorite part of the Ultra Deluxe additions comes from the collectathon. The game explicitly tells you that you will receive no achievement nor congratulations for collecting the figurines. Yet, I felt the game was trying to point me towards collecting the figurines anyway. After collecting them, I was met with exactly what they told me: I was not congratulated, and I was not rewarded. The ending therein was a bit extended as a result, but I felt the dive into the minds of completionists was an interesting choice. And, after that ending, the game simply resets as it would after any other ending. There truly was no sparkly achievement or reward given to the player. The only reward was the same as playing the game any other way: an ending and then a reset.
I'm not smart enough to figure out what exactly the point of it all is, nor do I really care to. The game invokes a lot of feelings in me that remind me of reading a well-written book or watching a beautifully crafted talkie. For that reason, I think The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is worthy of having at least two museums dedicated to it within itself. #BroomClosetGang
The only proper way to write a review for this game would be to screenshot my steam review from the original edition and then print it out on a big poster and staple it to my TV screen for the rest of eternity.
CONFUSING AF but so good, the way that the different ending enroll is both creepy and interesting the narrator is an amazing "character" and it changed my perspective of how games could be made and how a story could be told
Have you ever thought that maybe I’m standing in the broom closet just because I want to hear what you’re going to say next?
At one point I laughed until I cried. A gamer's game.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe melhora tudo que o jogo original fez lá em 2013 e ainda expande o jogo de forma maravilhosa com novos finais, novas escolhas para se fazer, novos caminhos para percorrer e muitas surpresas.
Dessa vez o jogo brinca ainda mais com a metalinguagem e a quebra da quarta parede,desde o momento em que você abre o jogo. E como eu sou uma putinha de quebra da quarta parede, eu amei mais ainda toda a experiência.
Em alguns momentos, quando você acha que vai escolher um caminho e encontrar tudo do jeito que sempre foi, o jogo te surpreende com algo novo (às vezes irrisório e às vezes grandioso).
Já fiz vários finais, variações desses finais e pretendo fazer mais. É um jogo que te prende e te faz querer descobrir mais coisas. Te deixando com aquela pulga atrás da orelha que diz:
"E se eu tentasse aquilo de novo, mas de um jeito diferente?"
Dessa vez o jogo brinca ainda mais com a metalinguagem e a quebra da quarta parede,
Em alguns momentos, quando você acha que vai escolher um caminho e encontrar tudo do jeito que sempre foi, o jogo te surpreende com algo novo (às vezes irrisório e às vezes grandioso).
Já fiz vários finais, variações desses finais e pretendo fazer mais. É um jogo que te prende e te faz querer descobrir mais coisas. Te deixando com aquela pulga atrás da orelha que diz:
"E se eu tentasse aquilo de novo, mas de um jeito diferente?"
Stanley Parable VS. Conteúdo
Essa é a minha primeira experiência com Stanley Parable e devo dizer, foi incrível. Recentemente joguei The Beginner's Guide que fala muito sobre o como o Davey encarou suas criações após o sucesso de Stanley Parable, e foi uma interessante ver como as reviews de envenenaram o espaço pessoal de Davey e de como a cobrança de mais conteúdo afetou negativamente a sua saúde mental.
Ultra Deluxe é um jogo muito metalinguístico, ao mesmo tempo que existe a necessidade de se provar necessário, o jogo faz questão de fazer o contrario, como ele faz isso? Se mostrando necessário, oras. Após alguns poucos momentos experimentando conteúdo já conhecidos o jogo introduz uma sala que te leva para coisas novas.
Nesse momento a minha cabeça explodiu, pois os eventos seguintes são respostas a perguntas que ficam ao final de The Beginner's Guide, foi um momento ímpar com videogames, aonde eu vi o jogo não apenas interagindo comigo, mas dobrando a sua própria existência para me dizer algo, mas além disso, jogar comigo.
A intensa briga de Davey com sua própria obra nesse jogo faz que seja extremamente importante o conhecimento prévio de The Beginner's Guide. Um jogo único como esse deve continuar sendo cultuado como sempre foi.
Uma peça importantíssima de videogames para videogames e sobre videogames, principalmente.
Essa é a minha primeira experiência com Stanley Parable e devo dizer, foi incrível. Recentemente joguei The Beginner's Guide que fala muito sobre o como o Davey encarou suas criações após o sucesso de Stanley Parable, e foi uma interessante ver como as reviews de envenenaram o espaço pessoal de Davey e de como a cobrança de mais conteúdo afetou negativamente a sua saúde mental.
