The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a ROFL game for the evening

There are some games in the world about which it is better not to know anything before you have played them yourself; literary scholars advise not to read the synopsis at all before getting to know a book. Some books do just fine without a brief description of the plot, for example: "George Orwell's 1984 does not have an annotation, but how famous and relevant that book is to this day...

With "The Stanley Parable" roughly the same story: the game came out in 2013 from the pen (or rather the keyboard...) of then little-known developer Davy Riden and game designer William Pugh.

After the release The Stanley Parable was warmly accepted by the critics and players, though it was difficult to call it a game, it looked like a walking simulator. So what was it: a masterpiece of game dev or a mainstream slag?

Coincidence or script?

In order to unveil the mystery but avoid spoilers, we have prepared this sketch: Imagine that you wake up in the morning, make your usual cup of latte, put on your shirt, and rush to the office. It's Monday, which means the traffic should have cleared by about 7:45, but something went wrong this time...

You take your usual route 10 minutes earlier, look at your watch and exhale, slowing down your step, because there is no need to rush to the parking lot.

Looking at the pulse rate on your smartwatch, you do not notice how you cross the street in the crosswalk. You don't drink a latte because it cools more slowly than an espresso. You don't want to burn your lips, do you? Likewise, you just wanted a latte today...

There's a sharp braking sound.

You startle and spill coffee on your chest, you look around and see the embittered driver who almost hit you. You exchange pleasantries, the mood is ruined, the coffee is spilled.

You get in your car and drive to work, wiping your soiled breast pocket with a damp napkin along the way. On your fingertips you feel that there is something in the pocket, something of cardboard to the touch. You pull out a piece of paper, and it's the business card of the plumber who once installed your toilet. The plumber did a great job and you exchange contacts.

Finally, you arrive at the office, turn on the computer, tune in to work. It's another 20 minutes until your lunch break, and you're all set. You relax, forgetting about the coffee stain on your chest.

You head to the cafeteria, and your coworkers are walking toward you. You feel uncomfortable about the coffee stain on your chest, and you hide behind your desk. On your desk is your phone, and there are ten missed calls from your neighbor downstairs. Having worked up the courage, you call back. Your neighbor yells into the phone that you're drowning her out. Your pulse rises, and your thoughts bounce around in your head at lightning speed. Just about there, you start to panic.

You look at the wall clock. Because you got off work ten minutes early today, you have time to rush home and shut off the water. You dare to escape from your desk at lunchtime.

Twenty minutes later, you're home. Your neighbor is already demanding that you make repairs. You open the front door, there really is a puddle in the kitchen. The plastic pipes are broken. You hastily shut off the water and fly back to work. It's no big deal, though, no one noticed your escape. You work off the shift, come home and remember the business card you found in your breast pocket, call the plumber.

He answers that he's free on a Saturday this week. You ask about replacing the pipes. The plumber tells you the price, which you are not happy about, but suddenly the plumber pauses in conversation, remembering that he just had these pipes, and therefore do not need to buy anything extra. It's strange...

That's how an awful day turns into a scenario. And now a task for the reader: how many coincidences are there in this sketch...?

Did you know that the probability that we are NOT living in a simulation is 1 in 6,000,000,000?

Have you ever felt as if you were a character and the events around you were pre-scripted?

That's what "The Stanley Parable" is based on.

Why The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is worth playing

That's why too few original indie games are released these days.

"The Ultra Deluxe version adds even more plot twists, trademark humor, and a bucket that you get as a reward for buying the game... Too bad the bucket is virtual.

Everything in "The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe" is all about "What if you did things differently?", about destroying the fourth wall. The funny thing is that the narrative in the game can be broken and turn the story originally laid down by the developers into a mare's delirium...

Oh, wait, the narrator told me not to narrate the game... damn.

I guess it's time for me to turn left...