"When every path you can walk has been created for you long in advance, death becomes meaningless, making life the same. Do you see now? Do you see that Stanley was already dead from the moment he hit start?"
The Female Narrator describing all of The Stanley Parable in one speech
The Museum Ending is the ending that occurs when you arrive at the Mind Control Facility, but instead of entering it, you go to the hallway with "Escape" written on it.
This ending is in the original mod, HD remake, and Ultra Deluxe.
Obtaining The Ending[]
Exit Stanley's Office. At the two doors, pick the one on the left. Once you get to the staircase, go up to the Boss's Office, and reach the intersection between the Escape Hall and Mind Control Facility.
The Ending[]
Instead of entering the Mind Control Facility as told, Stanley takes a left into an ominous hallway with "escape" scrawled next to it. The Narrator says that Stanley's demise lies at the end of the hall and will remind him that nothing is preventing him from turning around and getting back on track. If Stanley does turn around, the Narrator will say that he realized he "simply had too much to live for" and decided against suicide, but if Stanley returns to the hall again, he'll retract that statement.
If Stanley ignores the narrator's warnings, the lights overhead will eventually dim out and a trap door will open up beneath him, plummeting him into darkness. He'll eventually land in a cage-type device connected to a conveyer, which travels through a giant crusher that would surely kill him. The Narrator claims that Stanley, having sealed his fate, will now never get the answers he had once hoped for and that his life hadn't been of much consequence. He also mentions that his death wouldn't be of a considerable loss, likening it to "plucking the eyeballs from a blind man" before bidding him farewell.
Before the machine can crush Stanley, the process is interrupted by a second, female narrator, who describes the gruesome death that was seconds away from being a reality, also mentioning that Stanley would be resurrected anyway after it's all over, wondering what the narrator thought he was going to accomplish. Stanley is then dropped from the cage and walks through a large black void, entering a museum with content from the game's development.
The player can then explore the Museum as much as they want until they reach the exit and pull a lever. They are then warped back to where the cage was, seconds before Stanley's death. During this time, the female narrator begs the player to close down the game (even going as far as to prompt the player to outright switch off their console in Ultra Deluxe), claiming there is no other way to stop Stanley and The Narrator failing. If the player waits it out, Stanley will indeed get crushed to death, and the game will have to be restarted manually.
With The Bucket[]
If Stanley is holding The Bucket, then upon entering the "escape" hallway, The Narrator will talk about the demise that lays ahead for Stanley and The Bucket and how they could still turn back if they wanted to, in a similar way to the original ending. If Stanley does turn around with the bucket, the Narrator will say his line about Stanley having "too much to live for", this time mentioning the bucket as well. Again, if Stanley and The Bucket return to the hall, he'll retract that statement.
If Stanley ignores the narrator's warnings, the lights overhead will eventually dim out and a trap door will open up beneath him and The Bucket, plummeting them into darkness. They'll land in the same cage-type device connected to a conveyor, which travels through the same giant crusher. The Narrator talks about how foolish Stanley was for carrying The Bucket with him all this time before bidding them both farewell.
Before the machine can crush both Stanley and The Bucket, the Female Narrator once again interrupts the process. She describes Stanley's death as well as The Bucket's, before they are both dropped from the cage. Stanley and The Bucket then walk through a large black void, entering a museum dedicated to buckets. As he is moving through the void, The Bucket disappears from Stanley's hands.
The player can explore the bucket museum for as long as they want, until they reach the top and pick up the hanging bucket. During the exploration, the female narrator talks about how noble and magnificent The Bucket is, and how Stanley was selfish for taking it and leading it to its death. When the hanging bucket is picked up by Stanley, he is then warped back to the cage. The female narrator begs the player not to reset the game and to let Stanley die (the opposite of her instructions in the non-bucket version of this ending), in order to save buckets from their treatment as tools, and for them to be given back their rightful position as rulers of the world. If the player waits it out, Stanley will indeed be crushed to death, with the Bucket audibly getting flattened too, and the game will restart automatically.
The Original Mod[]
Go through the right door, then straight ahead. Get in the elevator, and push the up button as the narrator says. When the elevator reaches the top, get into the pod. This version of the ending is more of a collection of all the props in the game, though it plays out the same as in the HD Remake.
Video Guide[]
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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 |