Ultra Deluxe é um jogo muito metalinguístico, ao mesmo tempo que existe a necessidade de se provar necessário, o jogo faz questão de fazer o contrario, como ele faz isso? Se mostrando necessário, oras. Após alguns poucos momentos experimentando conteúdo já conhecidos o jogo introduz uma sala que te leva para coisas novas.
Nesse momento a minha cabeça explodiu, pois os eventos seguintes são respostas a perguntas que ficam ao final de The Beginner's Guide, foi um momento ímpar com videogames, aonde eu vi o jogo não apenas interagindo comigo, mas dobrando a sua própria existência para me dizer algo, mas além disso, jogar comigo.
A intensa briga de Davey com sua própria obra nesse jogo faz que seja extremamente importante o conhecimento prévio de The Beginner's Guide. Um jogo único como esse deve continuar sendo cultuado como sempre foi.
Uma peça importantíssima de videogames para videogames e sobre videogames, principalmente.
Teh bucket of d00m.
A little disappointed with Ultra Deluxe on the whole. I was The Stanley Parable's biggest fan in 2011 - for being a free mod it was surprisingly cogent as an exploration of the metatext in being a player character in a perceivably linear world. The remake was a nice thing too, brushing up the concepts the mod introduced with some greater production values and more keen attention to detail, rounding off the branching paths it also expanded upon. While I'm nowhere near blown away by its observations (especially now that it's 2022 and the subject matter is rather rote by now), nor does its all-too-smug humour really tickle me in any way... it's undeniably satisfying to play a game that knows what to say and when. All bases covered, all nooks and crannies accounted for, everything you can do and everywhere you go triggers an event flag somewhere in the backrooms for the narrator to guffaw about. There's a toy-like quality to it idk, I'm really just like Stanley hitting buttons and listening to their accompanying sound effects.
Ultra Deluxe is... a few more things, all pretty scant. This almost Invader Zim-grade object comedy fixation on a funny bucket item you carry into old ending routes to modify them in minor ways, and the majority of the dialogue is still "press button to make narrator change subject". No guides or whatever are available at the time of me saying all this, who knows, maybe I've neglected to walk down a specific sequence of doors and missed a new skill tree system. They shifted the engine from Source to Unity, I'm sure it's a console porting decision and it certainly all looks better, but no longer getting banished to The Serious Room for setting sv_cheats to 1 removes the best rugpull from the game!!!!
A little disappointed with Ultra Deluxe on the whole. I was The Stanley Parable's biggest fan in 2011 - for being a free mod it was surprisingly cogent as an exploration of the metatext in being a player character in a perceivably linear world. The remake was a nice thing too, brushing up the concepts the mod introduced with some greater production values and more keen attention to detail, rounding off the branching paths it also expanded upon. While I'm nowhere near blown away by its observations (especially now that it's 2022 and the subject matter is rather rote by now), nor does its all-too-smug humour really tickle me in any way... it's undeniably satisfying to play a game that knows what to say and when. All bases covered, all nooks and crannies accounted for, everything you can do and everywhere you go triggers an event flag somewhere in the backrooms for the narrator to guffaw about. There's a toy-like quality to it idk, I'm really just like Stanley hitting buttons and listening to their accompanying sound effects.
Ultra Deluxe is... a few more things, all pretty scant. This almost Invader Zim-grade object comedy fixation on a funny bucket item you carry into old ending routes to modify them in minor ways, and the majority of the dialogue is still "press button to make narrator change subject". No guides or whatever are available at the time of me saying all this, who knows, maybe I've neglected to walk down a specific sequence of doors and missed a new skill tree system. They shifted the engine from Source to Unity, I'm sure it's a console porting decision and it certainly all looks better, but no longer getting banished to The Serious Room for setting sv_cheats to 1 removes the best rugpull from the game!!!!
Just a disclaimer, I never played the original so this was my first experience with the game. I've always been curious about it, and was even subscribed to the newsletter about this version for god knows how long, pretty sure that It would just never release. But now it finally did. Here's my thoughts.
