Greg Recommends The Stanley Parable

Price : $16.99

Website : STEAM

Originally released a mod for Halflife 2 in 2011 The Stanley Parable was re-released as a stand alone game through STEAM in 2013. You play as Stanley, a faceless employee in a mega corporation whose job is to push buttons but on this particular day nobody else showed up to work and you need to find out what happened to them, or at least that's what the Narrator tells you. You quickly discover that all is not what it seems... It isn't really a 'game' in the traditional understanding, but I *highly* recommend everyone who enjoys games to give this a thorough play through at least once in their lives.

The Stanley Parable is difficult to describe without spoiling so *spoiler alert*.

You start off in your cubical with the Narrator explaining thusly:

Stanley worked for a company in a big building where he was Employee #427. Employee #427's job was simple: he sat at his desk in room 427 and he pushed buttons on a keyboard. Orders came to him through a monitor on his desk, telling him what buttons to push, how long to push them, and in what order. This is what Employee #427 did every day of every month of every year, and although others might have considered it soul rending, Stanley relished every moment the orders came in, as though he had been made exactly for this job. And Stanley was happy. 

And then one day, something very peculiar happened. Something that would forever change Stanley; something he would never quite forget. He had been at his desk for nearly an hour when he realized that not one single order had arrived on the monitor for him to follow. No one had shown up to give him instructions, call a meeting, or even say 'hi.' Never in all his years at the company had this happened, this complete isolation. Something was very clearly wrong. 

Shocked, frozen solid, Stanley found himself unable to move for the longest time. But as he came to his wits and regained his senses, he got up from his desk and stepped out of his office.

And you, Stanley, begin moving about the office in search of your missing co-workers. The graphics aren't anything special, but they do work for an office environment. As you search the Narrator will chime in every so often. And then you are faced with a choice. Two doorways. The Narrator says that Stanley picks the door on the right...

Well Stanley? Do you go right or left?

Such a simple choice but oh, what wild and far flung possibilities exist when we play the choices game. You could go right and continue the story, but what would the Narrator say if you went left instead? The Narrator has a story to tell you Stanley, a good and rather exciting story that he put a lot of work into, but do you want to follow that story? You see Stanely, you are not alone, the Narrator is the other character in this game, and although you never see him he works with you and against you to give meaning to your actions. Depending on your choices the Narrator may lead you through a conspiracy plot, a dream sequence, a daring escape, or put you into a completely different game entirely, he may plead with you, applaud you, or just kill you out of frustration. Without him the game would be an empty maze. No Stanley, you may be the hero of the story but you need the Narrator and the Narrator needs you too...

There are many paths you could take, each one something different and something special. This game is more than just a game, it breaks through the fourth wall and acts as an interactive parable on the philosophy of game design. Do you really have choice when you play games? Does the Narrator have choice in what he says? Well of course not, his lines are pre-scripted, but does he know that they are pre-scripted and does it really matter if it seems to you Stanley that he is actually interacting with you and not just pre-programmed? Are your actions pre-scripted Stanley? You, with your conditioning to press buttons when instructed to do so. What is a game really? What happens when you break a game open and run amok? Is it better to have few choices or many choices and at what point do they become meaningless? These are the types of questions and commentary The Stanley Parable asks and investigates and the result is something brilliant, enjoyable, and memorable.

The Stanley Parable is especially fun if you've ever looked into creating your own games as the running commentary will address questions and issues that you've probably run into. This is a seriously clever game that was pulled off flawlessly although the subject material and wit may be lost on the casual gamer. My only caveat is that its rather short and maybe that is more of a compliment than a caveat because I would have absolutely loved to have spent many more hours playing as Stanley and interacting with the Narrator.

The Stanley Parable gets all my love. I Thoroughly enjoyed this title and I think most gamers will too.