The Stanley Parable is a strange game. You play as Stanley- no, his last name is NOT parable; don’t worry, I made that mistake too- who is employee # 427 out of hundreds in an office. One day, all of his coworkers mysteriously disappear. Stanley must follow the advice of the only voice he hears, the British narrator Kevan Brighting, to find them. This guy is sarcastic, pushy, and comedic. I liken him to Glados from Portal. He’s not so much an antagonist but a shepherd that leads Stanley to salvation.
Your experience with The Stanley Parable may differ from mine. For instance, my first play through took about 20 minutes. I paid $12 for this game and have only played 20 minutes then finished. What a rip-off, right? No, wrong. This game has several endings. Some people are four hours in and have yet to finish completely. How are the developers able to prolong the games’ length? Why am I so good at most things? (It’s a little mixture of skill and handsomeness; I’ll tell you all about it later).
The key to your experience is made up of two things: (a. If you follow the narrator’s advice and (b. If, while deviating, you check EVERYTHING.
Brighting may tell you to take the left door but you decide to go right. Boom. Right there the entire story is changed. You will not get a certain ending. He’ll tell you to go upstairs but you head down instead. Boom, again. Story affected once more.
I wish I could tell you more, however, I would end up giving most of the plot away. So instead, I present to you my first play through (expressed in words):
Whoa nice desk.
Who’s talking?
I love your accent.
Yes, I will go to the break room my British God-like voice friend.
Okay stop telling me what to do.
Wait. Where’s the jump button?
You want me to go downstairs? How about no.
This office is super empty.
Seriously where’s the jump button?
Fine I’ll go upstairs.
This room is dark as crap.
Is that the outside?
WTF.
WTF.
This game cannot be over.
What the actual funk?!