Resident Evil 7 demo endings, secrets and more explored

Publish date: 2023-01-12

Resident Evil 7 was given a free playable demo following its announcement during Sony's E3 2016 conference. The release of Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour during a Sony presser isn't the only similarity to Kojima's P.T. - the demo is also a mysterious first-person affair, seeing you trapped inside a house filled with secrets that start to unravel through multiple replays.

It's easy to miss the alternative endings and even entire items - from the Dummy Finger, an Axe you can equip and use and even a Rare Coin you can take with you to the full game - so whether you're playing on PS4, Xbox One or PC, here's a guide to finding every discovery in the latest and final 'Midnight' demo.

There are obviously spoilers ahead, so be sure to play the demo before reading.

On this page:

29 Things You Didn't Know About Resident Evil 7 (Even If You Played It)

How to unlock the True Ending in the Resident Evil 7 demo

The PSX 'Midnight' update 'completes' the demo by introducing new areas and items that allow you to both escape the house and use the Dummy Finger. Here's a video that explains how to achieve both in a single playthrough:

To achieve the True Ending, you must perform the following steps:

  • Perform the steps we've seen in previous demos - activate the hidden lever in the fireplace, grab the fuse from the secret compartment, place it in the wall, go upstairs and call down the steps to access the attic, then go through the door and grab the Basement Key from the table on the left
  • Head back downstairs and interact with the door to the right of where you start to enter a new location (we'll call this area the 'molded corridor')
  • Use the Basement Key on the gate at the end
  • Head back down into the basement, and go through the door
  • Here, a monster will spawn in different locations depending on your actions, and you must escape the basement with two items without getting hit in order to achieve the ending. What we recommend is collecting the Valve Handle on the right, and going back out the way you come, spawning the monster behind you, making it easier to avoid. When Jack stops you from leaving, immediately run on the right and get the Attic Window Key from the shelf, then back out the door. If the monster is in the way, use the hanging body bags as a means of knocking it back. Sprint upstairs to escape.
  • Head back to the attic and attempt to use the key on the window to escape

    • Want more help? Our Resident Evil 7 walkthrough provides step-by-step instructions on how to survive the main story, as well as finding the Shotgun, Grenade Launcher and the game's many Lockpicks and Treasure Photos. Meanwhile, our Antique Coins locations, Mr Everywhere statue locations and File locations lists will help you find every available collectible on Normal and Easy difficulties.

    Dummy Finger solved: How to use the Dummy's Left Hand to solve the five murders to get the Dirty Coin

    As well as the above core 'walkthrough', there is also a Dummy Finger, arguably the biggest mystery ever since the demo was released. With the final 'Midnight' demo release, finding it is the first step in solving five murders throughout the house, which in turn unlocks the Dirty Coin item that you can use as an additional Antique Coin the full game.

    Where to find the Dummy Finger, create the Dummy's Left Hand and Blank Notebook

    To begin solving the five murders, you must first collect three items:

    With the Dummy's Left Hand and Blank Notebook, you can investigate five murder sites. Most steps require you to look at a specific point before, and in the final step, open your inventory and investigate the Dummy's Left Hand, and point it to somewhere specific in the environment. When you're done it right, it'll vibrate and a sound will play, and a passage will be added to the Blank Notebook.

    We recommend following our True Ending walkthrough video, which also includes the following steps in clearer detail. Otherwise, here are the steps in text:

    1. On the ground floor, at the bottom of the stairs there is a fallen bookcase. Point the Dummy's Left Hand at the bookcase until it vibrates, giving you the first murder passage in the notebook.

    2. Go up to the attic floor, and after the steps, go round the corner in the corridor and look at the light on the upper right to hear a noise. If it doesn't trigger, head downstairs, through the kitchen to the back door and get the Bolt Cutters. Use it in the cupboard next to the kitchen and get the VHS Tape, and try again. Next, perform the steps in the True Ending above, so you escape the basement with the two items without getting hit by the monster. Head back down and the monster will disappear. In the monster room, go to the body bag on the stretcher and point the Dummy's Left Hand at it.

    3. Get the Handgun by using the Valve Handle on the pipe in the bathroom just off the molded corridor then flushing the toilet. Equip the Handgun, and go to the bottom of the stairs on the ground floor. On the wall above the stairs is a picture of someone in a hood - shoot at her with the Handgun to hear a giggle. Go into the small room under the stairs and point the hand at the door until it vibrates, adding another passage.

    4. From murder 3 above, stand in the doorway underneath the ground level staircase and look at the mirror. Do a quick-turn with Circle (or B on Xbox) and back for another giggle. Next, head into the attic and go to the back left corner. Look up, and locate the blue and white wires hanging over the wooden beam. Point the Dummy's Left Hand - it might take some fiddling to work - until it vibrates.

