Corrosion: Cold Winter Waiting is played in first-person point-and-click slideshow format. For the benefit of players who might have trouble with this kind of navigation, I’ve provided detailed directions for getting you where you need to go, at least early-on. Not too far into the game, however, you’ll find a floor plan. This will enable you to pretty much get around on your own.

Corrosion can be played either in a window or full-screen. Several accessibility options are also available. The game appears to have unlimited save slots; more than I could use, at any rate. I recommend that you save often.

The directional navigation symbols are pretty much standard. A “gears” icon means you can interact with something, but it must be red in color. A grey icon means something else is needed before interaction is possible. A magnifying glass means you can look more closely at something, and a hand signifies something you can pick up and add to inventory.

To see a description of an inventory item, rest your pointer on it. The description will appear at the top of the screen. The names of the rooms to which doors lead are also reflected in this area when you rest your pointer on them. To read or examine something from inventory, right-click it. If you pick up something from inventory that you don’t need, a right-click will put it back.

The game is basically non-linear, but some things must be done to trigger other things, sometimes in other parts of the complex.

You may notice minor errors in the game’s written material (journals, notes etc.). This was done deliberately to add realism to the game.

The introduction is non-interactive and  provides some backstory about the character you’ll be playing — Sheriff Alex Truman — and the events that lead him to the point at which the game proper begins.

Due to a fierce snowstorm, he finds himself trapped in the basement of Cold Winter Farm courtesy of an uprooted tree, which also reveals a secret doorway. As a rescue can’t be mounted until the following day, Alex decides to do some exploring.

At this point you’ll become the Sheriff and experience what he experienced, based on his personal account of what he discovered beyond that secret doorway.

You find yourself in a drab corridor and see three doors on the right-hand side. Two have red lights, meaning they’re locked. The one closest to you has a green light, meaning it’s unlocked. (You may notice that a door behind you is also unlocked, but you’re unable to open it because you’re trapped.)

Go through the unlocked door and enter the Ventilation Room.  See two ventilation ducts with fans in them. Both fans are running.

Go forward, right, forward, right and forward again. Look closer at the Notice on the left-hand duct and read it.

Return to the corridor, turn right, look closer at the table leg and see that it has screws. They appear to be removable. At this point, however, your inventory contains only a pocket knife. This is no good for removing the screws. You’ll need a more appropriate tool.

For the time being, you’re unable to do anything else in this area. Go to the end of the corridor and hang a left. There’s an elevator to your right. Use it. It will take you down a level, to a sub-basement.

You end up in another corridor. Look around and see that there are three doors here as well. Only one is unlocked. There’s a biohazard symbol on it. Go through it and be in the Control Corridor.

Turn right and see another unlocked door. This leads to a short Office Area Corridor. You’ll see two doors there; one to the Main Office and one to the Briefing Room. Both are locked.

At this point, there’s nothing to be done here. Exit the way you entered and be back in the Control Corridor.

You’ll be facing a door that displays another biohazard symbol. It’s locked, but its red light is flashing rather than burning solidly.

Turn right, advance down a short corridor, turn right and enter the unlocked door. You’ll be in the Control Room.

There are two computers here. Both monitors are flashing red. So was the lock on the door with the biohazard symbol. Could they be connected?

Look closer at the monitor in front of you. See that the screen says “Emergency Lockdown.”  Click on the screen and see that a code is needed in order to override the lockdown.

Pull back and read the letter that’s on the right-hand side of the desk. Look closely at the desk drawers. Only the bottom one is accessible. Open it and click on the key card, USB drive and “hexokeys” (hex keys). This will place them in inventory.

Pull back twice, turn right and have a look at the second computer monitor. You’re unable to do anything with it right now. Click on the letter in the top tray at right and read it.

Pull back twice and notice that a “look closer” symbol appears to the left of the water cooler. Click on it and see a trash can that contains two crumpled notes.

Take them both, then view them from your inventory by right-clicking them. One contains some calculations and reflects two override codes. The other is captioned “ROTA” and reflects a weekly schedule with five names in the left-hand column: Kegan, Gabriel, Remelia, Zack and Sasha. Also, “New code = 3103” is written on it.

Pull back twice, turn left twice, go forward and turn right to face the first computer. Click the screen twice to see the override code screen. Try typing 3103 and clicking ok.

Incorrect code. Rats. (You didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you?)

Pull back twice, turn right, go forward, turn right again (why do people always eat pizza in these games, which immediately makes me want some too?) and look closer at the bulletin board. Then take a closer look at the Notice, which explains that emergency power comes on when there’s been a power failure and stays on until the cause has been resolved. It goes on to say that as a safety measure, if power fails during a lockdown, the system will generate two 4-digit codes which must then be used to determine a new single 4-digit code to override the lockdown. Simple, eh?

You know a lockdown is in progress (I wonder why?), and that you’ll need to override it if you hope to fully explore this mysterious place. You also know that regular power is on.

Pull back from the Notice and look closer at the ROTA. Have another look at the one you rescued from the trash can, which is dated a week prior to the one on the board. A name is missing from the current one: Sasha. Hmmm. Why is she no longer listed?

