Combining existentialism and humour, confusion and wit, surrealism and stark confrontations with an isolated reality, The Stanley Parable serves as one of the most self-aware video games in recent memory. It is definitely a contender for one of the most intertextual video games ever made in its self-referentiality and in the developers' awareness of all the standard tropes that become subverted or distorted. The Stanley Parable is basically played one of two ways: straight through following the proper story or deviating from the normal path, and there are very specific points where you are given a clear choice between the two. However, once you branch from the correct path, you'll find that even if you try to go back to it, it becomes impossible. This game touches briefly on some notions such as narrative and individual autonomy, but unfortunately never does anything more than make you contemplate them briefly. The way it comes together seems to differ each time as it has a number of different endings, and beginning again will offer you yet more choices. However, as self-aware a game though it is, it is rather short as its intertextual premise simply can't sustain itself for very long. The player reaches an ending of one form or another, and then restarts to explore another path, seemingly arbitrarily.

On to the technical aspects. The voice acting for this game is superb, and although there's a lot to listen to, it never comes across as boring. The developers could not have cast better voice actors for this game, and it's clear that in the hands of lesser talents, this game would be nothing. They make this game. Visually, it's the Source engine, so it predictably looks good, but nothing fantastic. The overall polish is very good and it ends up finding a nice middleground that looks modern but not too sleek. I didn't have any problems running it. There really aren't too many complaints on the technical side of things.

Now, I do have some criticisms for the game. Although it is very good and the concept, design, and voice work are top-notch, there are still a couple of things that I would say are problems. For instance, I don't think there's more than two hours worth of content here. You can beat the main story in less than five minutes (in fact, for one of the achievements, you're encouraged to), and there's only so long you can run around. On top of that, this is still a Source mod, and although it has a large file size, it reuses a lot of assets from other Source games. Lastly, for the few third person scenes that there are, they look quite bad. There's nothing that just screams lazy like a static image with a slow camera pan out. A lot of the reviews I've read highly praise the game, but I don't think it's really THAT worthy a game for all the praise it's received. The developers deftly subvert the average player's expectations and have created a uniquely cerebral game with some creative design choices, but it doesn't hold a lot of replay value or weight. It incorporates humor and is funny in places, but it doesn't feel like there's a whole lot there. Although there are a ton of different legitimate paths you can take, there isn't any actual puzzle-solving or anything that will make you think. It's well-made but it really does feel like a Source mod and it ultimately just ends up being a short game.

It also drops pretty much all tropes from FPP (first-person perspective) video games, in that there's no combat or intricate maneuvering to be had. I applaud this since it distinctly breaks the mold from most FPP games, but it doesn't fill the hole with much else than wandering around barren corridors. Most games either focus on combat, puzzle-solving, platforming, immersing the player in a compelling and interesting world, or if nothing else, appreciating the scenic view, if not a mix of all five. Removing combat, puzzles, platforming (you can't jump at all and never need to crouch), starting the player with a nonsensical premise and boring environment, and keeping interactivity surprisingly low, The Stanley Parable in fact doesn't have any of the above. Rather, the game opts for what are in actual fact simply minor decisions (such as taking a right path instead of a left path), but constantly reminding the player that this decision is incredibly important. Whether or not this subversion of authority and declaration of autonomy is really as significant as all that is up to the player's interpretation, but it leads to my next point.

****MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD****

Mild spoiler warning from here until further indicated. It ultimately turns out that actually the entire point of the game is the player's decision to either follow or disregard the game's storyline. By expressing his own volition, he can choose whether or not to either submit to or betray the narrative. That's it. Now, I'm fine with that, but it doesn't really go anywhere with this. Furthermore, as a game, it doesn't do much, if anything, with its medium. For instance, The Stanley Parable could be rendered in first-person perspective in the Source engine, or it could just as easily be rendered in the medium of an eight-bit pixelated platformer. Or it could even be text-based. The reason is because it's the concept behind the game that is on display here, not the stuff of the game itself (i.e., the engine). The Stanley Parable depicts its environments accurately but likewise, there is little reason for it to take place in the environment it does. It looks like an office, and it feels like an office, but it could just as well take place pretty much anywhere else. The game opens up conveniently after everyone has suddenly disappeared, and although while playing the game the player doesn't really question this much, afterwards it made my brain itch, and I just got the sense that this was done so the developers didn't have to animate models, write scripted dialogue, or find more voice actors. Basically all this is to say that the same concept could be done any number of ways, so much so that the storyline that the game (read: Narrator) is trying to tell is rendered completely meaningless. Lastly, the decisions that you do make are possibly only there for comedic value. Nothing really has any reason to be there, which may be the developer's own ironic take on narrative structure. As it stands, there is at least one point where it becomes literally impossible to save yourself from a bad ending in what feels like should be an ultimate confrontation, which is a major disappointment. One can argue that that was the point, to subvert your expectations and force a "Game Over" during what feels like what should be a boss battle or confrontation, but instead it feels more like an unsatisfying psychological experiment that gives a major case of blue balls. It's as though the developers don't realize that these tropes exist and get perpetuated because they're actually emotionally satisfying to actual living people, the kinds of people who bought this game.

****END OF SPOILERS****

This is a game that is fun to play through at the time but can get frustrating when thinking about it afterwards. That being said, I think you should use your discretion when considering buying this game. I certainly don't think it's worth the $15 pricetag at all. As it's also very heavy, even ham-fisted, in its trope subversion, if that's not your cup of tea already, this isn't going to win any converts. My opinion is, if you're interested in a short, light-hearted, trope-subverting Source mod, get it when it comes on sale. However, this seems like one of those cases where the public is so infatuated with a game that so overtly indulges itself with tropes that it feels like it's one step away from being meme-defining. I'll take a cue from The Stanley Parable and say that it's really your choice whether or not you think such a game will be worth your money.

