The thumbs down probably has your attention now, so let me say this:

If you played the original Stanley Parable and explored it inside and out, then I recommend that you buy the Ultra Deluxe RIGHT now. It's an incredible step-up from the original with hours of new and creative content that, in my opinion, is worth the price of admission. So, then why did I choose "do not recommend"?

If you did NOT play the original Stanley Parable, then I DON'T recommend that you play this version (yet). UD really blurs the line between adding new content on top of the base game, and just being a straight-up sequel to the original. So much of what the game adds is self referential and can only be understood or appreciated if you had played the original game beforehand. So much of what I loved about UD is because of its many call backs of comedic gags and actual commentary of gaming as an artistic medium from the original release. If you go straight into UD, you would miss so much of what made the first game special without even realizing it. Hell, even playing them back to back would dull the experience compared to playing them years apart.

What makes this even more odd is that it's even hard to recommend playing the first game, just to play the second. Because while I'd argue that there's enough references to call this a sequel, in many ways it is still the original Stanley Parable with very few changes to the original content from 2013 (though the changes that are there are great).


The Stanley Parable and it's Ultra Deluxe release are must play games for anyone that has a real love and passion for video games. Not just as entertainment, but as a real artistic medium for writing and narrative. But to fully appreciate Ultra Deluxe for what it does with The Stanley Parable, you first need to appreciate the original 2013 release by giving it a solid play-through. But if you'd rather not, then Ultra Deluxe isn't for you.

The thumbs down probably has your attention now, so let me say this: If you played the original Stanley Parable and explored it inside and out, then I recommend that you buy the Ultra Deluxe RIGHT now. It's an incredible step-up from the original with hours of new and creative content that, in my opinion, is worth the price of admission. So, then why did I choose "do not recommend"? If you did NOT play the original Stanley Parable, then I DON'T recommend that you play this version (yet). UD really blurs the line between adding new content on top of the base game, and just being a straight-up sequel to the original. So much of what the game adds is self referential and can only be understood or appreciated if you had played the original game beforehand. So much of what I loved about UD is because of its many call backs of comedic gags and actual commentary of gaming as an artistic medium from the original release. If you go straight into UD, you would miss so much of what made the first game special without even realizing it. Hell, even playing them back to back would dull the experience compared to playing them years apart. What makes this even more odd is that it's even hard to recommend playing the first game, just to play the second. Because while I'd argue that there's enough references to call this a sequel, in many ways it is still the original Stanley Parable with very few changes to the original content from 2013 (though the changes that are there are great). The Stanley Parable and it's Ultra Deluxe release are must play games for anyone that has a real love and passion for video games. Not just as entertainment, but as a real artistic medium for writing and narrative. But to fully appreciate Ultra Deluxe for what it does with The Stanley Parable, you first need to appreciate the original 2013 release by giving it a solid play-through. But if you'd rather not, then Ultra Deluxe isn't for you.