Pull back and look closely at the third item. It mentions a “Sylar Briefing” tomorrow at 8 am. It bears no date…

Where have you seen the name Sylar? Michael Sylar is the private investigator who wrote the second letter, in the top tray beside the second computer.

Look closely at the box on the wall to the right of the bulletin board, open it and read what it says. It tells you how to trigger a power failure. It also reiterates that the fans must be off before the vent covers are removed.

The box conveniently includes a power level switch. Move the lever to the Off position.

Pull back three times, turn right, go forward, turn left and go straight out the door. Turn left, go straight, turn left, go straight and turn right. This will put you at the elevator. Click it to return to the basement.

Turn left, go straight, turn right, go straight twice, and turn left. Look closely at the table legs again. Use the hexokeys on the two screws and the table legs will go into inventory. The hexokeys will disappear as you won’t be needing them again.

Pull back and enter the Ventilation Room. The fans are off, so you can remove the vent covers. Click on one of the covers and climb inside the air duct. Use one of the table legs on the fan. This should blow the power nicely once you turn it back on.

Exit the vent, be sure to replace the vent cover, pull back once, turn around, go forward, turn right, go forward, turn left and go straight through the door.

Turn right, go forward twice, turn left, go forward, turn right and click on the elevator to be taken back to the sub-basement.

Turn left, go straight through the door, turn left, go straight, turn right, go straight, turn right again and enter the Control Room.

Go straight, turn right, go straight and turn right again. Ignore the pizza box, look closely at the bulletin board and again at the box on the wall. Open it and turn the power back on (any power level will do).

The lights will flicker after which your screen will go completely black. You’ll hear what sounds like doors being opened or closed. Then the power comes back on.

Go to the first computer and click on the screen. It supplies system codes 6472 and 9315.

Now, where have you seen override codes before? On one of the crumpled notes you retrieved from the trash. Take another look at it. It contains equations of some sort. These are actually examples of what you’ll need to do in order to arrive at the correct 4-digit override code.

For me, this was a very difficult puzzle. Others may have no problem with it. If you want to give it a try, read no further; have at it and good luck!

If you’re unable to figure out what to do, a detailed explanation follows.

***Puzzle Solution***

First Code: 6472

Square each digit: 6, 4, 7, 2 = 36, 16, 49, 4

Add the squares together:  36 + 16 + 49 + 4 = 105

Add together 1, 0 and 5 to get 6.

Put the total of the squares (105) together with 6  (1 – 0 – 5 – 6)

The result is 1056.

Second code: 9315

Square each digit: 9, 3, 1, 5 = 81, 9, 1, 25

Add the squares together: 81 + 9 + 1 + 25 = 116

Add together 1, 1 and 6 to get 8.

Put the total of the squares (116) together with 8 (1 – 1 – 6 – 8)

The result is 1168.

Subtract the numbers in the first result (1056) from the ones in the second result (1168) individually, column by column (reflected below in rows rather than columns for easier illustration):

1 minus 1 = 0

1 minus 0 = 1

6 minus 5 = 1

8 minus 6 = 2

The result is 0112, which is the correct code.

***End of Solution***

Enter 0112 on the screen that’s displayed on the first computer. The code is accepted and the lockdown is overriden. You also receive a system error that reads “manual onsite operation only.”  This means the computer won’t be capable of locking or unlocking doors. You’ll have to do it manually.

The computer also displays a floor plan of the facility, which is rather maze-like. Note that there are two small blocks of rooms and one large one. You’ve already been in the rooms in the left-hand block; they’re one level above where you are now. The rooms on the right-hand side must also be on another level.

For some reason, you’re unable to take the floor plan with you. I suggest either drawing it, saving a screenshot or printing it if you’re able (I haven’t had a printer for years, so I’m not sure whether this is possible). If you’re as directionally challenged as I am, you’re going to need it.

Pull back twice, turn right, go forward and look closely at the second computer’s monitor. It appears to offer a way to view, both normally and in infrared, what’s on the remote, closed-circuit cameras that are apparently placed throughout the facility.

No signal is currently available for any location except the kitchen storeroom. Click on the Search Archive button and you’ll be taken to a screen that allows you to view events that have taken place in a specific room at a specific date and time.

You don’t have the required info yet, so pull back twice, turn left twice, go forward once, turn left and go straight to exit the Control Room.

Turn left, go forward and turn right. You’ll be at the door on which the red light had previously been flashing, but burning solidly now. This is the door to the Processing Room.

Examine the keycard in your inventory. You’ll see that it unlocks the Processing Room and reflects the name Kegan.

Use the key card on the lock and see that a password is needed. Pull back.

Other than on the page with the equations, where have you seen a code noted? On the ROTA. It’s 3103.

Use the keycard on the lock again and enter 3103 using the keypad. This is Kegan’s code and the door is unlocked. Go through it and be in the Processing Room.

Turn right and go through the Immunisation Area door. The game will go non-interactive and you’ll be immunised. You regain control after the Clear To Proceed sign comes on.

