When comparing Day of the Tentacle Remastered vs The Stanley Parable, the Slant community recommends The Stanley Parable for most people. In the question“What are the best funny games on Steam?” The Stanley Parable is ranked 4th while Day of the Tentacle Remastered is ranked 10th. The most important reason people chose The Stanley Parable is:
One of the main themes of the game is the illusion of choice that's presented in games. While a player can make a vast number of decisions in the game, the narrator reminds the player he can only make decisions that the game allows him to and how the game manipulates the player into making them. The narrator points out that not just common choices such as what path to take to get from point A to point B, how to approach a certain situation or what ethical choices are available are limited to the game's designers having thought of and implemented those aspects of the game, but decisions such as purposeful suicide, not taking action, disobeying instructions and even turning off the game are only there if the game allows them to be there.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Timeless cartoony art style
The game has a cartoon art style as well as animation that is meticulously detailed without taking shortcuts like reusing frames when a unique one would work better. The game also plays like a cartoon as well, with the same silliness and gags that you would expect from a classic episode of Loony Tunes.
Pro Time travel makes you think 4 dimensionally
The major unique gameplay mechanic in DOTT is time travel, which lends much more depth to puzzles. Instead of dealing with one linear feeling storyline, there are 3 different time periods that interact with each other making for more unique gameplay and allows you to attempt many different puzzles in parallel which can interact with each other through the passing of time.
Pro Classic pixel graphics still available
For purists or those that would like to see how the original looked, there is a graphical setting to switch to the original graphics.
Pro Filled with humor
The game often uses gags and jokes that call back to the first time they were told in the game making for a game that points out its own humor through the process of inside jokes to the player. This gives an inclusive feeling to the player, that they are part of the game.
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Pro Ridiculous puzzles
DOTT's puzzles are a bit more out there than your typical adventure game flair, but while they'll leave you scratching your head, when you solve them, you wont just feel accomplished, but it will also be hilarious.
Pro Completely new re-drawn graphics
In order to update the game for modern hardware, the graphics have been entirely re-drawn from scratch for HD displays. This makes for a much improved experience in the graphical department that sees a classic improved for modern use. Luckily the new graphics still exude the excellence of the original, meaning there is no loss of quality or feeling of the game.
Pro Discusses the illusion of choice in games
One of the main themes of the game is the illusion of choice that's presented in games. While a player can make a vast number of decisions in the game, the narrator reminds the player he can only make decisions that the game allows him to and how the game manipulates the player into making them. The narrator points out that not just common choices such as what path to take to get from point A to point B, how to approach a certain situation or what ethical choices are available are limited to the game's designers having thought of and implemented those aspects of the game, but decisions such as purposeful suicide, not taking action, disobeying instructions and even turning off the game are only there if the game allows them to be there.
Pro Exceptional narration
Excellently crafted, hilarious writing delivered by a well spoken, charismatic British narrator. Kevan Brighting has become somewhat of a cult success since the game due to its cult like status which just shows how deserving he is due to how well done the narration of the game is done.
Pro The game has a lot of different endings to find
There are numerous ending to the game that appear to play out even when the player makes the same choices as their last playthrough.
Pro Insightful commentary on state of game design
The game tackles topics such as ludonarrative dissonance, choice in games, narrative limitations, etc while mostly focusing on the relationship between the game and the player in terms of storytelling in a very meaningful, educated and entertaining way.
Pro Points out narrative limitations in games by encouraging breaking narrative structure through gameplay
The game encourages players to explore decisions that would change the meaning of the presented story. What if you took a left turn where the game asked you to take a right? What if you decided not to push a big red button needed to continue playing because you didn't agree with pushing the big red button? What if you died in a boss battle? How would that affect the narrative of the game?
The game rewards you for not following the "intended" narrative structure of the situation in order to point out how the structure is unavoidable in games as a whole. The process of attempting to break the structure can be highly satisfying in The Stanley Parable and can help you better notice limitations of narrative in other games.
Pro A few nods to other games can be seen throughout the game
References to other games including Half-Life 2, Portal & Minecraft can be found throughout the game.
Cons
Con Some puzzle solutions can be a stretch
Most of the puzzles in the game make sense, with item combinations that one can usually think about coming to a useful conclusion. But some of the puzzles take this a step too far and are not as logical in their conclusions, this can be frustrating for the player and may turn some people off of the game.
Con No hints
There is no in-game hint system to help them when they run into the few unintuitive puzzles, meaning the player will either have to tough it out, or consult an online guide. Both of which can be immersion breaking and disrupts the flow of enjoyment of the game.
Con More an interactive story than an actual game
The Stanley Parable is not much of a game in the strictest sense but more an interactive story or interactive "art".