The Stanley Parable is a game that I had heard a lot about. Less so about the actual game, and rather the experience itself. Sure, I was aware of some of the surface-level gags, such as the two doors and the Adventure Line, but otherwise, my assumption was that it was just another YouTuber game that would eventually fade into obscurity. A good friend of mine purchased the game for me for my birthday, so I decided to give it a shot.
Now, it's hard to describe The Stanley Parable without spoiling it. Mechanically, all it involves is wandering around and clicking on random objects while The Narrator describes whatever you are doing. I will not go into more detail than that. What I will say, however, is that the game is one of the most impressive efforts I have ever seen in both video game writing and programming. Galactic Cafe really pushes the aging Source engine to its limits, with fantastic scripting and dynamic maps adding to the supposed mystery of this game. It's really quite surreal, how this game starts off fairly unassuming yet continuously peels back to form a greater mystery. The Narrator is of course, hilarious as always, and without saying much, he has greater vocal range than you would assume. I would also highly recommend not looking up anything about the game, or any walkthroughs, as the game is best experienced when you find everything out on your own.
If you're at all interested in surrealist and otherwise innovative gaming, The Stanley Parable is definitely something to check out. The only criticism I could see is that the price tag of $15 is a little steep for the amount of content (It took me around 4 and a half hours to 100% the game), but considering the age of this game, I would imagine it goes on sale quite often.
Now, it's hard to describe The Stanley Parable without spoiling it. Mechanically, all it involves is wandering around and clicking on random objects while The Narrator describes whatever you are doing. I will not go into more detail than that. What I will say, however, is that the game is one of the most impressive efforts I have ever seen in both video game writing and programming. Galactic Cafe really pushes the aging Source engine to its limits, with fantastic scripting and dynamic maps adding to the supposed mystery of this game. It's really quite surreal, how this game starts off fairly unassuming yet continuously peels back to form a greater mystery. The Narrator is of course, hilarious as always, and without saying much, he has greater vocal range than you would assume. I would also highly recommend not looking up anything about the game, or any walkthroughs, as the game is best experienced when you find everything out on your own.
If you're at all interested in surrealist and otherwise innovative gaming, The Stanley Parable is definitely something to check out. The only criticism I could see is that the price tag of $15 is a little steep for the amount of content (It took me around 4 and a half hours to 100% the game), but considering the age of this game, I would imagine it goes on sale quite often.