Now that it’s been more than 10 years since the original mod, it’s almost weird to return to The Stanley Parable. Especially for me, since back then I enthusiastically proposed to translate that mod into Russian and was among the first to hear that a full commercial version of it was planned. And now we have a new version of the game, which, in spirit of the original, is well aware that it’s a new version of an old game that was a mod. It’s really awesome. But I wonder how I would’ve felt about it without the prior connections.
Oh and to get it out of the way, I’m absolutely not connected to this release of the game. Not that I’d want to translate anything into Russian anymore, but even so, this time it’s a professional translation made by professionals, and not some Ukrainian jerk.
If you have not played the mod or the original 2013 release of The Stanley Parable… boy, do I envy you. But anyway, this game is a story exploration title, that is well aware that it’s a game. Back when the genre of these story exploration titles (aka “walking simulators”) was appearing, The Stanley Parable was a fresh take on the idea, where the interactivity of the game, the ideas of “choice” and “free will”, and the relationship of a creator with the audience and its creation were central. Everything that you do (well, mostly) has some sort of an in-game reaction and many things lead to unexpected “endings” in this otherwise never-ending experience.
Ultra Deluxe builds on top of the already existing structure, exploring even more variations, more topics and providing the developers themselves to have the game tell about the experience of making and releasing the game. And it’s fantastic, funny and a bit sad at times, with good memorable moments and a lot of things that still feel fresh. Though, I have to warn that if this is your first experience with The Stanley Parable, I’d avoid the “new content” until you’ve played the game a few times.
Or even play this after you’ve played the original. This new version, while having “more”, doesn’t fully “supersede” the original release. A few elements were tweaked, the wonderful original demo version (that is a unique game in itself) is not included… Unless, it’s hidden under many layers of other stuff, as this game loves to do occasionally. So there’s still a case to get the original, if you haven’t. Though, only this version is available on so many different platforms, thanks to the engine switch.
I wish I could sound super excited, because The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a blast. It’s just that I’ve played the original versions so much and currently have so many things to worry about, that the new release isn’t getting me as mesmerized as I would be without the prior experience with the old releases. Still, this might be different for you, even if you’ve played the old versions. And if you’ve never experienced The Stanley Parable before – most definitely play it now.