Go through the next door to the Work Area Corridor. Look around and see that this area has doors to the Cell Area Corridor, Work Area Showers, Medical Corridor, The Chamber and a door designated only as “Door.”

Go through the door to the Cell Area Corridor. Look around and see that all cell doors are locked.

Exit the Cell Area Corridor and be in the Work Area Corridor again. Turn right and go through the Immunisation Room to the Processing Room. (You’ve already been immunised, so you don’t go through that process again for the rest of the game).

Turn right, move forward, turn left and look closer at the desk. Click on the computer monitor. You’ll see some info about private investigator Michael Sylar, whose name has also been mentioned on the Control Room bulletin board in conjunction with a briefing taking place at 8 am “tomorrow.”

Note that he was acquired on 11-23-09 and his status is “Active.” Click on Medical, then on Incidents. Nothing appears on either page

Click on Save, then Menu. You’ll arrive at a screen that will enable you to search for other “acquisitions.” This requires an acquisition name and number, neither of which you have at the moment.

Pull back, look in the cardboard box and find what appears to be some directions. Michael Sylar’s name is on them.

Pull back and look closely at the three desk drawers at right. The only one you can access is at the bottom. Open it. Take the street map and a keycard. Examine the keycard and see that it’s to the Briefing Room and also belongs to Kegan.

Have a look at the street map. Note that it comes in two parts; the second part can be accessed by clicking on the small white arrow at bottom right.

Pull back twice, turn left, go through the door to the Control Corridor and go straight through the door to the Office Area Corridor.

Use the keycard on the Briefing Room lock and, as the card bears Kegan’s name, enter his code: 3103. Enter the Briefing Room.

Move forward and take the keycard and the “piece of torn flimsy card.”

Examine the keycard. It belongs to the Work Area Showers and bears the name Remelia.

Look closely at the white board and see a briefing for the acquisition of Michael Sylar. He will drive to Lower East Park Lane, park his car and travel to a hotel on foot. The date on the white board is 23rd November 2009.

On the street map you picked up, start at Lower East Park Lane and use the directions you found to trace the route taken by Michael Sylar.

You should end up at Fargo Lane. This is the location of the hotel referred to in the briefing. And you now know that the Sylar briefing took place on 11-23-09 at 08:00 in the Briefing Room.

Pull back and return to the Control Room. Using the second computer, enter the date (11-23-09), Time (08:00) and Camera (Briefing Room) in the appropriate fields. Press the play button.

The video isn’t working, but the audio is. Listen to the briefing.

Wow. That was…er…weird. It included that something had happened to Sasha, but gave no details.

Return to the computer in the Processing Room. Click on the tab at bottom left, and in the Search field at top right, enter Hotel Fargo Lane and click the magnifying glass.

This yields one result. Included in the info is the hotel manager’s name: Richard “HotelMan” Hardwick. Enter HotelMan in the search field. You’ll be taken to his blog. Read all sections.

More weirdness. However, it does provide some information. Sasha’s code is “the international day of love” and apparently some kind of incident happened in a cell at 3:15. You aren’t told which cell, nor are you given the date of the incident. If you can discover these two things, you might be able to access a recording of what happened.

Go to the Cell Area Corridor and see that one of the cells is now unlocked: Cell 7. I wonder who unlocked it?? Hmmm…

Enter Cell 7. Ugh. What kind of place is this? Look closely at the arm of the strange chair.

Note: you’ll briefly lose your pointer after each of the following actions. After it returns, you can proceed to the next step.

The front of the chair arm reads “Ready.” Press the red button on the right and wait.

After it says “Insert DNA profile to calibrate…or press red button to reset” a second time, insert the USB drive into the port below the message, and wait. You’re told that no DNA profile is found. After it says “Remove media to reset,” remove the USB drive. It will read “Actions cancelled” and revert back to “Ready.”

So it seems you’ll need some DNA if you want to see what this weird chair does.

Pull back and look at the words and numbers scrawled on the wall, apparently in blood, by Joshua Kincaid. This must be his cell, and 0083 must be his acquisition number. He says he’s “not a demon.” Say what?

Twelve tally marks are also present. Note that the 11th one is a different color than the others.

Return to the computer in the Processing Room. Do a search for Joshua Kincaid, acquisition number 0083. See that he was acquired on 09-17-09 and has expired.

Click on Medical and prepare to be grossed out. Look what was done to the poor guy! Why are such things happening here? What kind of people would do this? Yuck!

Check the Incidents page. It’s blank. Whew.

Return to the second computer in the Control Room. Hmmm. It doesn’t ask for an acquisition date; it wants an incident date. Could this be the incident mentioned by HotelMan?

You know that Joshua was acquired on 09-17-09, and that the 11th tally mark in his cell is a different color than the others. Add 11 to 17 and get 28. Sept 28th could be the date of the incident, which could have occurred in his cell (Cell 7). It’s worth a shot. You already know that the incident took place at 3:15 (15:15).

