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The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Edition continues the tradition of confusing endings pioneered by the meta-narrative of the 2013 release. Boasting more endings and new content, The Stanley Parable has multi-directional story paths that can be hard to keep track of.
The Stanley Parable's iconic fourth wall breaks count for a lot of the appeal, with the dynamics of player choice and game development being constantly discussed and varying across multiple endings.
Available Endings Before the Two Doors Room
The Reluctance Ending
The Reluctance Ending, also known as the Coward Ending, simply requires the player to close the office door to Room 427. Some short but sweet dialogue comes from the Narrator calling out Stanley's apparent cowardice before the game resets.
This ending is deceptively easy to reach, but can still be missed by players. No new dialogue is given if the player brings the bucket into this ending.
The Heaven Ending
Accessing the Heaven Ending relies on the player interacting with certain screens over multiple playthroughs. If done correctly, the final screen will replace Stanley's monitor in Room 427, making this another ending that can potentially be accessed right from the start of a new playthrough.
More information on the monitor locations can be found on The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Edition "Heaven Ending" guide. No new dialogue is given if the player brings the bucket into this ending.
Out of Map Ending
It is possible to get outside the game's map by leaving Stanley's office and moving over to Desk 434 in the first open-plan room. A typically crazy Stanley Parable achievement/trophy is awarded if the player keeps on trying to jump, but it is simple enough to guide Stanley onto the desk using the chair.
Once in position, Stanley can be guided out of the window into the white void. The Narrator chimes in after this, with a question asking if the player is bored with the meta gag yet.
Choosing "YES" will cause the Narrator to perform a humorous song about Stanley, whereas "NO" will continue with a more thoughtful voiceover.
The Whiteboard Ending
Occasionally, the path to the Two Doors Room will change due to The Stanley Parable's semi-random map designs. Rather than going straight out of Stanley's office, right, straight ahead, and left, the layout will be notably different.
Sometimes it will be reversed, or just a straight line to the Two Doors Room, or the external office will have blue decor and not be brightly lit.
By leaving Stanley's office and opening the door to Room 426, the player is given the Whiteboard Ending. Interacting with a special box in the bottom right corner of the whiteboard will cause dog barks sound effects to play. No new Narrator dialogue or optional bucket ending occurs.
All Left Door Ending Paths
The Insane Ending
After getting to the Two Doors Room, go into the left door. Then head down the stairs. This will lead Stanley into an inescapable looping network of rooms, along with the Narrator directing the player to the unusual surroundings.
The rest of this path is essentially a playable cutscene, leading to a new ending scene featuring a new character called Mariella.
The Escape Pod Ending
The Escape Pod route stands out amongst other Stanley Parable endings, notably because triggering it causes the Narrator to disappear. Taking the left door and going up the stairs leads to the Boss's Office, but the player needs to briefly enter before backing out of the room.
If done correctly, the double doors will close permanently, leaving Stanley outside the office, along with the Narrator's dialogue disappearing. Now, all the player has to do is backtrack all the way to Room 427 and head through the newly opened office door.
The Press Conference Ending
After arriving at the Two Doors Room, go left, up the stairs, into the Boss's Office, enter the keypad code the Narrator tells Stanley (2845), and an elevator is revealed. However, after getting in it and heading downwards, the player can press the buttons again and go back up.
After enough attempts of going up and down, Stanley will be taken to a new location. The ornate path has lots of in-jokes and inspirational posters about Stanley giving a press conference, surrounded by cheering audience members.
The Museum Ending
The Museum Ending can take a while to reach, but the path to it is quite direct. Left at the two doors, up the stairs, into the Boss's Office, unlock the secret passageway, and down the elevator. Stepping out of the elevator and along the path will reveal another split path.
Taking the corridor labeled "ESCAPE" will result in Stanley falling into a machine that looks like it will kill him, but luckily it stops short.
A new female Narrator rescues Stanley and directs the player to a museum showcasing The Stanley Parable's development, accompanied by a lot of interesting trivia and content.
"Bottom of the Mind Control Facility" Ending
From the start of Stanley's office, go left at the two doors, up the stairs, and into the Boss's office. Once the secret passageway is opened, head down the elevator and into the Mind Control Facility.
Rather than following the path along the catwalks, it is possible to climb on the chair and desk housing the lightbulb button and fall off the walkway into the abyss below. In the original game, this was a bug, but the Narrator tells the player about this new ending path.
The Countdown Ending
The Countdown Ending is simple enough to reach, but the outcome itself can misdirect players. From the start of Stanley's office, go left at the two doors, up the stairs, and into the Boss's office. Once the secret passageway is opened, head down the elevator and into the Mind Control Facility.
Follow the path along the catwalks until Stanley arrives at two buttons and press the ON button. More details about this ending path are written in The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Countdown Ending guide.
The Freedom Ending
The Freedom Ending is considered the "real" ending of The Stanley Parable, and can only be accessed by following every step the Narrator says. Left at the two doors, up the stairs, through the Boss's Office, down the elevator, into the Mind Control Facility, and press the OFF button.
This ending specifically counts as beating the game, which earns the player an achievement/trophy. Speedrunning the path to the Freedom Ending has similar rewards for the player.
All Right Door Ending Paths
The Confusion Ending
Upon reaching the Two Doors Room, go through the right door which detours to the Employee Lounge. After leaving the lounge, take the open door on the left and go down the elevator.
This automatically leads to the desired ending, but more information is available in The Confusion Ending Guide.
The Powerful/Cold Feet Ending
Disobeying the Narrator's instructions will lead Stanley to the Cargo Room, accessed by moving through the right door and straight ahead after the Employee Lounge.