I think, in part, that my appreciate of this game was set up for disappointment at the start. Over the years I was sure I'd love it and with all the good reviews, without knowing I put it up on a bit of a pedestal. And no matter what, in the end I wouldn't like it quite as much as I thought I would. And well, It's true. It didnt captivate me like I hoped, but thats honestly a silly thing to mention because I really enjoyed it nonetheless. There is a lot to like here. The normal, follow the narrator, Stanley freedom ending you can get in like 10-15 minutes yourself itself is pretty thought provoking. I dont really think the game ever surpasses that height, but thats not to say that the rest doesn't deliver. Theres plenty of charm and clever/funny moments. Plenty of fresh ideas. The new content is quite enjoyable as well, it serves as a good extension to the base game. I didnt get all the endings (I'll likely come back to this sometime), but i got a lot and did enough to get the Epilogue ending, which to me is basically the "true ending". I think theres some good meta commentary and whatnot on sequels here, and it feels like a good conclusion to the game, I feel satisfied and like I had a full, complete experience. I love the never-ending joke about the title screen
The game isnt perfect though. At a point, it can grow tired. The charm of the narrator can wear off and his droning can get grating. Theres even a good bit about this that addresses it, but that doesnt change the fact that it still made the game feel a bit monotonous at times. Also there recurring bit of ignoring and annoying the narrator gets old kinda quick. Nonetheless, the game was still entertaining at the base level of its premise, and all the options and "choices" make the occasional sloggy parts bearable.
All in all, It's a pretty clever and unique little game. It mentions Persona 3 and Firewatch which while pretty out of place was neat regardless.
Trophy Completion - 72%
Time Played - 5 hours 30 minutes (estimated)
Nancymeter - 88/100
Game Completion #49 of 2022
April Completion #18
I think, in part, that my appreciate of this game was set up for disappointment at the start. Over the years I was sure I'd love it and with all the good reviews, without knowing I put it up on a bit of a pedestal. And no matter what, in the end I wouldn't like it quite as much as I thought I would. And well, It's true. It didnt captivate me like I hoped, but thats honestly a silly thing to mention because I really enjoyed it nonetheless. There is a lot to like here. The normal, follow the narrator, Stanley freedom ending you can get in like 10-15 minutes yourself itself is pretty thought provoking. I dont really think the game ever surpasses that height, but thats not to say that the rest doesn't deliver. Theres plenty of charm and clever/funny moments. Plenty of fresh ideas. The new content is quite enjoyable as well, it serves as a good extension to the base game. I didnt get all the endings (I'll likely come back to this sometime), but i got a lot and did enough to get the Epilogue ending, which to me is basically the "true ending". I think theres some good meta commentary and whatnot on sequels here, and it feels like a good conclusion to the game, I feel satisfied and like I had a full, complete experience. I love the never-ending joke about the title screen
The game isnt perfect though. At a point, it can grow tired. The charm of the narrator can wear off and his droning can get grating. Theres even a good bit about this that addresses it, but that doesnt change the fact that it still made the game feel a bit monotonous at times. Also there recurring bit of ignoring and annoying the narrator gets old kinda quick. Nonetheless, the game was still entertaining at the base level of its premise, and all the options and "choices" make the occasional sloggy parts bearable.
All in all, It's a pretty clever and unique little game. It mentions Persona 3 and Firewatch which while pretty out of place was neat regardless.
Trophy Completion - 72%
Time Played - 5 hours 30 minutes (estimated)
Nancymeter - 88/100
Game Completion #49 of 2022
April Completion #18
Ultra Deluxe is still The Stanley Parable and holds up as the funny, cleverly written game it was nearly a decade ago. But now with console ports and new content that pokes fun at itself and how game trends have changed since 2013, pleasantly surprising just as much as the base version did. However for how the content’s been pushed and the larger price tag, I’m not sure I’d say it was substantial enough to stand on its own. But as an addition to an already good game, it’s well worth playing.
Also you can carry a reassurance bucket everywhere so clearly it’s the definitive experience.
Also you can carry a reassurance bucket everywhere so clearly it’s the definitive experience.
Narrator: Stanley has finished a new game, so now he will write a serious and great review about.
.....
Narrator: But Stanley decided to write an ironic review full of silly jokes that won't add anything to the backlogdd, come on Stanley, you know that very well.
....
Narrator: Look Stanley, I know we're off on the right foot here, but trust yourself, you can make a nice, concise review of The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. Think about your friends at backlogdd, what will they think of you if all you do is write pathetic reviews?
....
Narrator: At this point you are doing this to me on purpose Stanley. I'm surprised how anyone still follows you on this website.
....
Narrator: You know what? I'm done. Just write what you want.
.....
Narrator: But Stanley decided to write an ironic review full of silly jokes that won't add anything to the backlogdd, come on Stanley, you know that very well.
