The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Reviews
A delightful update that fills the original game with even more humorous and thoughtful rabbit holes to get lost in.
The Stanley Parable still holds up a decade later, and the Ultra Deluxe version essentially adds a whole new game's worth of additional content to stumble upon.
In conclusion, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a game that can, and should, be played.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe follows up the original 2013's strong narrative theme with an intriguing brand-new one.
"NINE OUT OF TEN," Alex bellowed as he wrote. "A thoroughly enjoyable expansion of an already classic game treated with love, care, and most importantly a meta awareness that pays tribute to everything that made The Stanley Parable so beloved. It may leave a small few questioning more than they'd like, but we wouldn't want it any other way."Alex wondered if this small sound bite could be considered a complete review, but he was certain that if he needed to, he could find a way to pad things out.
10s aren't perfect, since nothing is, but they come as close as you could get in a given genre. The new leader to beat in its sector, we're talking pure ecstasy.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe expertly expands the original critically acclaimed narrative adventure with hours of brilliantly written new content and a lot more of Kevan Brighting's incredible narration. Even if you played the original, you shouldn't miss this updated version.
Thinking of The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe as just a remaster or a sequel to the original would be doing it an immense disservice. Yes, it's The Stanley Parable with more content and on new platforms. But it's also much more than that: it's a criticism of the industry's overreliance on DLCs and sequel, it's a tale that makes us reflect on what videogames are and should be, and it's a powerful window on Davey Wreden's evolution since the original. Unmissable.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is an essential title. Not only does it refine a classic, but it also expands on it. In its cheeky knowing manner, it celebrates and mocks the very ideology of the re-release. With plenty of laughs throughout, the zany game beckons you to explore and rewards you with nuggets of gold at each point. Strange and alluring, the secrets within will surprise and delight you, keeping you hooked on the loop. Incredibly, Crows Crows Crows have managed to create an outstanding package that is attractive to both first time and returning players, making this a truly Ultra Deluxe iteration of the game.
Visually it's definitely an improvement, although it's behind the curve by modern standards. It makes up for that by doubling the size of the game with all-new content, alterations to existing endings, and more that fans will adore. If you've played The Stanley Parable before, Ultra Deluxe gives you lots of reasons to revisit the experience. If this'll be your first time, well, lucky you. Once the element of surprise is gone, there's little reason to return — but while it lasts, this is easily among gaming's most unique and memorable journeys.
At the end of the day, players truly are Stanley, deriving pleasure and purpose from pressing buttons as prompted by the Narrator. This is a game that borrows a scene from Firewatch just to mock the concept of an open world and which sends up Steam user reviews—er, “Pressurized Gas” comments—and the idea of expectations and entitlement. Funny, right? But even if you’re not laughing with this exceedingly well-written game, it’s definitely laughing at you, and that’s as it should be for taking your entertainment so seriously.
The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe is a conversion, remake, update, sequel and negation of the original work. All together. A title that nine years ago changed the videogame landscape and that today returns not to complete its mission, but more to reflect on itself, on what it has represented and on what it has left to the industry. Some passages of the "New Content" are hallucinatory and brilliant, and blend with the original content in a masterful way. In short, The Stanley Parable is one of those experiences that anyone should play at least once in their life.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is an excellent expansion of a bonafide classic interactive adventure. We'll admit we were slightly concerned that returning to something so masterful, expanding and adding to such a carefully constructed experience, could somehow dilute the magic, but we needn't have worried. All of the new content here simply embellishes what came before, resulting in a wonderful piece of art that's now better, more ultra and, you might even say, deluxe than ever before. Whether you're coming to this one for the first time or returning to see what's changed, you'll be handsomely rewarded for your curiosity.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is the definitive version of Davey Wreden's game, which now returns with its unforgettable story of always, but with additional content. A game that no lover of good stories should miss.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
You'll laugh your eyes out, guaranteed. Ultra Deluxe has new endings, new content but keeps the same sense of humour and everything that made original game a hit.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
The Stanly Parable may seem so simple and straightforward at the first glance, but every time you beat the game and start over from Stanly's office, things can change so drastically that you can't even believe it, making The Stanly Parable a benchmark when it comes to story telling and how decision making affects gameplay.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The Stanley Parable is an extremely worthwhile video game and, I would argue, one of the finest examples of meta-humor (as well as humor in general) in the medium. Just don't read too much before you play it.
Although it's short-lived, I had some good fun with The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. Its sheer absurdity had me laughing out loud on a few occasions but I also wish there was more to it such as additional gameplay elements other than simply walking through doors.
In conclusion, is it worth trying? If you have NEVER played The Stanley Parable, you shouldn't even be here. But at this point, I absolutely recommend trying it because even if you've spoiled everything, it's still an experience worth having. If you've played The Stanley Parable but haven't played Ultra Deluxe, you also shouldn't be here. But does anyone follow the rules on this site? Anyway, since you're here... Ultra Deluxe isn't what you expected, and I don't know if I can recommend buying it, but having lowered your expectations so much, maybe you'll appreciate it a bit more. I'll say what's banal and expected, like everything in Stanley Parable: the choice is ultimately yours. The title, in its entirety, remains an excellent game, finally accessible to the console audience, and I can't help but recommend it. Whether this is enough or not is no longer up to me to decide.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Among the indie games I've greatly enjoyed on PC over the years and have wondered when they would make their way to Switch, The Stanley Parable was one of my last holdouts, so I'm thrilled it is finally here...