While exploring the apartment in 12 Minutes, players will find a phone which doesn’t serve any apparent purpose. There are no contacts on it, and aside from some text messages, there’s nothing obvious to do with it. However, the phone does become more useful, and there are a few things a player can do with it later on.
What is the phone used for in 12 Minutes?
Most players will discover the phone in 12 Minutes early on in the game. It’s located in the closet in the wife’s purse. However, there’s little use for it in the early loops. There’s a series of four text messages from the player character to the wife, which reveals little information, and there’s no contacts list. Calling 911 and requesting that police be sent results in the dispatcher stating that they’ll take 15 minutes to get there, which is, unfortunately, after the loop ends.
The big thing to keep in mind with the phone is that the player character will memorize any number that is found. That means users can then dial them in subsequent loops whenever they want.
While the phone likely has more uses, we’ve found a big one already. When the player knocks out or kills the cop, they can take his phone. After examining the cop’s phone, they’ll find his daughter’s phone number. By the time the player can incapacitate the cop, it’s too late in the loop to speak with her since she’s in a movie and her phone is off. However, in the next loop, the player can dial her at the very start with the wife’s phone. This will allow players to speak with her and ask her questions about herself and her father.
Using the phone in 12 Minutes to obtain information from the cop’s daughter is a vital plot point. So, like many items in the game, it’s much more important than it seems at the start.