Enter 09-28-09, 15:15 and Cell 7 into the appropriate fields, click the play button and listen to an argument between Remelia (who’s a real nasty piece of work) and Sasha. Remelia also speaks to someone she refers to as “demon.” This has to be Joshua, who has written on his cell wall that he’s not a demon. What kind of place is this? Have you fallen into Hell or something?

You’ll learn that Sasha’s code is 0214 and Remelia’s could be 2717; also that Sasha’s keycard has been dropped in the shower drain. You’ll need to retrieve it.

Return to the Work Area Corridor and find the door to the Work Area Showers. Don’t forget you have a floor plan! You also have a keycard for this door; it belongs to Remelia, whose code is likely 2717.

Use the card on the lock and input 2717. The door is unlocked. Enter the Work Area Showers.

Look closely at the sink. Try the faucets. The one on the left does nothing. The one on the right runs briefly and shuts off.

Pull back and look closer at the shower drain. Click on it to remove the cover. Hmmm. There’s no way to see if the card is there, but if the drain is filled with water it might cause the card to float to the top where you can retrieve it.

If you pull back and turn right, you’ll see a toilet, but all you can do is look at it (I was grateful for this). So there’s nothing else you can do here.

Have a look at the floor plan and see there’s a Drainage Room. It’s in the right-hand block of three rooms, meaning it’s on another level. As it’s a Drainage Room, it seems it should be on a lower level.

Return to the Processing Room. Turn right, go straight, and go through the door to the Processing Storeroom. Turn left and note a manhole cover in the floor at right.

Look behind the partition. Pick up the two manhole keys on the right. Note the vise at left.

Pull back and look closer at the manhole cover. Click both manhole keys on it, then click the cover to remove it.

Descend the ladder and find yourself in almost total darkness. Turn left and look closely at the small box on the wall (for me, it was barely visible). There’s a lever on the left-hand side of the box. Click it.

Slowly, the lights fade in and out. Yikes! Did you just see something  appear and quickly vanish up ahead of you? If so, was it real? Did you imagine it? Oh, man…

Finally, the lights fade in and stay on. Go forward, turn left and pick up some pliers. Turn right, go forward, turn left, go forward and turn left again. You’ll see two doors: one to the Drainage Room and one to the Initiation Room.

The Drainage Room is unlocked. Go through the door and look closer at the pipe on the wall. It says, “Sinks.” Rest your pointer on it and see that it’s a “Sink Drain Pipe.” You should be able to interact with it, but the icon is grey so something else is needed first.

Pull back and turn left. Look closer at the items on the table. Take the Pipe Wall Brackets and Piece of Pipe.

Pull back and look closely at the pipe on the wall at right. It says, “Showers.” It’s a “Shower Drain Pipe,” but something else is needed to interact with this one as well.

Pull back, exit the Drainage Room and go back up to the Processing Storeroom (what a relief). Go straight, turn right and be facing some shelves containing assorted items.

Look closely at the green tubing on the right-hand bottom shelf. Click on it and discover that you don’t need all of it.

Get your pocket knife from inventory and click it on the tubing. A length is cut and placed in inventory. Repeat the process to get a second length of tubing. Pull back.

Examine the second shelf from the top and pick up the plunger. Pull back.

Examine the third shelf from the bottom on the left-hand side and get the empty plastic bottle and vise.

Return to the Drainage Room. Use  your pliers on both Drain Pipes to remove the screws. Click on the pipes. They pull out of the wall, move back until they’re up against the back wall, and their open ends point upward. Pull back.

Hmmm. Maybe you can join them together. Have a look in inventory. You have some plastic tubing, but it’s too small in diameter. You need something with a smaller hole at one end to accommodate the tubing and a bigger one at the other to stick on the ends of the pipes.

Ah-ha! Try the plunger on one of them. Success! The empty plastic bottle has potential, but you only need the top part so it will be similar in shape to the plunger. Use your pocket knife on it.

Before we go any further, I need to point something out. When you combine things in inventory, your entire inventory will disappear. But don’t worry — after a brief interval, it’ll reappear.

Okay. Look closely at the other pipe, get the “Top half of an empty plastic bottle” from inventory and click it on the pipe. Then take one of the lengths of plastic tubing from inventory and click it on the plastic bottle. Pull back and see that the two pipes are joined together.

Return to the Work Area Showers. Turn the water on in the sink. Wait until it stops, then look at the shower drain. Pick up the keycard and examine it. It says “Medical” and belongs to Sasha.

Exit the Showers and turn left to be at the door to the Medical Corridor. Use Sasha’s keycard on the lock and enter 0214 (Valentine’s Day).

Go through the door and enter the unlocked Medical Room on the right. Turn left and look closer at the drip stands. Pick up the right-hand one.

Pull back, turn right twice, go forward, turn left, go forward and turn left again. Look closer at the oxygen canister, take it and pull back.

Look closer at the x-rays on the wall. There’s sure a lot of hardware in that middle one. This facility is starting to look worse and worse. Pull back and look closer at the counter on the right.

Pick up the drip tubing, drip bottle and keycard. Examine the keycard and see that it’s for The Chamber and belongs to Kegan.

Look closer at the “Medicool” blood storage device. Pull back, then look closer at the device next to it. This device has similarities to that strange chair arm you saw in Cell 7.