Walking back off the cargo lift or just immediately jumping to the floor below results in Stanley dying, with some sarcastic dialogue from the Narrator. The dialogue slightly varies between both endings, but the outcome is the same.
The Vent Ending
The Vent Ending is a new addition to the Ultra Deluxe edition, accessible after reaching the Cargo Room. From Stanley's starting office, head right at the two doors and straight ahead to the Cargo Room.
Rather than getting on the lift, it is possible to guide Stanley over the fence on the left by using a plank propped up against the boxes, followed by crouching into the nearby vent. It is considerably easier to get this ending while looking for all the mini-Stanley figurines.
The Phone Ending
The Phone Ending is quite direct to follow, disobeying the Narrator as he points the player toward a new room. Right at the Two Doors room, straight ahead to the Cargo Room, onto the cargo lift, and wait until it reaches the other side.
Once it does, continue onwards until a room opens up. Heading inside will reveal a phone that, when interacted with, will teleport Stanley to his apparent home and a nasty surprise twist.
The Real Person Ending
This ending path is identical to the previous Phone Ending but requires a non-intuitive action to achieve. Following that route, it is possible to unplug the phone rather than answering it, which will perplex the Narrator.
After a short fictional PSA plays, the Narrator tells Stanley to go back to the Two Doors room. What follows is a continuous series of gameplay loops as the Narrator tries to recapture the lost story.
The Zending
This story path can be achieved by walking off of the cargo lift onto the catwalk below while the Narrator is speaking. Continuing down the new pathway reveals a red door and a blue door.
Following the Narrator's direction and going through the Red Door opens up a new path for the player, revealing a room with ethereal light and music. The only way to get out of this ending path is by heading back to a flight of stairs and repeatedly jumping off, accompanied by some black comedy dialogue from the Narrator.
The Art Ending
This ending and the Games Ending can only be attained by heading through the Blue Door instead of the Red Door.
The Narrator will keep resetting Stanley back to the colored doors and insisting he goes through the Red one; the third time will move the Blue Door behind Stanley, but it can still be entered.
After exploring the unmade map locations, the Narrator will provide an artistic game that subverts The Stanley Parable. This requires the player to press a red button for four hours. This is time-consuming and repetitive, but still possible for determined players.
Two hours in, the Narrator will reveal a secondary button several steps away that also needs to be pressed. After four successful hours, a cutscene will play showcasing the "essence of divine art."
The Games Ending
Repeatedly heading through the Blue Door and failing the Baby Game will result in the Narrator insulting Stanley, before taking him to "someone else's game" instead. Firewatch and Rocket League are both briefly explored before the Narrator changes his mind and dumps Stanley back in a broken office map.
"Ultra Deluxe Edition" Endings
New Content Ending
The path to the New Content will open randomly after the player has seen several endings. Once triggered, the Door labeled 416 in the corridor before the Two Doors Room will change to read "NEW CONTENT." Heading into this door will lead to a literal on-rails path that guides Stanley through a brief history of The Stanley Parable.
Skip Button Ending
This will take the player through a new location called The Memory Zone, which holds content similar to the Museum Ending. Following the path will eventually lead to a room that contains a Skip Button.
Continually pressing it will skip the Narrator's dialogue, allowing for long periods of time to pass. Eventually, after several presses, the ceiling will collapse and allow Stanley to escape.
The SEQUEL Ending
After the deliberately disappointing "NEW CONTENT" ending, head back through the corridors and eventually, a neon sign will be presented for Stanley. Heading through this door will unveil a new path created by the Narrator.
This unveils a path to The Stanley Parable 2, with an "Investor Expo" room that holds several setpieces that will apparently appear in the main game. The player can explore them all, but when finished, the Narrator will reset the game with the additional items.
The Whole Hole Ending
While wandering "The Stanley Parable 2" Expo, it is possible to get another ending by heading to the Infinite Hole section. Patience is required, as it relies on the player falling in the hole until Stanley reaches the bottom.
After this, Stanley can be teleported back to the top and explore again, but jumping back in will cause Stanley to fall for less time. Keep on jumping into the hole until it is only a few feet deep. The frustrated Narrator begins to berate Stanley for "breaking" the hole, but waiting in place will cause the hole to gradually go deeper.
Several on-screen prompts will gradually start to appear allowing the player to change perspective, perception, background patterns, and character design. The player can swap these around to their heart's content before resetting back to the start of the game.
The Figurines Ending
The Stanley Parable 2 Expo offers the chance to find collectibles in the form of figurines that look like Stanley. All of their locations are in a separate guide, but when all six are collected, the player is automatically locked into The Figurines Ending the next time they reset.
The Stanley Parable Reassurance Bucket Endings
The Stanley Parable's updated re-release boasts lots of new content that add to the original game's meta endings. However, all of these ending routes can result in revised outcomes for players depending on whether they bring along the "Stanley Parable Reassurance Bucket" or not.
Notable examples include the Improved Escape Pod Ending or the Out of Map ending. Picking up the bucket and bringing it outside the map will lead to a surprisingly dark story path.
Rather than a Narrator choice, the bucket apparently talks to Stanley about its harrowing past before getting dispatched with a knife. This ending can be quite jarring and intense for some players, as are most of the bucket-ending subversions.
The Stanley Parable Epilogue
Accessing the epilogue is a bit of a puzzle, but is in keeping with the meta-narrative of The Stanley Parable's design. It requires the player to close and re-open the entire game several times, prompting them to interact with several sliders and time settings.
After enough attempts at re-opening the game, the on-screen text will tell the player that they will talk again. When the main menu appears, an Epilogue option will be added.
Selecting this will lead to a playable scene that can be considered another ending, with a bonus achievement/trophy now activated.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe Edition is playable on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.