Review: Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a mandatory game for comedy fans

[mabbo]

"Stanley Parable" is, imho, a strong example of video games as a form of art.

Few are going to play this game for 10 hours or more. I topped out at about 3. But it's still one of the most impactful, thought-provoking digital experiences I've had the pleasure of playing.

[jkingsman]

The two creators continued the theme in their next works -- Davey Wreden's "The Beginner's Guide" is a 2-3 hour game and a powerful look at what it means to make art and how we interact with it through an epistolary-style series of nano-games ostensibly made by his friend Coda. It's the greatest game I've ever played.

William Pugh made "Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist," which is a goofy 30 min game where you arrive early to a game and must deal with that situation as it develops.

Both are absurdly creative, funny and/or touching, and obviously have the same creative fingerprints of Stanley Parable within them.

[scyzoryk_xyz]

Exactly - a responsibly made work of art conveys a message, a feeling, an idea in a reasonable window of time and let's you go back to your life.

This I think, is something the bigger 'industry' doesn't and will never fully aim for, because games like this don't drive the type of consumption that can deliver the kinds of profits which are to be expected with industrial scales of production.

Something similar happened in filmmaking in the 1970's, when tools for film production and distribution methods became gradually less expensive and more accessible. I think that we will see something very similar in the coming decades as game-design continues to develop as a mature artform.

[shadowofneptune]

It was very pleasant to be back in this game, almost like coming across someone you knew from grade school, saying 'hi!,' and then finding an excuse to carry on with your day. One thing that's impressive is that the game is under an entirely different engine. It's only noticable in certain places.

The additions do help with one thing I found sad about the original game, which is that it felt rather dead after completing everything. There's more of an emotional throughline now, even if it (intentionally) doesn't make much sense.

[umvi]

I never beat the original Stanley Parable but the baby ending is hilarious. It's far too tedious for me (you literally have to push a button for 4 hours to prevent a baby from crawling into flames) but it was still worth watching someone else do it: https://youtu.be/m7GAtSIy4-w

[jandrese]

You can "beat" the original? I guess there's the field ending if you follow all of the directions.

[nigerian1981]

The fact that the black rectangle at the end was a bug is hilarious.

[johnchristopher]

It's weird to me how there are things I really dislike but everyone else do like and they wonder why I don't like it even though I seem to be the targeted audience. From the top of my head:

    - Monty python
    - Mister Bean
    - Stanley Parable
    - Gris

And I enjoy these:

    - Rick and Morty
    - Star Trek lower deck
    - The Witness
    - Knytt/What happened to Edith Finch/Dear Esther

I played a bit of Stanley Parable on 3 occasions but found it empty and pretentious (same opinion on Gris). To each its own but there are some preferences I can't precisely tell why it clicks or not yet.

[gibb0n]

British:

    - Monty python
    - Mister Bean
    - Stanley Parable

American:

    - Rick and Morty
    - Star Trek lower deck
    - The Witness
    - What happened to Edith Finch

[mey]

Mister Bean is slapstick stick/cringe comedy.

Monty Python is absurdist/surealism comedy

Stanley parable is a meta parody about video games narrative choice (or lack thereof)

Rick & Morty is high fantasy sci-fi comedy

The Witness is a environmental puzzle game with light environmental story telling.

Dear Esther is entirely environmental story telling.

(Only commenting on things I am familiar with)

There is nothing wrong with not liking things others like, but other than being in the nerd zeitgeist, I wouldn't say they are targeting the same thing.

Based on your stated games may I suggest looking at the following if you haven't previously

  - Tacoma
  - Braid
  - Fez
  - Quadrilateral Cowboy

[caslon]

The items in the latter section seem a lot more popular than the former section.

Are you really that shocked if we reframe this as you not enjoying a game that started out as a niche Half-Life mod, but enjoying a television show made by the most popular television network amongst young adults?

"I like popular things" shouldn't seem weird to you. It's natural: They're made to be easy to digest. That's why they're popular!

That the only stuff you like is American, while the stuff you dislike is entirely foreign, shouldn't come as a surprise, either. Pop culture isn't global, not yet.

[hibernator935]

Some other great games that people in this thread might like, but that were not yet mentioned:

  * Outer Wilds (not to be confused with Outer Worlds)
  * Talos Principle (especially the add-on Road to Gehenna)
  * RiME (warning: sad ending!)
  * Portal 1 & 2 (Yes, these are old, but maybe there is someone here from the happy 10_000)

[DavidVoid]

How is Gris empty and pretentious? Empty-ish, sure, mechanically it's a rather simple game, but pretentious? It's just an aesthetically beautiful and simple indie game, it's not something that tries to portray itself as being much "deeper" or more intelligent than it actually is.

[emsy]

I don't like the word pretentious. Pretending to be what? What I would agree to is that it isn't as deep as everyone recommending it making it out to be (I'm talking about the original, I haven't played the new version).

[jesse_faden]

What remains of Edith Finch was such a great game. I loved it. Firewatch is another one that I would add to that list.

[kevingadd]

Aside from the other good recommendations in the replies, I would suggest 999/Virtue's Last Reward (if you can handle some Anime tropes) for a story-focused game with some puzzle gameplay (the third one is... bad, but skippable) and perhaps Nier or Nier Automata if you want something with a lot of robust (albeit not best-in-class) action gameplay paired with its story.

