Yesterday, a Resident Evil 7 teaser was uploaded as a free demo on PSN. The whole thing lasts maybe 20 minutes, tops. Lots of people have played the demo multiple times, searching every nook and cranny — but many believe they have yet to find every secret.
To get this out of the way: The demo has more in common with games like P.T. than it does more recent Resident Evil titles. There’s not a whole lot of action, really: Most of what you do is explore a house in first person, and you solve puzzles (or if you’re like me, you freeze somewhere for ages in terror because you totally heard a weird sound).
To be more specific, you play as a camera man who breaks into an abandoned house with the intent of shooting a movie, only to have someone — or something trap you inside. It’s not 100 per cent clear if these things are traditional zombies, but they’re certainly not human.
As you search through the house, you come across a variety of different objects you can’t immediately interact with, like a VCR:
But the more you dig into the house, the more proverbial keys you find, the more you can backtrack and mess around with stuff. It’s actually really easy to get stuck if you’re not observant enough, but there is a way to “beat” the demo — or at least, get an ending. There are actually a few different endings, depending on what you do. I got the one where you use the key to leave through the back door, but there are others, like using the fuse to go upstairs. All prompt you go to sign up for the Resident Evil’s Ambassador Program.
Here is where things get juicy: Every known ending at the moment uses the items you find (the key, the fuse, the axe)… with the exception of this thing:
Nobody knows what to do with this finger you can pick up. If you Google it, or search on YouTube, or on social media and forums, nobody has a clue what to do with that damn finger:
I’ve also seen some confusion as to what to do with the axe, though it seems to me that you just need it so you don’t get attacked during the phone call. Also, to chop up some mannequins. (Though only some can be destroyed?) Its possible the axe has more uses that nobody has figured out yet, however.
Right now, most people are racking their brains trying to figure out what to do next. So far, that’s meant some hilarious experimentation, like trying to put the finger in the microwave. Some people are also trying to figure out if there is a way to escape the house without getting whacked by zombie dad, though that’s proven to be a dead end so far. Is there actually a use for the finger, or is Capcom just fucking with the fans? Because that would be hilarious.
Whatever it is, people are still playing — and the more they play, the more they discover small secrets. Like who the hell is this woman who appears multiple times throughout the game? I totally missed her on my playthrough, though other players have managed to document her.
Image via: KennethBR
Image via: HUCK
This is what I mean when I draw a P.T. comparison: There is an element of repetition, as people play over and over again in the hopes of finding new clues. For some hardcore Resident Evil fans, this deviation might seem like sacrilege. Others may feel that they are like, totally over the P.T. frenzy, and that it’s lame that another game is trying to ape it. The idea at the heart of this demo may not be novel, but hey. I’m having fun with it anyway.
If you have any theories about the finger, or manage to make a breakthrough in finding new endings, leave it in the comments below.
Oh, and if you’re having trouble: Here is how to find the fuse, keys and the axe in the Resident Evil 7 demo, courtesy of AceBoogz Gaming. Spoilers!
Comments
6 responses to “The Mystery Of What The Resident Evil 7 Teaser Hides”
Aw i want my neo now 🙁
I’m not sure I really want off brand PT.
I mean, why not just wait for Kojima to inevitably make his own PT game?
Apart from the way it was announced the 2 games aren’t particularly similar. This is far more Resident Evil than Silent Hill in terms of gore and mechanics.
Death Stranding seems like it could end up being a Sci-Fi PT. Of course, with the little we’ve seen of it it could be anything but I’m hoping Sci-Fi thriller/psychological horror.
I could excuse this sort of behaviour from small indie developers, but this is a major franchise that’s literally copying someone doing it first, better and smarter. It’s like Samsung and Apple all over again.
I don’t see the problem! It’s brought the fear back to Resident Evil, something I haven’t properly felt since Res 2, and maybe some early parts in Code Veronica…
Personally I welcome comparisons to PT/Silent Hills/The Evil Within, but remember this doesn’t project the entirety of the game. This is only a small taste of what’s to come at the start. Look at Res 1, where do you think Konami got their inspiration for the original Silent Hill??
I played it last night the only way one should, lights off with surround sound and holy crap – everything goes bump in the night. Amazing atmosphere.
I only finished it the once, with the backdoor key – no axe/fuse, so I’ll be giving it a few more quick playthroughs now that I kinda know what to expect. This is the first time I’ve been excited about a Resident Evil game since Res 4 (which was the beginning of the end of ‘survival horror’ for RE, and as good as it was action-wise, it wasn’t scary).