Wait a second, did I just see... no, that's not possible. I can't believe it. How had I not noticed it sooner? You're not Stanley. You're a real person.
The Narrator
The Not Stanley Ending (also known as the Real Person Ending or the Incorrect Ending[1]) is the ending that occurs when you unplug the phone and somehow make an "incorrect choice".
This ending is in the HD remake and Ultra Deluxe.
Obtaining The Ending[]
Exit Stanley's office. At the two doors, pick the one on the right. Proceed through the Employee Lounge and walk past the open door on the left. Enter the Warehouse and take the cargo lift across. Enter the Phone Room and unplug the phone from the wall.
Unplugging the Phone and the Helpful Instruction Video[]
The Narrator immediately (or quickly, if you let him finish his dialogue beforehand) takes alarm to this "incorrect" decision, and wonders how this is even possible. The Narrator finally realizes you're not Stanley, but instead a real person. As the Narrator calls your use of choice irresponsible, you will be shown an educational video on decision making.
Once that finishes, you are brought back to the phone room, which is now beginning to "deteriorate as a result of narrative contradiction". The Narrator leads you back to the Two Doors Room, making sure all possible venues to change the story are blocked off, such as fencing off the cargo lift to prevent you from jumping onto the catwalk or to your death, closing the door to the maintenance room, blocking off part of the staircase, preventing him from leaving the Boss's Office, and locking the door to the broom closet
Once at the Two Doors room, The Narrator will brief you on what Stanley would do in this scenario, which would mean "choosing responsibly and always putting the story first". He then presents you with the same left-right choice as the first time.
Sub-Ending A[]
If you enter the left door, the game will progress as it normally would have, but upon entering the Boss's Office, it appears to have changed into a green color (similar to the green room in the demo). You are presented with a voice receiver, instead of a numeric password. In order to access the Mind Control Facility, Stanley must speak the code "Night-Shark-1-1-5". But, because Stanley cannot speak and the game does not employ any usage of an internal or external microphone to make him speak, The Narrator grows angry once more, assuming you are willingly not complying with his direction. He becomes furious at you for mocking him, and comments on how you could have gone through the right door and done "whatever the hell [you] wanted" after your choice. The Narrator demands explanations, citing you a "coward" before the game cuts off.
Sub-Ending B[]
If you enter the right door, the hallway will appear to have been heavily distorted due to "narrative contradiction", as the Narrator put it earlier. Exiting the hallway and going through the left door will prove futile, as the Meeting Room has also succumbed to chaos. The Narrator becomes furious, his work and story "destroyed", and shuts down the game. The player reappears in a dilapidated Two Doors Room. The Narrator wakes and further spites you, commenting on how you could have gone through the left door, making everything fine and grand, stressing how hard he worked before the game cuts off.
The Ending[]
The ceiling view
When both sub-endings have been performed once, the player will appear over the ceiling of the Two Doors Room (within the scope of this ending) and look at Stanley for the first time. You, the player, are now detached from Stanley's body, leaving the latter motionless and unable to think for himself. The credits will roll as the Narrator becomes worried over Stanley's inability to do anything, begging him to step forward and choose anything. The Narrator just assumes at the end that Stanley needs time to decide and make sure his choice is correct, and the game resets.
Note: You will be respawned back in the two doors room if you tried to repeat any sub-ending.
With The Bucket[]
If Stanley is holding The Bucket, instead of the Narrator talking about listening for his wife, The Bucket instructs him to go to the room with the phone. Once there, The Bucket asks Stanley to pick it up so they can "go back home". Unplugging the phone here will reveal that The Narrator was the one making the bucket talk, and that he was just joking. Thinking he doesn't understand comedic timing, he plays an instructional video on comedic timing.
Once that finishes, Stanley is brought back to the Two Doors Room (with everything still blocked off) as the Narrator gloats about how his talking bucket joke will actually work this time.
If Stanley goes through the left door, the Narrator becomes upset that he didn't return to the phone room, ruining his joke. He continues yelling until the game cuts off.
If Stanley goes through the right door, he is taken to the phone room far too early, catching the Narrator off-guard, ruining his joke. He blames himself, wallowing in self-pity and deciding to watch the video again before the game cuts off.
When both sub-endings have been performed once, Stanley and The Bucket will appear over the ceiling of the Two Doors Room (within the scope of this ending) looking down at himself. The Narrator begins making bad bucket puns as the credits roll. He decides to go watch more instructional videos, and the game resets.
Trivia[]
- Originally the Not Stanley Ending would be obtained by not answering the phone in the Phone Room in less than 15 seconds, as seen in the Museum.
- Strangely, in the original game, if captions are enabled, the instructional video won't show them for the first half, but will in the second half after the "Practice" part. This is fixed in Ultra Deluxe, however.
- Because the door leading into the Meeting Room won't close during the first Sub-Ending, it's possible to backtrack before The Narrator tries shutting down the game, and you'll see what you left behind had succumbed to the narrative contradiction, with the right door now blocked off by stairs leading to the ceiling. What's more, if you do decide to backtrack, it's impossible to return to the Meeting Room, as that path had been blocked off too by lots of smashed cabinets.
- The Boss's Office on the left door uses the same green wallpaper that is used in the Green room in the demonstration.
- It is possible to walk around on the cargo bay floor, because Stanley isn't meant to be able to get there. This can be achieved with cheats, by backing out of the blocked lift after unplugging the phone, crouching between some of the fences, or by using the jump bug in Ultra Deluxe to simply jump over the railing.
- On the floor, the door for Cargo Bay B is open, revealing a white area, similar to most "out of bounds" scenarios in the Stanley Parable. Walking inside of this white area will play calm music that is from the Heaven ending
- In the game files, the map for this ending is titled map incorrect.
- A glitch occurs if you restart the game immediately after, or right when the credits roll, then the credits will still play until you reach the end.
- The only way to disable this glitch is to go to the main menu, and then go back.
Gallery[]
Video Guide[]
[]
| Endings | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Left door |
Freedom Ending • Countdown Ending • Museum Ending • Mariella Ending • Escape Pod Ending • Heaven Ending • Broom Closet Ending • Elevator Ending • Bottom of the Mind Control Room Ending | |
|
Right door |
Confusion Ending • Powerful Ending • Cold Feet Ending • Apartment Ending • Not Stanley Ending • Zending • Games Ending • Art Ending • Vent Ending • No Buckets Ending | |
|
Does not require the Two Doors Room |
Coward Ending • Out of Map Ending • Serious Ending • Whiteboard Ending | |
|
Progression Endings |
New Content Ending • Skip Button Ending • Mostly Infinite Hole • Sequel Ending • Figurines Ending • Epilogue | |
- ↑ Fixed a video issue that was happening on certain computers preventing players from accessing the “Incorrect Ending”. - 1.05 dev notes