....
Narrator: Look Stanley, I know we're off on the right foot here, but trust yourself, you can make a nice, concise review of The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. Think about your friends at backlogdd, what will they think of you if all you do is write pathetic reviews?
....
Narrator: At this point you are doing this to me on purpose Stanley. I'm surprised how anyone still follows you on this website.
....
Narrator: You know what? I'm done. Just write what you want.
A brilliant game about choice that I could write a thousand words about but I wouldn't want anyone who hasn't played the game to read any of it. It's one of the funniest and genuinely most clever games I've played in ages and I think you should go into it knowing as little about it as possible.
+ Brilliant, clever, hilarious
+ A game I wanted to play and replay to see as much of as possible
- The open-ended nature of the game means you may see some content "too soon"
+ Brilliant, clever, hilarious
+ A game I wanted to play and replay to see as much of as possible
- The open-ended nature of the game means you may see some content "too soon"
This review contains spoilers
Its just good more Stanley Parable
More than anything, I think I was just happy the Epilogue ending was so joyful and I was fully emotionally satisfied just from reaching it. It just seems like Davey Wreden is in a better place with Stanley Parable than he was when he was making Beginner's Guide, and that's nice to see. The point of Beginner's Guide was stop looking too deeply into his motives, but its nonetheless feels more optimistic.
"The Stanley Parable was never sacred. Just have fun with it." Its a good thesis statement. I appreciate it.
More than anything, I think I was just happy the Epilogue ending was so joyful and I was fully emotionally satisfied just from reaching it. It just seems like Davey Wreden is in a better place with Stanley Parable than he was when he was making Beginner's Guide, and that's nice to see. The point of Beginner's Guide was stop looking too deeply into his motives, but its nonetheless feels more optimistic.
"The Stanley Parable was never sacred. Just have fun with it." Its a good thesis statement. I appreciate it.
The original full game release of Stanley Parable was great for the time. I found it to be amusing and it did some neat things and having replayed most of the original game through this remake I think it mostly holds up, though it has definitely has lost some of its luster in the wake of succeeding meta-narrative games such as Undertale or Oneshot. But when it comes to new content that came with Ultra Deluxe I no longer get a feeling of playful cleverness, I just get an exasperated sadness.
Ultra Deluxe is a sad game in a fascinating way that I've haven't really encountered much in the medium, in that it feels like the dev team are both desperately flailing for relevancy by mostly utilizing a style of internet humor that died out a decade ago (Just replace the dishwasher in “purple monkey dishwasher” with bucket) and using tired gaming industry jokes also from a decade ago while all the while feeling like they had guns to their heads to make this new content. It just feels so utterly tired and cynical that it’s just kind of baffling to me. Did Beginner’s Guide sell like shit despite being a genuinely great and creative game too that Davey Wreden felt forced to dredge Stanley Parable up and perform Weekend at Bernie’s with it? I just don’t know. Like the only new joke I really liked was the Firewatch one and that just kind feels like it falls into the whole thing of "don't reference a piece of media that's better than yours."
I'm giving it 3 stars mainly because the original game's content is still good and I recommend console only players to check it out. As I said the new content is fascinating in how not funny or creative it is. I only got only a few of the endings with the bucket and thought that was good enough. I don’t really regret getting Ultra Deluxe as an owner of the original, but honestly if you can just play the original full release on PC first.
Ultra Deluxe is a sad game in a fascinating way that I've haven't really encountered much in the medium, in that it feels like the dev team are both desperately flailing for relevancy by mostly utilizing a style of internet humor that died out a decade ago (Just replace the dishwasher in “purple monkey dishwasher” with bucket) and using tired gaming industry jokes also from a decade ago while all the while feeling like they had guns to their heads to make this new content. It just feels so utterly tired and cynical that it’s just kind of baffling to me. Did Beginner’s Guide sell like shit despite being a genuinely great and creative game too that Davey Wreden felt forced to dredge Stanley Parable up and perform Weekend at Bernie’s with it? I just don’t know. Like the only new joke I really liked was the Firewatch one and that just kind feels like it falls into the whole thing of "don't reference a piece of media that's better than yours."
I'm giving it 3 stars mainly because the original game's content is still good and I recommend console only players to check it out. As I said the new content is fascinating in how not funny or creative it is. I only got only a few of the endings with the bucket and thought that was good enough. I don’t really regret getting Ultra Deluxe as an owner of the original, but honestly if you can just play the original full release on PC first.
