This may well be the most difficult review I have ever written.

• Not because there is any question about the quality of the game
  – it is brilliant.
• Not because there is any question about the voice acting –
  Keven Brighting is simply brilliant http://kevanbrighting.com/
• Not because I didn’t enjoy the game – It is one of the few
  games which has made me laugh out loud.
• Not because the average player would not enjoy it – feedback
  on his blog gives the game a 9.4 rating.

No, this is difficult because I CAN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT! At least
not without totally ruining the game for you.

No clever analogies. No penetrating insights. No dry witticisms.
Not even a screen shot.

I will, however, go so far as to quote the author’s
web site:

“The Stanley Parable is an experimental narrative-driven
first person game. It is an exploration of choice, freedom, storytelling
and reality, all examined through the lens of what it means to play
a video game.

You will make a choice that does not matter
You will follow a story that has no end
You will play a game you cannot win
…it’s actually best if you don’t know anything about it before you
play it :D”

See what I mean?

But then I really don’t have to say much to affect your decision
to buy, because The Stanley Parable is a free download. So
just get it. I already had Half-Life 2, so I just stuck it
in the same folder as Dear
Esther and played. The web site says that it can be played
independently of Half-Life 2*, but I
couldn’t figure it out just glancing at it. If someone can figure
that out, let me know and I will have that info posted here.

Is it any good? Yes. It is innovative and flawless in its intent.
It is also the work of one independent burned-out person. I give it
an “A.”
(Find
out more about our grading system)

*Editor’s Notes: According to http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-stanley-parable:
TSP does not actually require Half Life 2 on PC, only the
Source SDK which should download automatically when you start the
game. On Mac, HL2 is required.

Bob Washburne has furnished the following additional info, according
to two Steam experts: “The Stanley Parable will not run
‘stand-alone’ in the classic sense, but you can run it without owning
Half-Life.

“The trick is to get a Steam account (free) and then install
the SDK from Steam (Software Developer’s Kit, also free). You can
then play TSP for free through the SDK.”

It appears that the above pertains to the PC version only.

And Bob himself has added the following:

After downloading the mod, unzip it and place the resulting folder
in C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\SourceMods (or where ever you
installed Steam)

Once there, run Steam and The Stanley Parable should show up in
your play list. Just play it and the SDK should install itself automatically.

Please let us know if this works or if there is a problem so we
can update these instructions.

System Requirements:

PC

• OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7
• Processor: 2.0 GHz Dual Core
• Memory:2 GB RAM
• DirectX®:5.0
• Hard Drive:200 MB HD space

MAC

• OS X version Leopard 10.5.8, Snow Leopard 10.6.3, or later
• Processor: 2.0 GHz Dual Core
• Memory:2 GB RAM
• Hard Drive:200 MB HD space