A mod for Half-Life 2
The Stanley Parable is an experimental narrative-driven first person game. It is an exploration of choice, freedom, storytelling and reality, all examined through the lens of what it means to play a video game.
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cinema was born here
+ the atmosphere of the office space in this version is very liminal, with its wood paneled walls and green carpeting
+ the core conceit and themes that Stanley Parable would go on to refine and retell are all here
+ the writing and narration is nearly as great as the final version
- some of the reused half-life 2 assets feel a bit haphazard and detract from the theming a bit
- the narrator is more directly antagonistic here which makes it feel a bit more flat
- the branching paths are here, but much more limited, which in turns limits the comedic potential
Overall a solid prototype for what The Stanley Parable would become but this should only be played by completionists as the later versions cover the same ground much better.
+ the core conceit and themes that Stanley Parable would go on to refine and retell are all here
+ the writing and narration is nearly as great as the final version
- some of the reused half-life 2 assets feel a bit haphazard and detract from the theming a bit
- the narrator is more directly antagonistic here which makes it feel a bit more flat
- the branching paths are here, but much more limited, which in turns limits the comedic potential
Overall a solid prototype for what The Stanley Parable would become but this should only be played by completionists as the later versions cover the same ground much better.
[This review is biased, if you want to experience stanley at it's peak pick up the newest one.]
One of those eye-opening moments in gaming. Truly showed younger me how much graphics really matter (a f**k-all). And I follow the path to this day, looking for a bigger picture, original ideas and cohesion. The fact that I grew up on sdk-based games doesn't help my case....
One of those eye-opening moments in gaming. Truly showed younger me how much graphics really matter (a f**k-all). And I follow the path to this day, looking for a bigger picture, original ideas and cohesion. The fact that I grew up on sdk-based games doesn't help my case....
It was pretty interesting to see the prototype of what would become of TSP. Plus this made me appreciate the level design of TSP 2013 much more. Cause the levels here were, way too rough.
Where it all started. I feel like it being a mod made more sense to the material the game is subject to.
Where it all began. In Half-Life. Just like 50 percent of all games post 2000.