This review contains spoilers
There was a Persona 3 reference.
Also, the bucket joke got really old really fast.
Also, the bucket joke got really old really fast.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe seems like exactly the kind of thing most people would want out of a re-release of an old game. It’s, for the most part, the original game with some extra content. The problem, more so than anything else, is that for some reason it’s $10 more than the original. Some may find this fair considering they ported the game from the Source engine to Unity, which is most likely where most of the effort was put into, but it’s hard for me to really justify that pricing considering what most of the new content is.
A large portion of the new content of Ultra Deluxe is devoted to making fun of the modern trend of remakes/remasters being disappointing due to the new content not justifying said remake/remaster’s existence by doing exactly that with The Stanley Parable itself. After going through a few endings, you unlock a “New Content” door, in which you find a new feature that adds basically nothing to the game. From here, you get a very large sequence that involves a lot of poking fun of various targets, including the game itself, and eventually leads you to the main thing this game adds. Without spoiling too much, this object basically acts as a modifier that, when brought into the other old routes, slightly changes things a bit.
While going through the routes again to see the changes is fun, it’s mostly very minimal, and gets old fast. The big problem here is that the game falls into the very same trap that a lot of meta-games like this do when they’re trying to satirize something: it just does the very thing it’s supposed to be lampooning. In other words, ironic shitposting is still shitposting.
With that being said, I did very much enjoy the new content. It is very funny and outside the narration, there are plenty of good visual gags too. Some of the new endings might actually be my favorite ones overall. As negative as I may seem, this game is good. Very good in fact. It’s just that I really can’t justify how much this is considering that most of the “new” content is just the old content, but now with a new hat. You could argue that’s the point, but as already mentioned, being aware of the problem doesn’t eliminate it. If anything, it kind of just makes you look like a prick.
I realize that my main point of criticism here is the price point, but when you’re talking about a game that is very much a “once and done” kind of game where there really isn’t any replayability, price is going to be a much bigger concern to me than something like say Metroid Dread. Metroid Dread is short, but I still got over 70 hours from just replaying it because of how fun it is. I was done with Ultra Deluxe after 6, of which around half was the stuff I had already played before in the original.
If you haven’t played the original Stanley Parable, then by all means this is the definitive version of the game. It’s the original game (mostly), but with more content. If you’ve already played the original, wait for a sale.
A large portion of the new content of Ultra Deluxe is devoted to making fun of the modern trend of remakes/remasters being disappointing due to the new content not justifying said remake/remaster’s existence by doing exactly that with The Stanley Parable itself. After going through a few endings, you unlock a “New Content” door, in which you find a new feature that adds basically nothing to the game. From here, you get a very large sequence that involves a lot of poking fun of various targets, including the game itself, and eventually leads you to the main thing this game adds. Without spoiling too much, this object basically acts as a modifier that, when brought into the other old routes, slightly changes things a bit.
While going through the routes again to see the changes is fun, it’s mostly very minimal, and gets old fast. The big problem here is that the game falls into the very same trap that a lot of meta-games like this do when they’re trying to satirize something: it just does the very thing it’s supposed to be lampooning. In other words, ironic shitposting is still shitposting.
With that being said, I did very much enjoy the new content. It is very funny and outside the narration, there are plenty of good visual gags too. Some of the new endings might actually be my favorite ones overall. As negative as I may seem, this game is good. Very good in fact. It’s just that I really can’t justify how much this is considering that most of the “new” content is just the old content, but now with a new hat. You could argue that’s the point, but as already mentioned, being aware of the problem doesn’t eliminate it. If anything, it kind of just makes you look like a prick.
I realize that my main point of criticism here is the price point, but when you’re talking about a game that is very much a “once and done” kind of game where there really isn’t any replayability, price is going to be a much bigger concern to me than something like say Metroid Dread. Metroid Dread is short, but I still got over 70 hours from just replaying it because of how fun it is. I was done with Ultra Deluxe after 6, of which around half was the stuff I had already played before in the original.
If you haven’t played the original Stanley Parable, then by all means this is the definitive version of the game. It’s the original game (mostly), but with more content. If you’ve already played the original, wait for a sale.
This game really feels like it was made by Dorkly and themed around their entire terrible sense of humor. It keeps saying "Hahaha!! Look at us making fun of video game tropes and subverting your expectations!!" but it has very little outside of that. Maybe I would have laughed at the jokes back in 2013 but it really feels like its gotten old by now.
