The Stanley Parable

”Nothing that is expressed is obscene. What is obscene is what is hidden.” -Nagisa Oshima

***Before beginning, I would like to give a special thanks to my ex-fiancé for proofing this review for me. Credit where credit is due.

What some consider to be an Indie gem while others plea confusion as to the course of this title, The Stanley Parable is a game about choice and consequence, with moderately brief journeys being the focus of play. The player takes control of Stanley, an office worker whose position entails the pressing of buttons throughout the day; the operation of these simple devices is his sole function, until one bizarre day, all of his coworkers vanish. From here Stanley leaves his office unprompted in search of some answers. I will do my best to refrain from writing this review in the identical joking tone of most writings, though the comedy in this title is infectious.

Here are just a few reasons to give this memorably fantastic game a try:

Atmosphere - This title progresses through Stanley’s well-crafted office space as the player maneuvers through the expected rooms and hallways that you would foresee composing a business department. I do not wish to spoil much about  other sections of The Stanley Parable’s branching story for the sake of having you experience them for yourself.

Gameplay - As stated in the introduction, players assume the role of Stanley from a first person perspective as he explores his abandoned office spaces, through multiple unique rooms and themes in order to discover the ‘finale’ for the tale. The controls are simple, with the W, A, S, and D keys acting as movement commands; the Control key assuming the crouched position; and the LMB allowing the player to interact with various objects within the environment. There are both hidden and pronounced articles within the environment that can be toggled to alter story paths-covered in the coming section.

Writing - As unambiguous as this game appears to be, this story-rich satire is far from any other market experience. The Stanley Parable performs as expected, with the players unraveling new beginnings and ends while probing for secluded secrets. Between these points of interest, the brilliant Kevan Brighting voices each interaction-or lack there-of-to entail a sense of accomplishment for the player, in the stead of simply stalling in a daft room until prompted otherwise. This commentary is extremely witty, and displays each critical action Stanley makes. In a sense, this is more of a powerful placebo to gaming: it takes the form of what you expect any game would yet lacks just the right amount of properties, toning it a simulation.

TL:DR - As with the quote above, The Stanley Parable is an obscure game which presents the perfect amount of subtly in its processes. There can never be a proper review for The Stanley Parable due to how absurdly miraculous it is, yet every review written about it is the perfect review since it is that of individuality, such as with this title; the only true way to understand this title is to simply play it for yourself. As much as I would love to write on and on about this title, no words can do it justice, as it is difficult to pinpoint every exceptional portion of this work. I highly recommend this title to those who enjoy titles depicting choice and consequence, as well as narratives. Thanks for reading.

Do you feel this review helped in any way? Feel free to visit my Curator Page at Spearpoint Reviews.
Originally posted March 21, 2016. Last edited May 1, 2018.