There’s a port on the front. Use your USB drive on it. Watch the message area. You need a DNA sample. Remove the drive.

Exit the Medical Room and be facing the Morgue. Rather not go in there? You’re in luck — no keycard. Yet.

You  do have a keycard for The Chamber, however. Go through the Work Area Corridor Door and find The Chamber. Use the keycard and Kegan’s code (3103) to unlock the door. Go in.

Be facing some instrument cabinets. Nasty. Go forward, turn right and look closer at the items on the table. Oh jeeeeez. Pick up the sledge hammer, hammer and nails and hacksaw. Remember that skull x-ray you saw?

Pull back and look closer at the left side of the table. Take the metal bars and the lantern.

Notice there’s something under the lantern. Pick it up and examine it. It’s a wrist tag belonging to Sebastian Knowles, 0079. It appears to have small spatters of blood on it.

Look around to see an open cell and another weird chair. Go back to the computer in the Processing Room and access the Menu. Type in Sebastian Knowles and 0079. Click the magnifying glass.

Read his details, get ready to be really grossed out, and click Medical.  OMG, that’s disgusting. Forget about the games character’s — what kind of person thought all of this up in the first place? (My kind of person, actually. I really love this kind of thing, even if it kills my appetite for…oh…a year.)

Click on Incidents. There’s nothing skanky here. Whew.

There is, however, an incident, complete with date and time. It mentions a wrist tag. You found one in The Chamber. You might be able to listen to a recording.

Go back to the second computer in Control Room and enter 08-18-09, 10:17, The Chamber and click Play.

Listen to an argument between Kegan and someone named Zack. Oh jeeeez. Again.

Return to the Medical Room, have a look at the Medicool device and see that a vial of blood is in front of it. Where did that come from? Take it, pull back and look closer at the other device.

Put the vial on the needle and wait until the display says, “Insert blank media.” Use the USB drive on the port. Wait for the display to say, “Copy Complete!,” take the USB drive and the blood vial. You might be able to use these items to see what that awful-looking chair in Cell 7 does.

Return to Cell 7. Look closer at the chair arm. put the blood vial over the hole and the USB drive in the port. Wait for the display to say, “Remove Media to reset” and take the USB drive. After the display says, “Ready,” press the red button.

The game goes non-interactive, a DNA match is found and a big, nasty-looking needle in the top part of the chair pops out and retracts. So I looks as though whoever is sitting in the chair gets an oversized needle jammed into the top of his or her skull. This is getting worse by the minute.

When you’re given control again, leave Cell 7. Hear the sound of a door and some beeping.

Turn left, go to the door to the Work Area Corridor and find it locked. Okay, that’s it. There has to be someone else in here. But where?

Turn around and see that the cover has been removed from the vent at the other end of the corridor. (Okay, whoever is doing this stuff had better not be sneaking up on me.) Look closer at the vent and enter it.

You’ll be in an air duct system that’s rather dark. There’s no set way out — it’s random. You’ll have to just keep clicking directional arrows until you hit a dead end.

While you’re in the duct system, a phone will start ringing. As you move, it will fade in and out.

Once you arrive at the dead end, the bottom of the duct will give way and you’ll be dumped through the ceiling of a room below you onto a concrete floor. Ouch.

Once you come to and stand up, look around. See a white board that says “Order of the Red Butterfly Initiation” with some chairs in front of it and one beside it; a locked cell with a strange chair in it; some tables, also with chairs; and a locked door. You’ve seen Red Butterfly mentioned before.

Face the white board and look closer at the chair beside it. Pick up the papers. Pull back and read them.

Okay, is all of this true or just nuts? Whatever it is, it sounds dreadful. Turn around, turn right, turn left and click on the locked door.

The door will unlock and you’ll be treated to weird-looking linear sequence in which you’ll only be able to follow one path. Take it.

You’ll regain control in front of the door to the Main Living Area, which is now unlocked. (Where is the person or thing that keeps doing this?) Go through it. Turn left, go forward and enter the door to The Kitchen.

Turn right, go forward and take the Empty Plastic Bottle. Turn left, go forward and turn right. Take the keycard from the table and examine it. It’s Kegan’s card to the Main Office. Note that the doors to the Kitchen Storeroom and Kitchen Utility Room are locked.

Go to the Office Area Corridor, unlock the Main Office and go through the door. Look closer at the desk in front of you and take the keycard and adhesive pads. Examine the keycard. It’s for Zack’s Bedroom.

Proceed to the second desk on which there’s a computer. Look closer at the computer. Click on the monitor and read the emails. They’re from Kegan to Donald (who appears to be the group’s leader) and Donald to Kegan. They’ll make more sense if you read ones in Sent Items first.

You’ll discover that Kegan has called Donald and revealed that Sasha has done something really bad involving an outside party, and that drastic action must be taken because of it.

Leave the computer and see that there are two locked doors in this area: one to Donald’s Office and one to “unknown.”

Return to the kitchen. The door to the Kitchen Storeroom is now unlocked. Go inside.

