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Review: Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a mandatory game for comedy fans
- mabbo 4y ago"Stanley Parable" is, imho, a strong example of video games as a form of art. Few are going to play this game for 10 hours or more. I topped out at about 3. But it's still one of the most impactful, thought-provoking digital experiences I've had the pleasure of playing.
- scyzoryk_xyz 4y agoExactly - a responsibly made work of art conveys a message, a feeling, an idea in a reasonable window of time and let's you go back to your life. This I think, is something the bigger 'industry' doesn't and will never fully aim for, because games like this don't drive the type of consumption that can deliver the kinds of profits which are to be expected with industrial scales of production. Something similar happened in filmmaking in the 1970's, when tools for film production and distribution methods became gradually less expensive and more accessible. I think that we will see something very similar in the coming decades as game-design continues to develop as a mature artform.
- thenthenthen 4y agoThe soundtrack is also amazing, regularly listen to it on yt.
- jkingsman 4y agoThe two creators continued the theme in their next works -- Davey Wreden's "The Beginner's Guide" is a 2-3 hour game and a powerful look at what it means to make art and how we interact with it through an epistolary-style series of nano-games ostensibly made by his friend Coda. It's the greatest game I've ever played. William Pugh made "Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist," which is a goofy 30 min game where you arrive early to a game and must deal with that situation as it develops. Both are absurdly creative, funny and/or touching, and obviously have the same creative fingerprints of Stanley Parable within them.
- smoldesu 4y agoI quite liked "A Whirlwind Heist", if I'm not mistaken it's still free on Steam which makes it the perfect endcap to your weekend if you haven't checked it out already!
- gambiting 4y agoIt's really interesting, because I have also really enjoyed "The Beginners Guide" and I think it's absolutely brilliant in its theme and delivery, but then I made my sister play it, and she said she hated every second of it - in her words "it's the most pretentious piece of art I have ever witnessed". So....yeah, you're going to get strong reactions to this one I think.
- dtech 4y agoThe response to "The Beginners Guide" seems to be linked to how much of a "creator" you are. It did not vibe with me at all, but a friend who is a musician on the side loved it.
- gambiting 4y agoWell, this guess doesn't seem to apply here - my sister is a film maker by education and now works as a photographer, and nope, just really didn't like it. I'm a video game developer(programmer, not designer) and I love it.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- shadowofneptune 4y agoIt was very pleasant to be back in this game, almost like coming across someone you knew from grade school, saying 'hi!,' and then finding an excuse to carry on with your day. One thing that's impressive is that the game is under an entirely different engine. It's only noticable in certain places. The additions do help with one thing I found sad about the original game, which is that it felt rather dead after completing everything. There's more of an emotional throughline now, even if it (intentionally) doesn't make much sense.
- ecliptik 4y agoDid you get the broom closet ending? The broom closet ending was my favorite!
- deadbeeves 4y agoI find this concerning.
- johnchristopher 4y agoIt's weird to me how there are things I really dislike but everyone else do like and they wonder why I don't like it even though I seem to be the targeted audience. From the top of my head: - Monty python - Mister Bean - Stanley Parable - Gris And I enjoy these: - Rick and Morty - Star Trek lower deck - The Witness - Knytt/What happened to Edith Finch/Dear Esther I played a bit of Stanley Parable on 3 occasions but found it empty and pretentious (same opinion on Gris). To each its own but there are some preferences I can't precisely tell why it clicks or not yet.
- mey 4y agoMister Bean is slapstick stick/cringe comedy. Monty Python is absurdist/surealism comedy Stanley parable is a meta parody about video games narrative choice (or lack thereof) Rick & Morty is high fantasy sci-fi comedy The Witness is a environmental puzzle game with light environmental story telling. Dear Esther is entirely environmental story telling. (Only commenting on things I am familiar with) There is nothing wrong with not liking things others like, but other than being in the nerd zeitgeist, I wouldn't say they are targeting the same thing. Based on your stated games may I suggest looking at the following if you haven't previously - Tacoma - Braid - Fez - Quadrilateral Cowboy
- spartanatreyu 4y agoJust to add to your comment: > Rick & Morty is high fantasy sci-fi comedy It's also full of meta commentary of the world and society from the perspective of the writer through the medium of sci-fi. > The Witness is a environmental puzzle game with light environmental story telling. It's also contains a lot of _ruminations_ about perception and the mind.
- johnchristopher 4y agoThanks, Tacoma and Fez are already on my to-play list, I played and enjoyed Braid when it was released and I haven't heard of Quadrilateral Cowboy so I will have a look.
- yreg 4y agoRecently I've been watching Severance on Apple TV+ and it reminded me of The Stanley Parable all the time. It's a pleasant surprise to see they made a new edition.
- JonathanFly 4y agoThe writer of Severance specifically mentioned the Stanley Parable, so that's quite intentional: https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/severance-apple-tv-plus-interview-dan-erickson-ben-stiller-adam-scott https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/severance-apple-tv-plu...
