The Stanley Parable (PC) review "And over. And over. And over."

The Stanley Parable is a game about Stanley. Except it isn’t really, and it’s not categorically a game in the true sense of the word. It’s more like a parody, except sometimes it’s intentionally not comical; it’s introspective, so I suppose it’s more like an evolving interactive narrative based around first person exploration. Except you don’t really explore that much. The path you take is very linear aside from when it’s completely open. There is a narrative to follow though! Unless you choose to ignore it. Wait, wait, let’s start again.

The Stanley Parable is certainly first person based, and is sometimes seen through the eyes of Stanley, a man working a dull office job in some corner office somewhere who arrives at work one day to find his workplace completely removed of his colleagues. Sometimes, this is a story about his search for his missing workmates and the dangerous secrets behind their disappearance. Only sometimes it’s not. It’s sometimes something completely different. It’s dependent on you. Sometimes. I can’t stop saying sometimes. Let’s start again. Again.



The Stanley Parable is a direct attack on the genre tropes that first person exploration and linear gameplay presents. Upon discovering the empty interior of his office block, Stanley can move through the building, following the subtle prompts of the narrator, except that he’s free to ignore this and just wander off on his own. The narrator might scramble to tie Stanley’s erratic actions into his narrative, or he might attack you, the player, for your lack of discipline. Or he might do something else. For instance, should you stop to try to gain achievements, he may lead you on a merry dance for his own amusement. Perhaps it’s sufficient to say that the real driving force is the narrator and his reactions. Maybe it’s all about all the eventual and multiple outcomes your behaviour might garner. Except, no, that’s not quite right either.

The Stanley Parable is ultimately undefinable, aside from the many aspects of the game that are easy to define. That’s just gibberish, isn’t it? Disregard that. Except, hang on, that’s kind of right. Indeed, the game can be as simple as you let it; do as you’re told, and it’s a fairly linear tale about discovery and freedom. Is that the tale it wants to tell? Maybe? Probably? No, actually, I don’t think it is. Most of the time, you can find conclusion in about 10-15 minutes, and multiple replays are needed to see the outcome of various choices you’re sometimes free to make. The game itself changes along with this; various pathways are boarded up if you abuse them too often; numerous restarts are chastised and long winded exposition mercilessly cut short with exacerbated sighs should the narrator be forced to re-tread old ground too often. It doesn’t so much as drive you towards one big true path as challenge you to pervert its most basic outcome as much as you can. Is that a mission statement? Enjoy messing up your tale? I think so. Why would anyone do that?



Perhaps The Stanley Parable is just a self-aware computer game that delights in breaking the fourth wall in order to, what? Amuse you? Make you think about the absurdity of similar titles? Bemoan the overall simplicity of the genre? Except it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem to want to admit to being a computer game at all. Does it change its mind on what it wants to be? Is it all these things all at the same time? Is anything it advances the true path or is the entire point to be ultimately pointless? It is me? Is it me missing the point? I don’t think I’m the problem here. I need to make better sense of this. Let me start again.

The Stanley Parable is a game about Stanley. Except it isn’t really, and it’s not categorically a game in the true sense of the word. It’s more like a parody, except sometimes it’s intentionally not comical… wait; we’ve done this bit already, haven’t we? I feel we’ve done this bit already. Let’s make sure.

Staff review by Gary Hartley (January 05, 2014) Gary Hartley arbitrarily arrives, leaves a review for a game no one has heard of, then retreats to his 17th century castle in rural England to feed whatever lives in the moat and complain about you.