10 Video Games That Aren't What You Think

6. The Stanley Parable

The Stanley Parable’s launch trailer kicks off with a review quote that says “It’s brilliant. Why? That would spoil it. You’ll just have to trust me” I’m going to spoil it a little bit but in a very vague way.

The clearest message in this 2013 first person exploration game is that you will be playing as Stanley. Sorta. The Steam description literally reads “You will play as Stanley, and you will not play as Stanley. You will follow a story, you will not follow a story. You will have a choice, you will have no choice. The game will end, the game will never end.”

So, you know, that’s helpful.

What is easy to glean is that you’re an office drone and you’re employee number 427. You execute orders sent through to you in your little grey office in your big grey office building that is full of unremarkable things. Right up until it isn’t. The Stanley Parable is full of hidden secrets, mysteries, social commentary, and a pile of endings you’ll need to roll through every possible path to uncover.

Quick tip, if you, like me, already own the game and haven’t booted it up in eight years, do it now and you’ll get the coveted Go Outside achievement which you get by not playing the game for five years. Yes, you could mess with your PCs clock, but this is the perfect time to get it legitimately.