So I have been pining for “Beginner’s Guide”, the new Davey Wredon release but everyone talks about the game being more meaningful when viewing through the lens of his previous release; “The Stanley Parable”. So I’ve just downloaded it and I’ll let you know how I go.

May contain spoilers
First 15 minutes
Spent the first 5 to 10 minutes walking like a crab thinking it was a frustrating game mechanic until I worked out that there were no keys automatically specified for turning on OSX… A quick sheepish trip to the options menu sorted that out. So far I have established that I can die from jumping off an elevated platforms, and Stanley’s boss’s office looks like a house a gothic teen would design in the sims.
30 minutes in
Second attempt with almost full mobility…. I cannot look up or down or use the mouse but its better than nothing. Hmmm and now a path though a pleasant paddock has led me right back to the start…. sooo maybe I won’t turn off the power straight away this time…. where is everyone? And who was the woman the narrator was talking about??
1 hour in
Now the narrator is arguing with an obstinate narrative line??? This is getting weird. Not a game for those who dislike the feeling of going around in circles.
1 and a half hours in
7 restarts 3 endings in… oh my brain… still going…. is this elevator ride ever going to end? is the elevator music singing stanley? am I crazy? am I Stanley?
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
Final thoughts
What fuckery is this?
Good excellent confusing bittersweet frustrating headache inducing…..
$14.99 and nearly 2 hours of my life gone…
And I regret NOTHING

Except that fern… I wish I never looked at the fern…

✮✮✮✮ 4/5

Tomorrow I take on The Beginner’s Guide… or finish that review of Undertale I never got around to…

Or… you know… do my anthropology essay…