Like so many, I enjoyed my time with the original Stanley Parable, which underscores how truly disappointed I am with its sequel. Where the first game teemed with originality, The Stanley Parable 2 is dull, uninspired, and often insulting to its fan base. Rather than expand on what made the first game enjoyable, the sequel veers off into territory nobody asked for. An infinitely deep hole? Who cares? Where are the new endings? What about enjoyable bits from The Stanley Parable 1, like the Adventure Line? Instead, we get an uninspired sidequest collecting figurines. Even this diversion feels incomplete: collecting all the figurines gives you nothing! I must say though, I found the bucket to be quite comforting, a welcome reprieve from

overall a 7/10, with a very strong recommendation. very glad to hear a sequel was announced, bc the game needs it to justify the rushed ending and epilogue sequence

+ interesting setting, fitting in tonally with the narrative of the game

+ the character design is fantastic, especially when it comes to family resemblance and accurate ages

+ the dialogue is engaging and the voice-acting really sells it; each character has a "voice" and it makes interactions between them feel more believable

+ characterisation in general is very strong, with each character having defined relationships, goals, and reactions to the world around them

+ absolutely gorgeous game - the environmental setpieces are both varied and stunning

+ bloody love rats, me

- suffers from pacing issues near the beginning, with the plot only becoming interesting around chapter 5 when lucas delivers some essential context to understanding what's happening

- disappointing ending, with many narrative threads for the characters disappearing in favour of a vague, open-ended "resolution" which doesn't actually resolve anything

- the gameplay is simplistic, with the level designs being incredibly linear, which can wear on you with prolonged playing sessions. it also gets frustrating during boss fights, when the bare-bones mechanics become very grating if you're used to more action-y games