After delays and a lengthy development, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe finally has an official release date. On April 27th, Crows Crows Crows will publish the game for PS4 and PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC by way of Steam, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Serving as the parable’s designers and developers, Crows Crows Crows debuted new trailer and brief Q&A in advance of the game’s release.
Davey Wreden and William Pugh have teamed up again for the latest development in their 2013 hit title. Originally created by Wreden in 2011, The Stanley Parable started off as a modification for Half-Life 2. Inspired by games like Bioshock and Portal Wreden said in 2011 that he initially set out to, “do something that hadn’t really been done before… [in] kind of game that broke player expectations.” While still a college student Wreden did just that. Linking with Pugh who served as the level designer two years later saw the The Stanley Parable get significant recognition for the, “ton of laughs and just enough thought-provoking commentary on the nature of narrative in games,” that it afforded.
Players have been anticipating this game since its initial announcement in 2018 at the Game Awards. Finally, hopefully, after three delays, “the expanded re-imagining,” of The Stanley Parable will be playable. This time around Wreden and Pugh, along with Kevan Brighting as narrator, have expanded their development team. At approximately ten people deep, Crows Crows Crows, “dramatically expands the world of the original game with new content, new choices, and new secrets for you to uncover.”
Just like the original, “You will play as Stanley, and you will not play as Stanley. You will make a choice, and you will have your choices taken from you. The game will end, the game will never end. Contradiction follows contradiction, the rules of how games should work are broken, then broken again. You are not here to win. The Stanley Parable is a game that plays you.”
The Ultra Deluxe edition will showcase new endings, adventures, and the original game. Provided that this is no early April Fool’s joke and barring a fourth delay, look forward to playing the “experimental, narrative-driven,” game at the end of the month.