Should I play the original Stanley Parable before playing the deluxe?

[[NoS] Rasmol]

Just asking

[Tisiphone Edge]

There's no reason to buy the game twice.

[Birch!]

You don't have to. The full original version is in this, though one of the endings has been modified to feature something new / update it to the times. You only need the original game if you want to play through the original version of that specific ending.

[Etimo]

You should go straight for this one IMO. Everything (except some details) from the original is in the Deluxe already. You won't miss anything, and you'll have extra stuff to do so that's cool

[Zaphoogin]

Maybe. As Birchwood pointed out, the main difference besides the graphics is that one ending. However, one thing you can do in the original is load the game with "-console" in the launch options and use console commands to explore places you can't normally reach (there's also another "ending" for trying to use sv_cheats). There's also a mod for the original called "The Raphael Parable" that might not get ported to this release.

Edit: Will also point out there is a demo for the original game that gives you a feel for this game's humor and meta-commentary. However, if you want a more direct demo, there's the original Half-Life 2 mod that this game was based on.

[[RAIN]deer]

What Birchwood said. Not worth buying the original game to experience the altered ending and cut(?) ending yourself, just get SPUD and then look up ending videos of the original after you get through it.

[Blackgaze]

One of the endings routes has changed, it plays out in a different way due to license issues

[Nos]

Originally posted by Birchwood:

You don't have to. The full original version is in this, though one of the endings has been modified to feature something new / update it to the times. You only need the original game if you want to play through the original version of that specific ending.

which ending was that?

[[RAIN]deer]

Originally posted by Nos:

which ending was that?

The ending with Minecraft and Portal, I forget the common name, has substituted Firewatch and Rocket League, respectively.

[SoloSlater]

Originally posted by RAINdeer:

Originally posted by Nos:

which ending was that?

The ending with Minecraft and Portal, I forget the common name, has substituted Firewatch and Rocket League, respectively.

yeah i got excited that it was new but kinda bummed because it wasn't the same

[Princess]

Originally posted by SoloSlater:

Originally posted by RAINdeer:

The ending with Minecraft and Portal, I forget the common name, has substituted Firewatch and Rocket League, respectively.

yeah i got excited that it was new but kinda bummed because it wasn't the same

It plays out almost exactly the same with just a slightly different "flavor". Both the minecraft and firewatch end nearly the same with him remarking that he dislikes open-ended/world games, and the portal and rocket league games being in a closed area.

[Defective Dopamine Pez Dispenser]

Are we even certain those changes were for licensing reasons? I mean, the original is still being sold, after all. I know it would require a separate licensing agreement (if an agreement was even involved, assuming it wasn't just them finding it funny and letting them use it of course.) But I just figured they changed the games to more recent popular games as a funny change for the hell of it.

To answer the main question though, you really only "need" to play the original if you care about a very specific easter egg ending that requires a console command to access, and really, really feel the need to experience one of the endings with Minecraft and Portal being referenced instead of two different games.

As others have said, everything else is intact here, in addition to new content (some of which is entirely new, and some of which riffs on the existing content once you unlock it, and is - imo - pretty funny.)

[[RAIN]deer]

Originally posted by Aikido:

Are we even certain those changes were for licensing reasons? I mean, the original is still being sold, after all. I know it would require a separate licensing agreement (if an agreement was even involved, assuming it wasn't just them finding it funny and letting them use it of course.) But I just figured they changed the games to more recent popular games as a funny change for the hell of it.

My guess is a combination:
1) Licenses likely only applied to the original release, not remakes/ultra-deluxing. Now that Minecraft is no longer an "indie darling" and owned by a certain ginormous company, it would probably be far more of a pain/$$$ to include over Firewatch
2) SPUD is made in Unity; TSP is made in Source. Because Portal was also Source, it was likely easy to include (and Minecraft not hard to recreate, I assume). Firewatch is made with Unity, likely making for easy import, though Rocket League is Unreal Engine (but, again, just have to import the map and do some physics stuff that Unity probably has built-in)

In any case, it's not like Valve is doing anything with it except tech demos so I doubt they'd make including Portal in SPUD difficult. I think that replacement was because, due to property languish, the replacement is much more recognizable than the original riff.

[Defective Dopamine Pez Dispenser]

^ Actually, that's a great point re: the engine change. I suspect that's probably closest to the truth.

[The Dank Lord [GER]]

Yes, alone for the broom closet ending

[Princess]

Originally posted by The Dank Lord GER:

Yes, alone for the broom closet ending

That's still in this one, and they also extended it.