RESIDENT EVIL VII: BIOHAZARD
Exposing the secrets of Resident Evil VII: Beginning Hour
YOU HAVE BEEN TO THE ATTIC, RIGHT? NO? IT’S TIME.
02You’ve braved the Resident Evil VII: Beginning Hour demo through to its face-punching conclusion, you say? Congrats for getting that far (many didn’t), but there’s still plenty for you to discover in Capcom’s teaser for Resi VII.
Its biggest mystery of all involves the dummy finger found in a drawer in the first hallway. For weeks after the demo’s release, the internet was awash with speculation about its purpose. A small metal protrusion hinted at it doubling as a key to open up new areas, but after days spent trying to combine it with everything else, the community was at a loss.
So, what is the finger for exactly? Nothing yet, according to a Capcom tweet (pictured above). “The path for now is closed. But patience…” says the studio. But what could that mean? Early bets – despite initial dev quotes to the contrary – point to an incoming demo patch that makes the finger useful. A way to open the downstairs locked door, perhaps?
That calendar in the tweet can’t be ignored, either. The finger just so happens to be laying across the dates for this year’s Tokyo Game Show, suggesting we’ll see plenty more on this mystery next month.
Thankfully, the demo’s other secrets are much easier to grasp. Literally, in the case of the axe. The hidden weapon is nestled inside the locked drawer in the kitchen – to open it, you must use the videotape to go back in time, then pick up the lockpick on the floor between the units to the left of the microwave. Use it to open the drawer in the past, then return to the present to claim your slashy prize.
BASH IN THE ATTIC
There’s nobody to attack, though you can cut up the mannequin in the attic. You have been up to the attic, right? No? Then get to it. Start the demo again and immediately open up the secret hatch with the fireplace chain. Grab the fuse in there, put it in the fusebox, then trot upstairs and hit the button to open up the top floor. There are three phone endings to get, depending on how long you take, and don’t forget to study that photograph – yes, that is an Umbrella logo on the chopper.
Don’t miss the ghost girl, either. At seven distinct points during the tape section you can catch a glimpse of this phantom female. She sometimes appears at the corners of the screen: 1) In the woods on the left before you enter the house; 2) If you turn around and face the entrance when you’re in the first hallway; 3) Through the window above the sink; 4) Above the kitchen doorway once Andre has vanished; 5) At the top of the stairs; 6) In the room under the stairs; 7) In the secret alcove when you descend the ladder. Brrrr.
And what of the pair of mystery earphones on the table upstairs during the tape section? Its purpose, if there is one, is unknown. Secret codes in the sound effects, perhaps? Hopefully we’ll find out come TGS…