- SamoyedFurFluff 4y agoIf anyone is interested I highly recommend the review video by Leadhead. It fully covers the experience of playing, from a narrative evolution standpoint. It’s relatively short, <20 minutes, and since it’s about the actual analysis of the narrative escalation of the game and it’s ties back to the previous game it does contain spoilers. But it made me really excited to play it myself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJxSssx5PqM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJxSssx5PqM
- shadowofneptune 4y agoI find the video rather disappointing. It feels less like an analysis of the Ultra Deluxe edition and more like a plot summary. It should only be watched if you are more interested in knowing what it's about than interested in playing it.
- swivelmaster 4y agoThere are way too many people who mistake summarization for analysis. Thanks, YouTube!
- dom96 4y agoI bought it and refunded it. Just felt too much like the first game and ended up getting bored pretty quickly from walking around and hearing the same thing.
- swivelmaster 4y agoIt’s not a sequel, were you expecting a sequel?
- dom96 4y agoyeah
- jorams 4y agoDid you ever get to the new content?
- Ekaros 4y agoI could play it again maybe, but the price feels bit steep for not that much new content.
- jmcgough 4y agoI just bought it because a friend hasn't experienced it yet. When you can't re-experience a blind playthrough of the game, the next best thing is to watch a friend play through it at your house.
- baby 4y agoI played this game after hearing so much about it and… it is quite boring to be honest. It is an experience for sure but I’m the kind of gamer who gets _extremely_ bored if there is no interesting gameplay. Another example is undertale which is critically acclaimed but is just unplayable for me.
- mabbo 4y agoThis is why I typically refer to it as 'digital art' more than 'game'. (See my other comment on that). It's not a roller coaster park, it's a museum exhibit or a gallery opening. That's not an insult- lots of people really like museums and art galleries. But have you ever witnessed someone dragged to one of those when they clearly have no interest in being there?
- oneoff786 4y agoI didn’t like the Stanley parable. Undertake had bullet hell gameplay. That seems hugely different? I found it’s aesthetic to be kind of annoying personally.
- baby 4y agoThe bullet thing felt more like a gimmick than actual gameplay tbh
- smoldesu 4y agoI'm not a big Undertale fan myself (and certainly not a big Toby Fox fan), but I think the bullet hell gameplay was anything but a gimmeck. Traditional RPG combat simply wouldn't work in Undertale, it would be immensely more boring had there been such a low skill ceiling for a pacifist playthrough. Not sure what traditional RPGs you're playing, but Undertale is anything but boring. Unfunny? Sure, it heavily depends on your sense of humor. Kitschy? Indeed, it inherits that from it's roots in Homestuck. But calling it boring doesn't quite line up, in my head at least.
- psyc 4y agoOne thing about TSP is that even if you think it's not the best treatment of a game that talks about itself out loud, it is the only game that talks about itself out loud. If you weren't looking for such a game in the first place, then that's another matter. (Bastion sort of does, but on an object rather than meta level.)
- psyc 4y agoA new Stanley Parable!!?? Well I know what I'll be doing for fun today. That's an automatic buy for me.
- umvi 4y agoI never beat the original Stanley Parable but the baby ending is hilarious. It's far too tedious for me (you literally have to push a button for 4 hours to prevent a baby from crawling into flames) but it was still worth watching someone else do it: https://youtu.be/m7GAtSIy4-w https://youtu.be/m7GAtSIy4-w
- jandrese 4y agoYou can "beat" the original? I guess there's the field ending if you follow all of the directions.
- theandrewbailey 4y agoI consider the credits roll ending as the canonical ending.
- nigerian1981 4y agoThe fact that the black rectangle at the end was a bug is hilarious.
- bastardoperator 4y agoNot if you want the 10 year achievement badge!
- ihuman 4y agoIts a separate game, so you can play this version without resetting the clock on the original
- bastardoperator 4y agoI'm a couple months out from the 5 year and my son is super keen on making sure I get this achievement, lol.
- ModernMech 4y agoStanley Parable always reminded me a little of Starship Titanic. Anyone remember that game? I remember it was like a funny Myst.
- kej 4y agoIt's interesting to see this after the discussion higher up about British humor, since Starship Titanic was written by Douglas Adams.
- ModernMech 4y agoYeah, that's why I asked that particular poster about how they would place Douglas Adams in their two lists :)
- gotaquestion 4y agoSure do, Stevedave. The lead up was more fun than the game, though, IMHO. Especially the email updates.
- pram 4y agoStarship Titanic was creative and humorous. The character personalities were very detailed and interesting too, that stands out the most to me. They all had depth despite being machines. The crew is usually unhelpful and sarcastic and sometimes outright hostile. The puzzles were extremely cheap and annoying though. You pretty much required a guide for it. That’s why I can’t truly say it’s underrated.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- 3qz 4y agoFun game, but the humour feels straight out of 2013 internet culture. Also, half the new content is exactly the same as the old content except the narrator comments on an object that you’re holding.
- Tarq0n 4y agoI just finished it, and keeping things as spoiler free as possible, there's a bit in the middle which is just incredible... and then it goes nowhere with it. Instead choosing to serve up a permutation of the original game. I want to play a whole game that's just that bit in the middle, missed opportunity in my opinion. Honestly I'm not sure I'd recommend this version to someone who's played the original, but if you're new to TSP please give it a go.