The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe has earned great reviews from media outlets, but fans are a little more skeptical.
Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe was released to strong reviews with an average of 88 on Metacritic. Critics have praised its witty writing, claiming that the jokes still land nine years after their first impact. The new endings and graphics are worth the asking price, but fan reviews for the mind-bending story game are a little less positive. Here’s what critics and gamers alike have to say about the Stanley Parable remake.
The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe is a rerelease of the postmodern classic from 2013. The game includes all of the content from the original game as well as some new additions. Many of the game’s hallmarks, from its witty writing to its meta achievement list return, and critics appear to agree that it still holds up almost a decade later.
But while the critics are almost unanimously positive on it, rank and file fans have been venting frustrations over the game.
Fan reviews for Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe are less warm, but there’s a reason why
Fan reviews on the Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe Steam page have been generally positive, but there is criticism being directed towards the new endings. The most common complaint is that many of them are essentially parodies of existing epilogues. The graphics are still not impressive, and experiencing all of its content takes just 10 hours at most, unless you’re going for achievements.
Fans quickly realized that The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe is effectively a parody of the industry trend of releasing older games with barely any improvements, if at all. Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto Trilogy was highly anticipated, but it turned out to be a lackluster port. Warcraft III: Reforged was the same. Modern Warfare 2, Mafia II, Silent Hill Collection. The list goes on and on.
While the new Stanley Parable demands a steep price of $24.99 for new players, the game’s content is less about the time and scope and more about the witty writing and grand statement about the industry. Davey Wreden is no stranger to using video games to tell extremely strange stories.
So while professional critics judge the game on its new content, the fans prefer to look at what The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe says about remakes as a whole. No spoilers, but the game is extremely self-critical. The “walking simulator” genre that The Stanley Parable parodies has become a staple of gaming. If Ultra Deluxe proves anything, there’s still a lot more to say about the genre.
Should you buy The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe?
The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe has a lot to offer players, but players returning to it may not find enough new content to justify the $25 price point.
The game is a very good one but this new version isn’t really transformative. Those who want to revisit The Stanley Parable may just want to go back to the original, while newcomers may get a better value by doing the same.
But gamers who are critical of the rerelease trend really ought to dig into Ultra Deluxe even if they haven’t played the original. The game raises very real concerns about remakes and game reviews while delivering plenty of laughs and scares. Just be sure to answer honestly when the game asks if you have played before. Jumping right into the thick of Ultra Deluxe isn’t for the inexperienced or faint of heart.
