This game sounds amazing. The fact that it only requires a small investment of time makes it all the more appealing.
The Stanley Parable Review
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 On 10/25/2013 at 08:05 AM by Blake Turner See More From This User » |
“Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful.”
— Molly Ivins
The above is especially true when discussing The Stanley Parable, an independent game by Galactic Cafe which takes upon itself the enormous task of addressing / toppling / playfully batting around the tropes present in the modern gaming landscape. While it's true a lot of independent or artistic games do this, they don't wholly dedicate themselves to satire, or they fall into the trap of making you play out a particular trope while pointing a finger and saying \"See what we did here? Aye? Aye? Good golly gosh aren't we clever.\" Those games end up playing more like parody than true
The Stanley Parable is a different beast entirely. While it poses many impressive aspects, the biggest strength of this interactive satire is subtlety.\n The game never bludgeons the player over your head with Meaningful Messages \u2014 as Spec Ops: The Line \nmight. Instead, it massages its truths into your shoulders while \nwhispering humorous anecdotes in your ear. Actually, I'm rather fond of the massage metaphor. I'm keeping it.
The sheer amount of dedication to the satire is another point of separation. Rather than being a fun game that occasionally points a finger and laughs, The Stanley Parable has respectable follow-through. It skews gaming, life, religion, and the human condition without you even realising that fingers are even being pointed and chalkboards are being gently tapped with rulers. That sounds pompous as all buggery, but it's true.
","engine":"visual"}" data-block-type="2">The above is especially true when discussing The Stanley Parable, an independent game by Galactic Cafe which takes upon itself the enormous task of addressing / toppling / playfully batting around the tropes present in the modern gaming landscape. While it's true a lot of independent or artistic games do this, they don't wholly dedicate themselves to satire, or they fall into the trap of making you play out a particular trope while pointing a finger and saying "See what we did here? Aye? Aye? Good golly gosh aren't we clever." Those games end up playing more like parody than true
The Stanley Parable is a different beast entirely. While it poses many impressive aspects, the biggest strength of this interactive satire is subtlety. The game never bludgeons the player over your head with Meaningful Messages — as Spec Ops: The Line might. Instead, it massages its truths into your shoulders while whispering humorous anecdotes in your ear. Actually, I'm rather fond of the massage metaphor. I'm keeping it.
The sheer amount of dedication to the satire is another point of separation. Rather than being a fun game that occasionally points a finger and laughs, The Stanley Parable has respectable follow-through. It skews gaming, life, religion, and the human condition without you even realising that fingers are even being pointed and chalkboards are being gently tapped with rulers. That sounds pompous as all buggery, but it's true.
http://plus10damage.com/blog/2013/10/21/the-stanley-parable-review
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