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Resident Evil 7′s Mystery Demo Wants You to Actually Fall Down the Rabbit Hole, Pal

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Fans of Resident Evil have been poring over the Resident Evil 7 demo that launched not too long ago. In what is turning out to be somewhat traditional for horror games of this caliber, the demo has been found to be absolutely riddled with all sorts of clues and hints that point to not only multiple endings but possibly even an ARG of some sort. Obviously, as with any alternate reality game, take a lot of what’s to follow as purely speculation unless proven otherwise. Maybe… maybe you can pretend it’s an Episode VIII or Rogue One spoiler. That might get you in the proper mindset, hm?

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The (allegedly) biggest revelation comes in the form of a discovery uncovered by redditor /u/kennfletch, who apparently found a QR code in the reflection of an in-game mirror. Scanning the code turns up multiple numbers and products, one of which happens to be a biotech company in Missouri called Assaypro. The biotech’s logo carries a very striking resemblance to the Umbrella logo, which, if you’re not aware, is the shell company for the antagonists in the Resident Evil universe. They’re the ones who made the virus that spawned all those zombies, basically.

The Assaypro website has many of the hallmarks of a regular old biotech website. It lists the assays it provides, their benefits, plenty of legal jargon, and even a complete Material Safety Data Sheet (believe me, I read through them). The only thing that’s getting to me is the fact that there’s a purchase page listing all their available products and such like any other web marketplace. Considering the fact that many of these products contain super hazardous materials, it seems odd that they’d be made available to the common end user. Usually you have to go through a sales department for that kind of thing, especially if you’re a biotech looking to use these assays for testing, which would imply you’re buying in bulk—significant bulk.

And before someone points it out to me: yes, I know there’s a sales department and a price quote section. Doesn’t change the fact that folks are still allowed to buy even just one or two sets. My inner ARG-hunter thought about dropping some money on one of the cheaper assays to see what happens, but then I also realized that I’ve got no proper way of disposing these things if they do turn out to be real, so, someone else is just going to have to do that, hint hint.

I’ve got my own doubts about this specific clue, especially considering the fact that nobody’s been able to reproduce kennfletch’s result, the website looks fairly legitimate (given the fact that a lot of biotech websites look, well, like that), and many other legitimate biotech sites list Assaypro as a distributor. It’s highly unlikely (though not outside of their power) that Capcom would sink boatloads of money and time into setting up an entire fake distribution network just to market one game. As well, WHOIS information on the Assaypro website shows that it was registered back in 2003. Unless Capcom is about to claim the title for “longest ARG setup and payoff ever,” I highly doubt the legitimacy of this clue.

All that being said, having played through and worked on a few ARG-like things myself, you never really throw anything out. Who knows, Capcom might very well be working with an already-established company just for funsies on the long con.

The search and the dig through the demo continues, and if you want to dive down this terrifying rabbit hole, you’re more than welcome to get caught up over on the RE7 Demo Help Thread on the /r/ResidentEvil subreddit. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to obsess over what the hell that mannequin finger is used for. I swear…

(via The Bit Bag)

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Author
Jessica Lachenal
Jessica Lachenal is a writer who doesn’t talk about herself a lot, so she isn’t quite sure how biographical info panels should work. But here we go anyway. She's the Weekend Editor for The Mary Sue, a Contributing Writer for The Bold Italic (thebolditalic.com), and a Staff Writer for Spinning Platters (spinningplatters.com). She's also been featured in Model View Culture and Frontiers LA magazine, and on Autostraddle. She hopes this has been as awkward for you as it has been for her.

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