A gem in my opinion! This is one of those games that I actually tell myself I’m so glad that I played. The concept of this game is great to me.

You play as a man who works in a mundane job pushing buttons all day. Orders come through to his screen to push buttons and he does as told. One day, Stanley realises no orders are coming through, and that no one else is in the office. He gets up to see what’s going on.

That’s where we come in. You navigate Stanley around a very seemingly linear office, and quickly discover that you have a narrator dictating everything that you do. Do what he says, or defy him. You come to various paths and crossroads and are given that choice.

What I love about this game is how it plays on pure human curiosity (and I guess in turn human psychology). If you go one way, you usually wonder… but what would happen if I went the other way? There is many endings to the game, and as the narrator goes on with his story, you wonder what is true, what is not, what the real story to the game is or if there even is one. It gets you thinking, and I love a game that’ll make me think!

I enjoyed this game very much. I have an odd “fear”, kind of, of missing or losing things. So being given a game with many paths, endings and different things to find, admittedly I did OCD over it a bit and actually went as far as drawing myself a map (don’t judge me). But it was a lot of fun. I had a great time playing this game and think it is something anyone could enjoy.

The characters are amazing. I love both Stanley, the narrator and the odd “relationship” they have with each other (even though Stanley never speaks). The voice casting for the narrator is on point, I honestly couldn’t imagine the character any other way. He’s well-spoken and has a great charm about him.

The narrator in ways kind of “trolls” you a bit with how he tries to keep you on track or how he reacts when you go against him. In this regard the game has a slight feeling of being a bit of a mind game. You question which way to go, what the consequences will be and ask yourself whether he is truthful or bluffing. The narrator definitely tries to play psychological tricks on you. He’s a great character and that is important for a game so dependent on that character being entertaining.

The humour in this game was something I did enjoy quite a bit. The way things are done and played out I was quite impressed with.

The graphics are nice. I wasn’t aware before, but this game actually started as a Half-Life 2 mod. As a standalone game I think it did really well for itself and its honestly no wonder it is as popular as it is.

In terms of achievements, a few can be a little tedious, but in ways you aren't even mad. As said before the game can “troll” you at times and it does so even more through the achievements. Given the attitude of the game I guess you could say you expect it. I would say that it’s still easy to 100%, but there is a few that you kind of need to “cheat” to achievement. For example, an achievement titled “Go outside”, your task being to “not play The Stanley Parable for 5 years”. Which, come on!

All in all, I love this game and really think you should give it a try. If you like a good bit of humour and like your curiosity being tempted I think this game is a good one for that.


TL ; DR : A great and unique game that tests your curiosity and gets you thinking. It has many endings to offer and generally is fun, definitely try it!

For more reviews of games with psychological, philosophical or thought-provoking themes, check out my curator page Psychology, Philosophy & Thought, where we review games that explore the mind, get you thinking or make you question.

A gem in my opinion! This is one of those games that I actually tell myself I’m so glad that I played. The concept of this game is great to me. You play as a man who works in a mundane job pushing buttons all day. Orders come through to his screen to push buttons and he does as told. One day, Stanley realises no orders are coming through, and that no one else is in the office. He gets up to see what’s going on. That’s where we come in. You navigate Stanley around a very seemingly linear office, and quickly discover that you have a narrator dictating everything that you do. Do what he says, or defy him. You come to various paths and crossroads and are given that choice. What I love about this game is how it plays on pure human curiosity (and I guess in turn human psychology). If you go one way, you usually wonder… but what would happen if I went the other way? There is many endings to the game, and as the narrator goes on with his story, you wonder what is true, what is not, what the real story to the game is or if there even is one. It gets you thinking, and I love a game that’ll make me think! I enjoyed this game very much. I have an odd “fear”, kind of, of missing or losing things. So being given a game with many paths, endings and different things to find, admittedly I did OCD over it a bit and actually went as far as drawing myself a map (don’t judge me). But it was a lot of fun. I had a great time playing this game and think it is something anyone could enjoy. The characters are amazing. I love both Stanley, the narrator and the odd “relationship” they have with each other (even though Stanley never speaks). The voice casting for the narrator is on point, I honestly couldn’t imagine the character any other way. He’s well-spoken and has a great charm about him. The narrator in ways kind of “trolls” you a bit with how he tries to keep you on track or how he reacts when you go against him. In this regard the game has a slight feeling of being a bit of a mind game. You question which way to go, what the consequences will be and ask yourself whether he is truthful or bluffing. The narrator definitely tries to play psychological tricks on you. He’s a great character and that is important for a game so dependent on that character being entertaining. The humour in this game was something I did enjoy quite a bit. The way things are done and played out I was quite impressed with. The graphics are nice. I wasn’t aware before, but this game actually started as a Half-Life 2 mod. As a standalone game I think it did really well for itself and its honestly no wonder it is as popular as it is. In terms of achievements, a few can be a little tedious, but in ways you aren't even mad. As said before the game can “troll” you at times and it does so even more through the achievements. Given the attitude of the game I guess you could say you expect it. I would say that it’s still easy to 100%, but there is a few that you kind of need to “cheat” to achievement. For example, an achievement titled “Go outside”, your task being to “not play The Stanley Parable for 5 years”. Which, come on! All in all, I love this game and really think you should give it a try. If you like a good bit of humour and like your curiosity being tempted I think this game is a good one for that. TL ; DR : A great and unique game that tests your curiosity and gets you thinking. It has many endings to offer and generally is fun, definitely try it! [quote]For more reviews of games with psychological, philosophical or thought-provoking themes, check out my curator page [url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38795895/] Psychology, Philosophy & Thought, [/url] where we review games that explore the mind, get you thinking or make you question. [/quote]