To the left are some shelves. Look closer at the third one and take the string and security camera.

On the wall to the right, look closer at the vent from which the cover has been removed. You’re unable to go through it. See a keycard on a table that’s too far to reach.

In inventory, combine the metal bars with the plastic tubing to get a Plastic Tubing Rod. Combine this with an adhesive pad and use it to retrieve the keycard. It belongs to Sasha’s bedroom.

Go to the Sleeping Area Corridor, find Sasha’s Room and use the keycard to unlock it. Enter, turn left, look closer at the desk, and pick up the Journal and Infrared paint.

Pull back and read Sasha’s journal. This girl has problems. Further, Donald has told her that demons are responsible for her life having been so wretched.

You’ll learn that she’s become involved with Zack. However, she wants to leave the group because she’s being bullied and is unable to hurt the demons badly enough. She’s contacted a third party, James, to help her. All she’s told him is that she has a job that’s making her miserable.

James has given her some infrared paint. She can use this in conjunction with Donald’s keycard to get into his office and steal some files as James has suggested. She can then threaten to make the files public if the team comes after her once she’s left.

Pick up the keycard at the back of the journal. Pull back and examine it. It belongs to Donald and it unlocks his office.

Go to Donald’s Office. Combine the hacksaw and drip stand to cut the drip stand in half. Combine this with the adhesive pad, then with the security camera. Use the Bottom Half of Drip Stand with Camera on the lock to Donald’s Office, then use the infrared paint on the lock.

Go to the second computer in the Control Room. Click “View Live,” then Kitchen Storeroom. As you’ve just aimed the Kitchen Storeroom camera at the lock on Donald’s office, this is the lock you’ll see. Switch to Infrared. See that 1, 3, 4 and 9 are highlighted.

Return to Donald’s Office door and use his card on the lock. Try different combinations of the above numbers on the keypad until one of them works. The correct code is 4139.

Enter the office. Take the metal keys, unsharpened pencils, keycard and handheld fan from the top of the small cabinet. See a box with a keyhole on front. You can’t do anything with it at the moment. On the bulletin board is an announcement of a Sasha Briefing on 16th November at 9:00. You might be able to hear a recording of it.

Pul back and examine the keycard. It’s for the Prep Room, but you have no code.

Return to the second camera in the Control Room. In the Archives, enter 11-16-09, 09:00, Briefing Room. Listen to the recording.

You learn that James is a demon and that Sasha is now infected. The vaccine that should have protected her didn’t work. She has files that must be retrieved, and she and James must be acquired immediately. You also learn that the code to the Prep Room is 1907.

Go to the Prep Room off the Living Area Main Corridor. Use the keycard and 1907 to unlock the door. Enter the room. See a cabinet on the wall with two lengths of wire casing or pipe extending from either side, each culminating in a lock with a keyhole. Look closer at it and see that it’s the Vaccine Cabinet.

Look closer at either keyhole. Use one of the metal keys on it and click. It turns but does nothing.

Look closer at the other keyhole, use the other key and turn. Nothing happens.

Maybe the two keys have to be turned at the same time. This does make sense, considering the importance of the contents of the cabinet. You’ll need to rig something up to accomplish this.

Look closer at the left-hand lock. Rest the pointer between the two stools and it turns red; but if you click it, nothing happens. Maybe something will fit between the two stools.

Take the “Piece of Torn Flimsy Card” from inventory and click it between the two stools. Success!

Both keys have holes in them. Take one of the pencils from inventory and click it on the key.

Click the empty plastic bottle on the card. Then click the string on the space between the bottle and the lock. Note that this will tie the string around the end of the pencil and the neck of the bottle.

Pull back and look closer at the top of the drip stand. Put the drip bottle on it, then add the drip tubing. Note that its lower end is in the empty bottle below.

Click on the Drip Bottle Regulator. The fluid flows to the lower bottle, which causes the flimsy card to sag, and the string pulls the pencil enough to turn the key. You’ll see the other key turn as well, which represents your having turned it. The cabinet is unlocked.

Open the cabinet. See that one of the vials is darkened. It’s the vial for Sasha’s vaccine. Could it have been tampered with to render it ineffective, leaving Sasha susceptible to infection? Perhaps there’s a saboteur in the group…

Pull back, turn right and face the door. Your pointer will disappear briefly. You’ll then experience another strange linear sequence.

Follow the only path you’re permitted to take. Hear pounding on awful-looking walls.

Things will revert to “normal” and control will be returned to you in front of the Living Area Showers and Living Area Restrooms. The Living Area Restrooms are now unlocked.

Enter the restrooms. There’s a locked door on your left that leads to the Living Area Showers. A mirror on the left wall says, “NO WAY OUT.” Well, that’s a big comfort.

Go forward to the locked door at the other end. It’s identified only as, “Door to Unknown.”

Turn around, move forward twice, turn left, look closer at the back of the toilet, pick up the keycard and examine it. It’s Kegan’s and belongs to the Furnace Room.

Go to the Furnace Room, the door to which is in the Processing Storeroom. Unlock it and go in. Look closer at the floor of the furnace and pick up the scrap of paper. Examine it.

