The Stanley Parablewas a revelation when it was first released almost a decade ago, offering playersa narrative adventure that was unlike anything that had come before. Players stepping into Stanley’s mediocre office life suddenly found themselves combating an omnipresent narrator, slipping between the cracks of the game world, and even breaking into other games entirely.

Related:The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe - How To Get The “Test Trophy Please Ignore” Achievement

the inside of a tall, watchtower with a typewriter on a desk, postcards on the windowsill, and a volunteer posted with a watchtower pictured inside a shield outline. trees and mountains can be seen outside the windows

Now the modern classic has returned, courtesy of developer Crows Crows Crows.The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxeis the definitive version ofThe Stanley Parablethat infuses the original game with a slate of new content designed to enhance the original experience. While all of these fresh additions are great, there are a few that stand out as truly worthy of being called the best.

8Other Game Easter Eggs

The Stanley Parablehas always been self-referential, but it also included a few, choice references to other, popular video games at the time of its original release. In certain cases, these references took on a more literal form in thatthe player was literally thrown into another game for a brief time.

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxekeeps this joke alive by bringing in a few new games for players to see. Along one narrative path, the Narrator will grow frustrated with Stanley’s attempts to break the game and shift him over to Campo Santo’sFirewatchfor a bit before throwing him into Psyonix’sRocket League. It’s a cute and unexpected touch that pays homage to the original game’s easter eggs while feeling a bit more relevant to the current gaming landscape.

a figurine of a man in button-down shirt and slacks with a slight hunch in his shoulders. He’s white with brown hair. in the top right corner is text that reads “5/6”

7Collectibles

In a bid to makeThe Stanley Parablemore competitive in the current video game market, the Narrator has embarked on a wide-scale revamp of the game’s core systems. Collectibles are hot right now, according to the Narrator, so he’s placedsix figurines of Stanley around the office for players to find.

The Narrator does repeatedly stress that there is absolutely no reward for finding all of these figurines, but players will be rewarded with a unique loop that revolves around revisiting the memories of finding the statues. It’s one of the game’s more brilliant endings that sees the Narrator start to unravel a bit over the concept of collectibles.

an exhibition room with a large sign in the middle that reads “The Stanley Parable 2.” there are velvet ropes to the left and doorways leading to other exhibits on the right. Over the sign is a circular rig of spotlights

6The Stanley Parable 2

The Narrator’s attempt to improveThe Stanley Parable’s prospects is a full sequel to the original game, not just a half-baked, enhanced version with one new feature that only has a limited number of uses.The Stanley Parable 2is his new pet project, and he’s put a surprising amount of work into bringing it to life.

Related:Great Games That Subverted Expectations

This new game begins in a convention hall devoted to all the new features coming with the sequel, including collectibles, an epilogue with a to-be-determined surprise twist, and a particular water receptacle that will become very important to Stanley in the future.The Stanley Parable 2then goes on to take over the rest of the game, inserting its influence over every subsequent loop.

5The Jump Circle

Afterplayers make their way through a few loopsofThe Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe, they’ll happen upon a slightly ajar door emblazoned with the words “New Content.” This door leads players to the first of many fabulous additionsUltra Deluxebrings toThe Stanley Parableexperience: the Jump Circle.

The Jump Circle does exactly what its name suggests: players standing within the borders of the circle have the power to jump a limited number of times. It’s also the catalyst for the Narrator to take the development of futureStanley Parablecontent into his own hands, which results in the creation of a sequel titledThe Stanley Parable 2.

a bare, stone room with a circle on the floor made out of tape. A large, stone wall behind the circle bears a sign that reads “New content! The Jump circle.” next to that sign is another, smaller wall with a counter on it that reads “jumps remaining: 36.” to the right of the counter is a low, wooden bench

4The Memory Zone

When the Narrator feels nostalgic for the halcyon days of the originalThe Stanley Parable, he visits a special place known as the Memory Zone, which is a picturesque museum dedicated to the history of the game. It’s housed inside a large, wooden house with a modern aesthetic and filled with memorabilia and relics fromThe Stanley Parable’s past.

The Memory Zone is home to some genuine artifacts like master copies of the originalHalf-Life 2mod and rave reviews from notable publications, but it’s also filled with more than a few in-jokes and meta-references. Fake newspapers proclaim the game’s release like it was a victory in a protracted war, and the Narrator lovingly gushes over each item like a doting, parental figure.

a museum-like building inside a slant-roofed, wooden house. plinths on the right hold artifacts of the game’s past, and ahead there are photos taped to the wall near a doorway leading into the next room. over the doorway is a banner that reads “The Stanley Parable."

3The Bucket’s Narrator

The Stanley Parable 2 Reassurance Bucket is Stanley’s stalwart companion and closest confidante on his quest to escape his office building, much to the Narrator’s chagrin, but there’sone ending that flips the script on Stanley. In a feat of heroism, the Bucket sacrifices itself to save Stanley from a gruesome death, which prompts the Bucket’s Narrator to speak up.

Related:The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe - How To Get The Countdown Ending

a glass case in the middle of a shadowy room. inside the glass case is a metal bucket being lowered from above by a rope. Behind the bucket, the case says “The Stanley Parable 2 Reassurance Bucket” followed by an exciting yellow graphic

The bucket’s Narrator is a woman with a prim, efficient voice not unlike Stanley’s Narrator’s voice. She outlines why the Bucket was so special and why the world is worse off for no longer having the Bucket in it. She strongly suggests that Stanley return to the moment where the Bucket died and sacrifice his life for the Bucket’s instead, which he promptly does, as the Bucket’s Narrator is incredibly convincing.

2The Skip Button Ending

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxeadds multiple new endings to the game that offer fresh perspectives on the game’s meanings and feature new dialogue from the omnipresent Narrator. One such ending involves the Narrator waxing nostalgic,stumbling onto some negative Steam reviews, and attempting to update the game based on user feedback. Not always the best idea.

The result is a skip button, which places Stanley in a catatonic state while time passes normally for the Narrator. At first, the button only skips over a matter of seconds, but before long Stanley is losing days with each press. The Narrator’s mental breakdown from being left alone for all that time has some of the most heart-wrenching dialogue in the game, and his eventual absence shifts the game’s entire tone for the rest of that ending.

a room that has partially collapsed. Vegetation has grown in the corner where the ceiling is open to the sky. In front of the plants is a small post with a yellow button on it with two arrows pointing right toward a single line

1The Bucket

The Stanley Parable 2 Reassurance Bucket is something unexpected inThe Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxeand its importance doesn’t become clear until well after it makes its first appearance. The Bucket is the central mechanic that alters the fabric of the game with this rerelease, making it the most pivotal piece of new content in the game.

The bucket takes on many rolesover the course of these different loops: in some, it’s a staunch ally, but in others, it’s a sinister villain plotting to steal Stanley away from the Narrator. The Bucket alters every loop, changing the plot with its very presence. Now that Stanley has a bucket, who knows what might happen? He might finally escape his eternal prison, or he might just stumble onto a game show designed around figuring out if something is, in fact, actually a bucket.

a purple curtain frames a stage with a sign over it that reads " Is this… a bucket?” the player is holding a dimly lit metal bucket of their own in the foreground

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Editionis playable on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.