[VHS Tape

A recorded video tape.

Verification: Human verified

The VHS Tape is a recorded video tape that appears as a collectible item during the "Minutes to Midnight" bomb-defusal scenario. Players encounter it while searching a room for the bomb code and other useful objects, after which it can be used with an on-site VHS player to reveal further information. This guide covers where the tape shows up, how to retrieve it, and how to play it back.

Where to Find the VHS Tape

The VHS Tape is discovered while you are scavenging the environment for the code needed to disarm a bomb. In the recorded playthrough, the player locates the code (a sequence of white and black indicators) and then continues searching the room, at which point a cluster of items is found together — described as "a bunch of stuff," including the VHS tape and a pair of Clippers [src-6146959a4c]. If you are following the same route, sweep the area after you have noted the bomb code rather than leaving immediately; the tape sits among other pickups in that same search.

How to Retrieve It

1. Find the bomb code first. Locate the white/black code sequence displayed in the room — in the playthrough this reads as white, white, black, black, black, white [src-6146959a4c]. Note it down so you can relay it to your co-op partner or use it yourself.
2. Keep searching the room. After recording the code, continue looking around the space instead of moving on. The VHS Tape is found in the same sweep as other items [src-6146959a4c].
3. Pick up the tape along with the other items. In the footage the tape is collected together with the Clippers, so grab everything in that cluster before you leave the area [src-6146959a4c].

Using the VHS Tape

Once you have the tape in hand, look for a playback device in the room. A projector/VHS player is present on-site, and the tape is intended to go into it — in the playthrough the player reasons, "there's a projector here, maybe it goes here… it's a VHS player" before inserting it [src-6146959a4c]. Insert the tape into the VHS player to view its recorded contents. The recording supplies information you need for the surrounding puzzle — in the recorded session, the tape provides guidance relevant to the bomb's wiring, which the player then applies while working out which wire to cut [src-6146959a4c].

Tips

• Don't skip the search after finding the code. The tape is easy to miss if you grab the code and run; it is found only by continuing to explore the room [src-6146959a4c].
• Combine it with the Clippers. Both items are picked up in the same spot, and both are useful in the bomb scenario — the Clippers for cutting wires, the tape for the information it reveals [src-6146959a4c].
• Watch the tape before committing to a wire. In the playthrough, the tape's contents are consulted to determine the correct wire to cut, and the red wire is the one ultimately chosen [src-6146959a4c]. Treat the tape as a reference source rather than a decoration.
• Play it in co-op if you can. The recorded session shows the tape's information being shared between two players as they work through the bomb together [src-6146959a4c].

Notes

The available record for the VHS Tape is limited: it is catalogued simply as a tape-type item with the summary "a recorded video tape." The details above — its location among other pickups, its use with the on-site VHS player, and its role in the bomb puzzle — come from a single recorded playthrough of the "Minutes to Midnight" scenario [src-6146959a4c]. Exact puzzle solutions shown on the tape may vary by playthrough, so rely on what your own recording displays rather than copying the wire color from the footage.

Details

type

tape

Sources

• Minutes to Midnight: Solving the Bomb Puzzle| Let's Play: Escape Academy w/ @misschibiusVT [10]