It’s part of a burnt receipt for something called SD6-159 that was delivered to Kegan on 7 November 2009. Pull back and look closer at the closed panel on the wall at left. It has a lock and a keyhole, but you don’t have the key.

Go to the computer in the Processing Room. Search for SD6-159 and read the result. Interesting…

Return to the Living Area Restrooms and see that the “Door to Unknown” is now unlocked. Enter, and see locked cages to your left and right. Turn right, go forward twice and turn right again. Enter the vent, move forward and arrive at a vent cover that can’t be removed. There could be a room on the other side. You must come up with a way to get the cover off.

Turn around and exit the vent. Turn around again and look closer at the table.

Put the piece of pipe from inventory on the table. Put the wall brackets on the pipe and use the hammer and nails on the brackets to secure them. Stick the oxygen canister into the pipe and hit the regulator with the sledgehammer. The canister shoots out of the pipe and knocks the vent cover off.

Go through the vent and into the room. It belongs to Kegan.

Have a look around. Look closer at the desk and get the device, the keycard and the journal. Examine the keycard. It belongs to the room you’re in — Kegan’s bedroom.

Read the journal. Oh man, this is one sick dude. He also believes that his mother and brother were killed by demons.

Kegan mentions a device a friend has given him that can be used to unlock the type of lock found in the facility without using codes. Check your inventory and see that it’s the device (Keycard Bypass Device) you just picked up, and that you also have a Master Keycard that goes with it. The device needs to be charged using its wind-up charging mechanism.

Unlock Kegan’s door, leave the room and go to the Processing Storeroom. Look around the partition. From inventory, use the vise, the fan, the bypass device and the pencil on the desk. This will place the device in one vise and the fan in the other, with the pencil connecting them. Press the button on the fan. It starts to turn and the device begins to charge. Pull back, then look around the partition again. The device should now be fully charged.

Take the device, go to the Sleeping Area Corridor and find the door to Zack’s room. Use the master keycard on the lock, the bypass device on the master keycard and Zack’s room keycard on the bypass device. The door unlocks.

Enter Zack’s room. Look closer at the desk and pick up the keycard and journal. Examine the keycard. It’s Zack’s, and it unlocks the Morgue.

Read his journal. Discover that Donald has told him demons were responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Learn that he’s going to try to find a way to get the demon out of Sasha, and that the code for the Morgue keycard is 8976.

Go to the Medical Corridor, unlock the door to the Morgue and go in. What a lovely-looking room. Turn left and look closer at the container on the floor. Now doesn’t that look appetizing?

Pull back and see two chairs facing each other. Look closer at the symbols and numbers on the walls. 11 23 09 could be a date, and 1245 could be a time of day.

Go to the second computer in the Control Room and enter 11-23-09, 12:45, Morgue. Listen to the recording. You’ll hear Zack try what he thinks is going to remove the demon from Sasha. It doesn’t work.

Try to leave the room. This will trigger another creepy linear sequence. Proceed in the only directions the game will allow. Hear a baby crying. Its sound follows you.

You end up in front of a “Door” in the Work Area Corridor. It’s now unlocked. Enter the room. Notice a window-sized opening in which there might have once been glass. Climb through it and see two doors without locks. Go through the one at left.

Find yourself in a darkened corridor. This must be some of the remains of the mental hospital for the criminally insane that Zack had discovered was there before the farm was built. The place was called Park View. How nice.

Note: This area is not on the floor plan and after you go through an inner cage and subsequent door, the door to the cage is closed and locked. You won’t be able to return to your starting point should you lose your bearings, which is easy to do in here. I suggest saving the game before you continue.

Go straight, turn right, go straight, turn left, go through Door to Unknown and be in a second corridor.

Go straight through the cage, forward through the next Door to Unknown up ahead and be in a third corridor.

Turn left, go forward, turn right and enter the unlocked Door to Unknown on the right. See that you’re able to look closer at something ahead in the darkness. Do so.

Wow, look at all that color after such dark and dingy corridors. These are shelves of clickable books.

Pull back, turn around and exit the room. Turn right, go straight through another Door to Unknown and be in a fourth corridor.

Go forward three times, turn left and look closer at the desk in the alcove. Take the metal key and journal.

Pull back and read the journal. It belongs to a nurse who worked at the hospital. Discover that some unsavory and bizarre things happened there. The last journal entry is cut short after “something” happens, and someone (or something) starts killing people.

Turn around and enter the Cell behind you. Read the creepy things written on the walls. See numbers and arrows on the walls: 96 right, 72 left and 23 left. One of the walls says, “Boss man mutters secrets in the safe.” The numbers and directions could represent a combination to open a lock on a safe.

See a strange diagram on one of the walls under the words, “books books.” Perhaps the diagram has something to do with the shelves of books you found earlier. Copy it down and exit the cell.

Turn left. Go forward through the door to the previous corridor, go forward again and turn left. Go through the door on the right and look closer at the books.

Note that there are nine sections of books, just as there are nine sections on the diagram in the cell. I suggest that you save the game before continuing, so you can redo the puzzle if something goes wrong.

