What I will say is that the game isn’t exactly your typical re-elease. Like the original game, its secrets are best kept secret. Ultra Deluxe is an entirely different beast - one that I don’t actually want to tell you much more about (I’ll keep spoilers light from here on out). The simple nature of the game means it still holds up well, even if some of its philosophical waxing can sound a little juvenile by today’s standards. For console players who never got a chance to experience it, Ultra Deluxe is a much-needed rerelease. The result was a small magnum opus about freewill, as told through the lens of a video game that gives players the illusion of “choice.” It featured various endings, which ranged from absurd to unsettling. Every side hallway is a rabbit hole that leads to another unexpected ending. The player doesn’t always have to follow that path though, much to the narrator’s frustration. The entire game is narrated by a disembodied voice in Stanley’s head who guides him through a set story.
The game, which is about a man named Stanley waking up in an abandoned office, brought a level of fourth wall-breaking meta humor that hadn’t really been seen in games at the time. When The Stanley Parable first released in 2013, it was a bit of a revelation. Only this time, it’s less of a philosophical self-reflection on freewill and more of a searing satire on the current “content era” where fans are seemingly never satisfied. Like the original game, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a surprising narrative, meta adventure game that defies player expectations at every turn. That last part is a bit of an understatement - and that’s by design. The graphics have been slightly modernized, there are some welcome accessibility options and, yes, new content. On its surface, it’s a fairly standard rerelease that brings a 2013 classic to consoles. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe understands that trepidation. “New content” can entice me with the right game, but I find myself let down by that promise more often than not.
I love the Mass Effect trilogy, but I don’t have a level of nostalgia for it that would make me replay it all again with improved visuals and quality of life tweaks. I don’t have much interest in remasters and deluxe editions of games I’ve played before. If you’re like me, you might tend to ignore video game rereleases.
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