How to Open the Basement Doors in Search for the Needle
Pull all three colored levers to open the Basement's puzzle-room door. To open the Alien's cell and remove the red lasers at the exit, finish all three puzzles. You will also need the Basement Key to leave through the ceiling trapdoor.
Start with the doorway in front of you. Each blocker has its own requirement, so having the key does not mean every door is ready to open.
Which Basement door is blocking you?
| What you can see | What opens the way |
|---|---|
| A door with green, red and purple cables and a DO NOT ENTER sign | Pull all three colored levers. |
| The Alien behind bars | Complete the picture, crystal and paper-code puzzles. |
| A ladder to the ceiling trapdoor, blocked by red lasers | Complete the three puzzles, then use the Basement Key at the ladder. |
Follow the green, red and purple cables from the puzzle-room entrance to their levers.
The puzzle-room entrance with three colored cables and a DO NOT ENTER sign.
Follow the three cables to open the puzzle room
The cables on the floor lead from the puzzle-room entrance to the levers. Follow each color to its other end and click the lever. You need all three before returning to the door.
The green lever is behind the haystack, among the wooden boxes. Follow the green cable into that group of boxes to find it.
Find the green lever behind the haystack, among the wooden boxes.
The green cable leads to a lever between wooden boxes.
The red lever is near the Sell Hay cart, behind the Sell board. Look around the back of the sign instead of stopping at its front.
Find the red lever behind the Sell board, near the Sell Hay cart.
The red lever sits behind a wooden sign beside the haystack.
The purple lever is beside the Alien's jail, next to the Drone equipment. Follow the purple cable if you have trouble picking it out against the room.
Once you have pulled all three, return to the cable-marked entrance and enter the puzzle room.
Clear the puzzles to open the cell and remove the lasers
Inside the room, finish the three puzzle types:
- Crystals: Count the red, green and purple crystals around the room. Set the number beneath each pedestal to the total for its matching color. The counts change between runs, so use the crystals in your room.
- Paper code: Check the papers scattered across the floor until you find the one with a number. Enter that number on the keypad. The combination changes between runs too.
- Picture: Match the 16-piece image. Start with the corners and outside edges, then complete the center; some pieces may already be correct.
Completing all three opens the Alien's cell and removes the laser trap. If you are stuck on one interface, use the puzzle guide to find its focused solution.
Equip the Basement Key and climb to the exit
If you still need the key, clear the haystack to uncover it. The Basement Key guide covers that search.
With the puzzles complete, equip the Basement Key and go to the ladder beneath the ceiling trapdoor. Climb the ladder to leave the Basement.
With all three puzzles complete, equip the Basement Key and climb the exit ladder.
The Basement Key equipped below the exit ladder.
If you have the key but red lasers still block the ladder, the puzzle objective needs finishing. If the cable-marked entrance is still closed, check the three levers instead. For the rest of the chapter, follow the Basement walkthrough.