Start with the center section of the center column and click on the books in the order shown on the diagram. Notice that each book will be pushed back a bit.

If this is done correctly, a safe will be revealed.

The locations of the books that must be pushed are:

Column           Row               Book

2                  2                  12

1                  2                    3

2                  3                    2

3                  3                    8

3                  1                  10

1                  1                    4

3                  2                    4

2                  1                    3

1                  3                  10

Look closer at the safe and open it using the numbers and directions you found in the cell, as reflected below. If you make a mistake, you can reset the puzzle by clicking the center of the lock.

Turn the dial on the lock left to 72, right to 96, then left to 23. Click on the handle of the safe and it opens. Take the journal, which is Dr. Newman’s, and read it.

Discover that the good doctor refers to his patients as specimens and is performing disgusting experiments on them, hoping to gain great renown for advancements in treating insanity. The man is a monster.

You learn that demons can be killed with fire. You also learn that this is the source of the failed ritual that Zack followed to try to rid Sasha of her demon. Remember the two chairs in the Morgue, the container between them and the two symbols on the walls? This kind of scenario is described in gory detail by Dr. Twisted…er…Newman.

Note that six hearts are necessary to perform the ritual to remove a demon: three from hunters and three from infected specimens. I wonder if the disgusting contents of the container between the two chairs in The Morgue after Zack performed the ritual had been all that was left of them?

Further, why did Zack’s ritual fail? Finding the hearts of three hunters should have been no problem for him. But there’s no indication of how many infected specimens were housed in the facility at the time.Out of desperation, perhaps Zack used fewer than three and it resulted in failure.

Everyone in this game is freakin’ nuts!

Pull back twice and exit the room. Turn right, go forward to the door at the other end of the corridor and wait. The game goes into another strange-looking linear sequence. After the door in front of you unlocks, go through it and follow the only directions the game will let you take.

Uh-oh. Something starts to come after you from the other end of the corridor, and you’ll find yourself in a timed sequence that can be a little tricky. So get moving.

You’ll be traveling through relative darkness and must deal with ladders. I couldn’t really tell where I was going and kept ending up in places where I was unable to find a direction in which to move.

If you stay on the same screen over 10 seconds, the thing from the corridor will catch up with you and turn you into demon food. Moving from one screen to another will get you another 10 seconds, so you’re better off if you can at least keep moving.

If you end up dead, you can try again (or in my case, again and again and again). You’ll be redeposited into the game at the point just before the beginning of the linear sequence.

Your destination is the locked panel you noticed earlier on the wall of the Furnace Room. Once there, remember that the thing is still chasing you and unlock the panel with the key from your inventory. Press the Door Button. The thing will be trapped behind the door. Listen to it wail and pound on the walls.

After you regain control, look closer at the open panel. You’ve learned that fire will kill a demon. Press the Fire Button.

Listen to the thing shriek as it’s burned alive. Then press the Cool Button. After that process completes, press the Flush Button. All gone.

Press the Door Button again, pull back, look closer at the floor of the furnace and take the metal key.

Go to Donald’s office and use the key to open the box on top of the cabinet. Look closer and take the keycard and journal from the box.

Pull back and examine the keycard. It’s to Donald’s living quarters. Read the journal.

Learn something about what was really going on, and that the code to Donald’s quarters, which aren’t on the floor plan (they’re just off the Main Hub), is 4139. Go to the door, unlock it and enter. Go through the door at the end of the hall and be in Donald’s living room. Look closer at the desk and pick up the top secret papers and keycard.

Pull back and examine the keycard. It’s for an Escape Room (also not on the floor plan). Read the papers. Learn that the Dept. of Defense, through a nasty project called Dead Eyes, had been behind the activities at Park View. But after it was reported that Dr. Newman had, himself, gone insane (no kidding), the project was terminated.

Turn left and go through the unlocked door, then go forward to the locked door to the Escape Room.

Use the master keycard, the bypass device and the escape room keycard on the lock, which will then start to unlock. For some reason, it won’t finish as long as you’re looking at it.

Turn left and look closer at the bottles on top of the Delivery System cabinet on the wall. They’re labeled Blue Monday. Pull back, then look closer at the cabinet. It’s delivering the substance in the bottles to the Immunisation Room.

Go to the computer in the Processing Room and do a search for Donald Wolfe. This yields several results. Be sure to read everything. Learn what happened the year before he became involved in the secret facility.

Of particular interest to me is the nature of the drug Blue Monday which you, as the player, had ingested in the Immunisation Room. If this happened to you it must have happened to the Sheriff. Could this have affected his personal account of what he discovered in the facility? Could it have affected what you think yousaw?

Leave the computer and return to the room directly off Donald’s living room. The door to the Escape Room is now unlocked. Go through it and up the ladder.

You are rescued, and the game ends.

How much (if any) of this really happened and what might have happened afterward are matters for conjecture. I certainly have my ideas. What do you think?

Among other things, I think Corrosion just screams (pun intended) for a follow-up game to continue the story. If anyone from Viperante reads this, please consider it a heavy hint.