Xbox Series X PS5

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe

SimulatorAdventure

Time to beat: about 2.4 hours
Plays offline: Yes

Overview

The Stanley Parable is a 2013 story-based video game designed and written by developers Davey Wreden and William Pugh. In the game, the player guides a silent protagonist named Stanley alongside narration by British actor Kevan Brighting. As the story progresses, the player is confronted with diverging pathways. The player may contradict the directions of Brighting's ''The Narrator'', which, if disobeyed, will be incorporated into the story. Depending on the choices made, the player will encounter different endings before the game resets to the beginning.

The Stanley Parable was originally released on July 31, 2011, as a free modification for Valve's Half-Life 2 by Wreden. Together with Pugh, Wreden later released a stand-alone remake using the Source engine under the Galactic Cafe studio name. The remake recreated many of the original mod's choices while adding new areas and story pathways, as well as overhauling the game's graphics entirely. It was announced and approved via Steam Greenlight in 2012, and was released on October 17, 2013, for Windows. Later updates to the game added support for macOS on December 19, 2013, and for Linux on September 9, 2015. An expanded edition titled The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe was released on April 27, 2022. It is currently available on consoles, in addition to previously supported platforms, and includes additional content and improved graphics. An iOS port of Ultra Deluxe was released on October 7, 2024.

Both the original mod and its two remakes received critical acclaim and commercial success. Reviewers praised the game's narrative and commentary on player choice and decision-making. The game sold over one million copies within a year of release and is regarded as one of the greatest video games ever made. The game and its themes of choice, the relationship between a game creator and player, and predestination/fate have been the subject of significant analysis.