Warning: This article contains spoilers.
A game does not have to be grandiose, with state-of-the art graphics or characters in order to be an excellent game. One such game is "The Stanley Parable," a game where you do little more than walk about and interact with limited objects, but still garnered an very positive average rating on Steam. "The Stanley Parable" is a game where you control Stanley, a worker in an office building whose choices affect the story as narrated by The Announcer. Based on all the choices I've made and combinations of such, I have learned the following from "The Stanley Parable."
Your choices matter.
This is a given. From the first choice you make, you can choose to continue with the plot line, or deviate into other possible endings.
You're probably crazy.
One possible ending involves walking around a series of repeating corridors, floating dreamingly, and ultimately realizing that Stanley had gone mad. If you begin to notice something unusual about your environment, chances are something is wrong with either the environment or yourself.
You cannot jump.
The controls of the game are W, A, S, D to move, and E to interact. Most games would also have a jumping ability (often Spacebar), but this game does not. If you try, you get an achievement called, "you cannot jump."
Dedication is key.
The only way to earn the achievement "dedication" is to play the game for the entire duration of a Tuesday.
Sometimes, you really need to go outside.
Like "dedication," there is a really convoluted way to earn the achievement "go outside": Do not play "The Stanley Parable" for five years.
For convenience, you may need to take matters into your own hands.
This may mean changing the time on your computer to obtain the two previously mentioned achievements which are otherwise almost impossible to unlock.
Life isn't as simple as it seems.
To unlock the achievement "Click on door 430 five times," the announcer makes you do a whole slew of meaningless tasks in order to earn that achievement.
Nothing is impossible if you know where to look.
The final point related to achievements in the game, there is an achievement called "unimpossible" with the description, "It is impossible to get this achievement." However, there is a way to unlock it. To do that, you must enter the game files and change some code around, giving you the achievement as soon as you open the game.
The beaten path isn't always the best.
If you choose to go so off track, even The Announcer becomes confused, recruiting the help of "The Stanley Parable Story Line." This story line should direct you to where the story should proceed, but ends up spoiling the story and then proceeds to go in random directions.
Reality is an illusion.
Perhaps the game is really commentary about how unskilled workers are deceived into thinking their lives hold meaning, while they work countless hours every day pushing buttons all to enjoy life after work with their [imaginary] homes, families, and kitchens.
Freedom isn't free.
By the time you complete the story as intended, you sever ties from your employer by deactivating the mind control device used on its employees. You conclude the game as intended, thinking that you are no longer enslaved and can start anew. The game doesn't, however, describe to what extent Stanley can be normal again.