    5. Remember the VHS video tape from the demo's first update? Play it - you can do so by finding the Bolt Cutters by the back door of the ground floor of the house, then trace your steps back to the previous corridor to use it on the chained cabinet, collecting the Derelict House Footage tape, and inserting it into the VHS Player of the starting room - and play through the flashback.

    Once done, head into the monster basement - remember to play through the True Ending steps first to despawn the monster - and look at the doll on the floor in the corner to hear a giggle. If you didn't hear a giggle, then play the VHS tape again once more. It might take a few attempts. Once the doll produces a giggle, go into the kitchen and open the cooking pot on the tape. Point the finger at the stew within until it vibrates.

    Now you have all five murders solved and the inscriptions in the Notebook, the door in the corner of the Attic is unlocked (and covered in bloody handprints to indicate as such). Enter, and investigate the chair in the corner to get the Dirty Coin. You're now free to leave the attic as per the True Ending walkthrough to finish.

    Other Resident Evil 7 demo endings

    As well as the True Ending from the latest demo update, there is also an Infected Ending if you fail to avoid the attacks from the basement monster. Watch the following video to see how it plays out:

    There are other endings from previous demo updates, though one has some variations on one of them based on your actions.

  • Back door ending: Find the Bolt Cutters by the back door, then trace your steps back to the previous corridor to use it on the chained cabinet, collecting the Derelict House Footage tape. Insert it into the VHS player in the starting room. During the flashback, follow Pete to the VHS player room, who will locate a secret passage via the fireplace. After the flashback is over, in the 'present' open the passage via the same fireplace switch, where you will find Back Door Key. Use this on the back door near where you found the Bolt Cutters to end the demo.

  • Phone call ending: Enter the secret passage by crouching by the fire place and using the switch, where a fuse will be on the left when you enter. Use that on the fuse box on the wall of the VHS player room, then head upstairs. Press the button to call down the steps, and answer the phone in the room in the upstairs attic. Leave the room after to finish the demo.

    If you replay the game and answer the phone again, there's a chance you will receive a different set of dialogue (from who many are suspecting to be series favourite Ada Wong). There is a total of three messages you can be left on the phone after the "I know who you are" opener. They are:

    "You have the power to choose. But the outcome of that choice may not be what you expect."
    "Memories hold the truth. Don't let appearances mislead you."
    "You will have to say goodbye eventually. But will you be ready?"

    While many players have suggested playing the demo in a certain order to hear these phrases, we managed to hear all three pieces of phone dialogue by simply grabbing the Fuse at the very start and heading straight to the attic - no special steps required - suggesting the phrases simply appear at random. While that's not to say some steps might trigger some phrases, we struggled to get them to work via some of the suggested methods, so if you want to listen to all three we recommend headed straight to the phone until you hear them all.

    There is also a message that appears if you pick up the Basement Key in the attic room added in the 1.01 update, saying: ""All doors can be opened. If they couldn't, they wouldn't be doors. But some doors must remain closed - for now."

    • Other Resident Evil 7 secrets and surprises

    As well as the items and objects required to achieve one of the above endings, there are other things to see or use in the demo which might be of interest.

    Axe location: There is a hidden axe you can find and equip as part of the regular VHS flashback walkthrough. When you reach the kitchen, look on the floor next to the microwave and refrigerator and you'll find a lock pick. Use this on one of the drawers on the other side of the kitchen. It'll be empty, but when you return to the 'present', there will be an axe inside. As part of the latest demo update, you can also unlock the drawer using the Lockpick you find in the basement (in the room before the monster).

    Ghost woman appearances: This apparition can appear at random during certain points of the VHS flashback, with sightings spotted out in the woods when looking out from the porch, and in the house in the room under the stairs, on the stairs, through the kitchen window and more. Unlike P.T. this spirit seemingly no connection to the game's story or puzzles - as far as we know so far.

    Family Man appearances: Sometimes you'll see the 'Family Man' walk through the opening corridor when looking out from the VHS room, usually after the VHS flashback sequence, but will be gone by the time you poke your head out and take a look. This gave us more of a fright than any of the ghost appearances, so be on the look out.

    Leaving the phone room without ending the demo: It's possible to leave the room after taking the phone call and not get ambushed. We've managed it once by accident, while others have hugged the walls on the way out to avoid it - but it's unknown whether this is a bug rather than something that is intended to be an option.

    Moving mannequins: The mannequins in the upstairs room can turn around and look at you - or even appear in the middle of the room - as you explore upstairs.

    You can run: Not a huge secret in the grand scheme of things, but the game doesn't explain that by holding down the left thumb stick (L3) you can sprint - handy if you want to hear all three alternative phone messages by rushing upstairs over and over again.

    Other items: There are a number of other interactables with seemingly no purpose, such as:

    What was added in the 1.01 'Twilight Version' update?

    For those who haven't played the demo since its E3 release, on September 15 Capcom released the 'Twilight Version' update. It added few new items and locations, including:

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