But who knows? Maybe if this site gets more popular, they will make fun of this exact review in The Stanley Parable 2.
But who knows? Maybe if this site gets more popular, they will make fun of this exact review in The Stanley Parable 2.
what's gayer, men kissing or whatever stanley and the narrator have going on
Acho o The Stanley Parable de 2013 fascinante e, pra quem nunca jogou o original, essa versão vale muito a pena, já que praticamente todo o conteúdo antigo é replicado aqui. Fiquei surpreso com a quantidade e qualidade do que foi adicionado nessa "Ultra Deluxe" mas, mesmo com alguns momentos brilhantemente engraçados, o impacto do que é feito aqui não é o mesmo que o original fez dez anos atrás, brincando e fazendo um comentário sobre escolhas narrativas em jogos. Dito isso, a performance do narrador (Kevan Brighting) é de tão alto nível nesse novo conteúdo que quem curtiu o jogo original vai ter muito o que aproveitar aqui.
Short and sweet game. The games use of 4th wall breaks and ironic humor makes this an enjoyable experience
Stanley Parable: UD has become a pioneer in the gaming industry for becoming the first game to include a likeable British character.
This review contains spoilers
I mean... it's just Stanley Parable, Again, but this time it talks about the idea of content made within rereleases and sequels. If you liked the original, you'll (more than likely) like this too, and if you didn't like the original, your mind won't really be changed much either.
Since I can't really add more insight to it than that, I'll just talk about other points of contention Backloggd reviewers have mentioned (which is also why I marked this as a spoiler warning regardless)
- If you played any meta-fiction games after, or even before, TSP, you'll probably not be blown too much away from what this one will offer, maybe aside from comedy, though speaking of...
- I'm still a fan of the writing, especially with some of the new endings, but I'll admit there were some WEIRD additions and changes done. The Games Ending replacing two specific, well-known games for one that doesn't get discussed as often anymore and another that, while still relevant and recognizable, doesn't exactly offer the same sort of commentary the original parodies offered just kind of comes across as "see, we know these things existed!".
- I'm a bit mixed about the bucket. At the risk of sounding like a "I know better than you" scumfuck snob, some reviewers are needlessly... annoyed, I guess, about the addition of the Bucket. Like, the whole point, even when the narrator pointed out in its introduction, was this run-of-the-mill inanimate object being treated as more than such and the player getting a sort of attachment to it anyway, be it positive or negative. Now that said, I still get the ire it adds for the writing cause for every funny alteration the Bucket adds (Intervention, Broom Closet), there are some where I'm like "Did this really needed to be added for the point?" (Museum, Freedom). Still, the Epilogue stuff for it, while small, did at least make the impact more meaningful, so there's that.
- Oh right, new content. Honestly I didn't really expect that much to be added because like, you can't really go too far beyond the concept of the game, so what's here now is very much appreciated, especially with the Literary Genius and the Settings Guy.
Since I can't really add more insight to it than that, I'll just talk about other points of contention Backloggd reviewers have mentioned (which is also why I marked this as a spoiler warning regardless)
- If you played any meta-fiction games after, or even before, TSP, you'll probably not be blown too much away from what this one will offer, maybe aside from comedy, though speaking of...
- I'm still a fan of the writing, especially with some of the new endings, but I'll admit there were some WEIRD additions and changes done. The Games Ending replacing two specific, well-known games for one that doesn't get discussed as often anymore and another that, while still relevant and recognizable, doesn't exactly offer the same sort of commentary the original parodies offered just kind of comes across as "see, we know these things existed!".
- I'm a bit mixed about the bucket. At the risk of sounding like a "I know better than you" scumfuck snob, some reviewers are needlessly... annoyed, I guess, about the addition of the Bucket. Like, the whole point, even when the narrator pointed out in its introduction, was this run-of-the-mill inanimate object being treated as more than such and the player getting a sort of attachment to it anyway, be it positive or negative. Now that said, I still get the ire it adds for the writing cause for every funny alteration the Bucket adds (Intervention, Broom Closet), there are some where I'm like "Did this really needed to be added for the point?" (Museum, Freedom). Still, the Epilogue stuff for it, while small, did at least make the impact more meaningful, so there's that.
- Oh right, new content. Honestly I didn't really expect that much to be added because like, you can't really go too far beyond the concept of the game, so what's here now is very much appreciated, especially with the Literary Genius and the Settings Guy.