Combining existentialism and humour, confusion and wit, surrealism and stark confrontations with an isolated reality, The Stanley Parable serves as one of the most self-aware video games in recent memory. It is definitely a contender for one of the most intertextual video games ever made in its self-referentiality and in the developers' awareness of all the standard tropes that become subverted or distorted. The Stanley Parable is basically played one of two ways: straight through following the proper story or deviating from the normal path, and there are very specific points where you are given a clear choice between the two. However, once you branch from the correct path, you'll find that even if you try to go back to it, it becomes impossible. This game touches briefly on some notions such as narrative and individual autonomy, but unfortunately never does anything more than make you contemplate them briefly. The way it comes together seems to differ each time as it has a number of different endings, and beginning again will offer you yet more choices. However, as self-aware a game though it is, it is rather short as its intertextual premise simply can't sustain itself for very long. The player reaches an ending of one form or another, and then restarts to explore another path, seemingly arbitrarily. On to the technical aspects. The voice acting for this game is superb, and although there's a lot to listen to, it never comes across as boring. The developers could not have cast better voice actors for this game, and it's clear that in the hands of lesser talents, this game would be nothing. They [i]make[/i] this game. Visually, it's the Source engine, so it predictably looks good, but nothing fantastic. The overall polish is very good and it ends up finding a nice middleground that looks modern but not too sleek. I didn't have any problems running it. There really aren't too many complaints on the technical side of things. Now, I do have some criticisms for the game. Although it is very good and the concept, design, and voice work are top-notch, there are still a couple of things that I would say are problems. For instance, I don't think there's more than two hours worth of content here. You can beat the main story in less than five minutes (in fact, for one of the achievements, you're encouraged to), and there's only so long you can run around. On top of that, this is still a Source mod, and although it has a large file size, it reuses a lot of assets from other Source games. Lastly, for the few third person scenes that there are, they look quite bad. There's nothing that just screams lazy like a static image with a slow camera pan out. A lot of the reviews I've read highly praise the game, but I don't think it's really THAT worthy a game for all the praise it's received. The developers deftly subvert the average player's expectations and have created a uniquely cerebral game with some creative design choices, but it doesn't hold a lot of replay value or weight. It incorporates humor and is funny in places, but it doesn't feel like there's a whole lot there. Although there are a ton of different legitimate paths you can take, there isn't any actual puzzle-solving or anything that will make you think. It's well-made but it really does feel like a Source mod and it ultimately just ends up being a short game. It also drops pretty much all tropes from FPP (first-person perspective) video games, in that there's no combat or intricate maneuvering to be had. I applaud this since it distinctly breaks the mold from most FPP games, but it doesn't fill the hole with much else than wandering around barren corridors. Most games either focus on combat, puzzle-solving, platforming, immersing the player in a compelling and interesting world, or if nothing else, appreciating the scenic view, if not a mix of all five. Removing combat, puzzles, platforming (you can't jump at all and never need to crouch), starting the player with a nonsensical premise and boring environment, and keeping interactivity surprisingly low, The Stanley Parable in fact doesn't have [u]any of the above[/u]. Rather, the game opts for what are in actual fact simply minor decisions (such as taking a right path instead of a left path), but constantly reminding the player that this decision is incredibly important. Whether or not this subversion of authority and declaration of autonomy is really as significant as all that is up to the player's interpretation, but it leads to my next point. ****MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD**** Mild spoiler warning from here until further indicated. It ultimately turns out that actually the entire point of the game is [i]the player's decision[/i] to either follow or disregard the game's storyline. By expressing his own volition, he can choose whether or not to either submit to or betray the narrative. That's it. Now, I'm fine with that, but it doesn't really go anywhere with this. Furthermore, as a game, it doesn't do much, if anything, with its medium. For instance, The Stanley Parable could be rendered in first-person perspective in the Source engine, or it could just as easily be rendered in the medium of an eight-bit pixelated platformer. Or it could even be text-based. The reason is because [u]it's the concept behind the game that is on display here, not the stuff of the game itself[/u] (i.e., the engine). The Stanley Parable depicts its environments accurately but likewise, there is little reason for it to take place in the environment it does. It looks like an office, and it feels like an office, but it could just as well take place pretty much anywhere else. The game opens up conveniently after everyone has suddenly disappeared, and although while playing the game the player doesn't really question this much, afterwards it made my brain itch, and I just got the sense that this was done so the developers didn't have to animate models, write scripted dialogue, or find more voice actors. Basically all this is to say that the same concept could be done any number of ways, so much so that the storyline that the game (read: Narrator) is trying to tell is rendered completely meaningless. Lastly, the decisions that you do make are possibly only there for comedic value. Nothing really has any reason to be there, which may be the developer's own ironic take on narrative structure. As it stands, there is at least one point where it becomes literally impossible to save yourself from a bad ending in what feels like should be an ultimate confrontation, which is a major disappointment. One can argue that that was the point, to subvert your expectations and force a "Game Over" during what feels like what should be a boss battle or confrontation, but instead it feels more like an unsatisfying psychological experiment that gives a major case of blue balls. It's as though the developers don't realize that these tropes exist and get perpetuated because they're actually emotionally satisfying to actual living people, the kinds of people who bought this game. ****END OF SPOILERS**** This is a game that is fun to play through at the time but can get frustrating when thinking about it afterwards. That being said, I think you should use your discretion when considering buying this game. I certainly don't think it's worth the $15 pricetag at all. As it's also very heavy, even ham-fisted, in its trope subversion, if that's not your cup of tea already, this isn't going to win any converts. My opinion is, if you're interested in a short, light-hearted, trope-subverting Source mod, get it when it comes on sale. However, this seems like one of those cases where the public is so infatuated with a game that so overtly indulges itself with tropes that it feels like it's one step away from being meme-defining. I'll take a cue from The Stanley Parable and say that it's really your choice whether or not you think such a game will be worth your money.