The Stairway 7

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The same stairwell, floor after floor, and a cat. Go down if something is wrong.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam, itch.io
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (81% of 99 reviews); the free P.T demo is rated 4.9 out of 5 on itch.io (472 ratings)
Length: not stated by the maker
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse to look and keyboard to move; E to read or interact (including petting the cat), Q to put an item away
Made by: Steelkrill Studio
Released: 2024

Get it on Steam itch.io (free P.T demo, Windows)

What frightens You are stuck in a looping stairwell with only a ginger cat for company. Every floor might hide an anomaly, from a flickering light to a shadowy figure, and if you miss one and carry it up the stairs with you it will hurt you and in the end kill you.
Content: blood, dead animals.

The Stairway 7 is a first-person anomaly-hunting horror game by Steelkrill Studio. You are trapped in an endless loop of stairways with a cat and must study every floor: if something has changed, go back down to banish it, and if not, keep climbing toward the exit. Miss an anomaly and it follows you up, and some of them can kill you.

About The Stairway 7

The Stairway 7 is a loop horror game from the solo studio Steelkrill Studio, released on Steam for Windows on 17 May 2024. On the same day the studio put out P.T, a free demo of the game, on itch.io. The full game is sold on Steam; the demo is a short taste of the same idea.

You wake in the stairwell of a dark, run-down apartment building and cannot leave it. Each flight of stairs brings you back to a landing that looks almost the same: the same bare bulb, the same papers on the floor, the same posters on the walls and the same ginger cat sitting there. Posters on the wall spell out the rule. If you see an anomaly, go down a set of stairs to remove it. If you see nothing strange, go up. Make the right call enough times and you reach the end of the stairway.

The anomalies range from small to hostile. Some are a light that flickers when it should not or an object that has moved, and some try to blend into the scene so you doubt your memory. Others are not content to be noticed: the maker warns that anomalies watch you and that taking one up the stairs with you means it will hurt you and eventually kill you. You have a health meter, can find medicine to heal, and can pick up notes that hint at secrets, all kept in an inventory.

The cat is part of the appeal. You can pet it, and it is often the first thing you check on each landing. The building around it is grim, with caution tape over a broken lift and blood on the floor in places, and the game is built on slow dread rather than chases.

It suits players who enjoyed The Exit 8, Platform 8 or other spot-the-difference loop games and want one set in a stairwell, with threats that can harm you if you get it wrong. The Steam version can be played in English and twelve other languages.

How to play The Stairway 7

Download the free P.T demo from itch.io, or buy the full game on Steam for Windows.
Read the posters on the first landing: they explain the rule of the loop.
On each landing, look carefully at the lights, walls, floor, objects and the cat, and compare them with what you remember.
If anything is wrong, walk down the stairs to banish the anomaly; if nothing is wrong, walk up.
Pick up notes and medicine along the way, and use the medicine when an anomaly has hurt you.

Screenshots

The Stairway 7 screenshot: wall posters reading Be Mindful of Anomalys explain to go down when you see an anomaly and up when you do not

The Stairway 7 screenshot: a doll sits by a pool of blood on a dim landing under a bare bulb while the cat watches from beside the taped-up lift

The Stairway 7 screenshot: a wooden lift door crossed with caution tape and an out of order sign under a hanging bulb

The Stairway 7 screenshot: the ginger cat on the landing with a prompt to pet it

Tips

Spend the first clean floors memorising the scene in detail, since every later floor is judged against it.
Keep an eye on the cat as well as the room; it sits on every landing as part of the scene.
Some anomalies try to blend in, so look at small things like papers on the floor and the lights, not only for figures.
If you are unsure, it is safer to go down than to carry an anomaly up the stairs.

Questions

Is The Stairway 7 free?

The P.T demo is free (name your own price) on itch.io. The full game is paid and sold on Steam.

What do you do in The Stairway 7?

You climb an endless stairwell and decide on each floor whether something is different. Go down if you spot an anomaly, up if you do not, until you reach the exit.

Can you pet the cat in The Stairway 7?

Yes. The ginger cat sits on the landings, and the game lets you pet it.

What platforms is The Stairway 7 on?

Windows PC, through Steam for the full game and itch.io for the free demo.