The Stanley Parable is a walking simulator game designed by Davey Wreden and William Pugh and developed by Davey Wreden and Galactic Café. It is available on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The game is straightforward but is unique in that it features many branching paths that lead to increasingly weird scenarios, all humorously narrated by a British narrator. All the information in the game is revealed through the narrator, who gives you instructions and then reacts based on whether you chose to follow those instructions. For example, the narrator might tell you to take the door on the left, and if you do, the main story will progress, but if you choose the door on the right, it will lead to an entirely different story and a disapproving remark from the narrator. Besides the funny and reactive dialogue from the narrator, another essential gameplay mechanic is the choice-based gameplay. As players explore, they are greeted with many choices, each of which leads to an entirely different outcome and eventually one of several endings. These branching narratives are what make the game stand out and are the game’s greatest strength. Oftentimes, the choices aren’t even clearly presented, like an entire storyline resulting from jumping off while on a moving platform onto another platform. The addition of these options makes the player feel like they’re in control and really brings the world to life. The game also restarts several times, and in each successive time, especially if you continue to mess with the narrator, you’ll be reminded of the consequences of your past actions. The only flaw I could think of, considering that this game was merely intended to provide an enjoyable opportunity to push the boundaries of narration and storytelling in video games, is that the player might never discover certain storylines even though the developers spent so much time creating them. Regardless, the game offers players discovery, expression, and especially narrative fun, and greatly succeeds in everything that it does. Neither I nor many of the millions of people who have highly praised this game would feel the need to “improve” it in any way, as the game functions as a work of art as it is.