All of the above (except maybe Automata) can be finished in a dozen hours or less, and 999 has a port that removes the puzzles entirely if you dislike them. (I think the puzzles are a core part of the experience, personally.) For Nier Automata there is an 'easy automatic' mode that lets you have the game automatically control parts of the combat system for you if you really just want to plow through the story.

[k__]

I liked Soma. I you haven't played it, I would strongly recommend.

[acomjean]

I enjoyed the Stanley parable and what remains of Edith Finch. Both were fun, interesting explore titles.

TSP is absurd. (The go outside award is for not playing the game for 10 years?)

Stanley parables self commentary I thought was pretty funny. If the humor runs you the wrong way it will be annoying. If you are looking for a nice ending or a completionist it can be frustrating.

I played a bunch and haven’t gone back in a while.

[xdfgh1112]

The first three are all British comedies, so maybe that's why.

I'm not a fan either, but I loved Gris. It was pretentious but also beautiful and fun.

[mgdlbp]

Outer Wilds--often see it recommended enthusiastically. Same publisher as Edith Finch, also won a bunch of awards.

[bombcar]

Much of Monty python is more accessible to someone with a British education or a so-called classical education.

[robonerd]

Mockumentaries, e.g. Spinal Tap. It seems like everybody loves these movies yet they give me migraines. The brain pain these movies cause me is so strong, I hesitate to even bring them up. Even thinking of them makes me wince. I didn't know "painfully unfunny" was a literal sensation until I saw Best in Show, and all subsequent mockumenaries I've seen have been just as bad if not worse. I now refuse to watch another for the rest of my life.

[remoquete]

Also recommended: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.

[moonbug]

not weird, you're just a youngish american.

[mlindner]

I like

- Monty Python

- Stanley Parable

- The Witness

out of your list so I'm not sure what that makes me. Never heard of Gris or the last one in your other list.

Also, how do you get that formatting on hacker news? What formatting is allowed?

[ohgodplsno]

You're the kind of person that needs a skip button.

[ModernMech]

Curious in which list you would place Douglas Adams.

[ecliptik]

Did you get the broom closet ending? The broom closet ending was my favorite!

[deadbeeves]

I find this concerning.

[SamoyedFurFluff]

If anyone is interested I highly recommend the review video by Leadhead. It fully covers the experience of playing, from a narrative evolution standpoint. It’s relatively short, <20 minutes, and since it’s about the actual analysis of the narrative escalation of the game and it’s ties back to the previous game it does contain spoilers. But it made me really excited to play it myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJxSssx5PqM

[shadowofneptune]

I find the video rather disappointing. It feels less like an analysis of the Ultra Deluxe edition and more like a plot summary. It should only be watched if you are more interested in knowing what it's about than interested in playing it.

[yreg]

Recently I've been watching Severance on Apple TV+ and it reminded me of The Stanley Parable all the time. It's a pleasant surprise to see they made a new edition.

[JonathanFly]

The writer of Severance specifically mentioned the Stanley Parable, so that's quite intentional: https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/severance-apple-tv-plu...

[jmcgough]

I just bought it because a friend hasn't experienced it yet. When you can't re-experience a blind playthrough of the game, the next best thing is to watch a friend play through it at your house.

[baby]

I played this game after hearing so much about it and… it is quite boring to be honest. It is an experience for sure but I’m the kind of gamer who gets _extremely_ bored if there is no interesting gameplay. Another example is undertale which is critically acclaimed but is just unplayable for me.

[mabbo]

This is why I typically refer to it as 'digital art' more than 'game'. (See my other comment on that).

It's not a roller coaster park, it's a museum exhibit or a gallery opening. That's not an insult- lots of people really like museums and art galleries. But have you ever witnessed someone dragged to one of those when they clearly have no interest in being there?

[psyc]

One thing about TSP is that even if you think it's not the best treatment of a game that talks about itself out loud, it is the only game that talks about itself out loud. If you weren't looking for such a game in the first place, then that's another matter.

(Bastion sort of does, but on an object rather than meta level.)

[oneoff786]

I didn’t like the Stanley parable. Undertake had bullet hell gameplay. That seems hugely different? I found it’s aesthetic to be kind of annoying personally.

[3qz]

Fun game, but the humour feels straight out of 2013 internet culture. Also, half the new content is exactly the same as the old content except the narrator comments on an object that you’re holding.

[Tarq0n]

I just finished it, and keeping things as spoiler free as possible, there's a bit in the middle which is just incredible... and then it goes nowhere with it. Instead choosing to serve up a permutation of the original game. I want to play a whole game that's just that bit in the middle, missed opportunity in my opinion. Honestly I'm not sure I'd recommend this version to someone who's played the original, but if you're new to TSP please give it a go.

[ModernMech]

Stanley Parable always reminded me a little of Starship Titanic. Anyone remember that game? I remember it was like a funny Myst.

[bastardoperator]

Not if you want the 10 year achievement badge!

[dom96]

I bought it and refunded it. Just felt too much like the first game and ended up getting bored pretty quickly from walking around and hearing the same thing.

[jorams]

Did you ever get to the new content?

[psyc]

A new Stanley Parable!!?? Well I know what I'll be doing for fun today. That's an automatic buy for me.