Online: 404 Beginner's Guide

Before you start

You pick one of four playable characters, each with unique stats and starting gear. In the demo, that meant real trade-offs: different daily calorie needs, different carry weights, and different starting perks (medical supplies, charged batteries, stealth takedowns, herbal and mushroom knowledge).

If you're new, favor a character whose starting gear covers your weakness: carrying more loot or needing less food both make the first days easier.

The opening

The setup, from demo reports and official descriptions: ten years after an industrial accident at the local gummy factory, the district was sealed behind an electrified perimeter fence. You slip in through a smuggler's tunnel — which collapses behind you. There is no walking back out, and the checkpoints are empty.

Your first contact is Charlie, an old man who lives nearby and reaches you by phone message. His opening advice is the game's own tutorial logic: find food, put together some kind of shelter, and if you see the locals — hide first, ask questions later.

First objectives

1. Get to the motel. The opening pointer sends you toward a nearby motel for canned food and tools. Canned goods (sardines, sprats, meats) were the demo's first reliable calories.
2. Search every vehicle on the way. Demo players found weapons, lockpicks, batteries, gasoline and scrap in cars. Trunks, hoods and glove boxes all matter.
3. Grab a tent if you find one. Resting and saving were tied to beds and tents in the demo.
4. Avoid the locals early. Unarmed or with two shotgun shells, you lose fights. Stealth and detours are the intended early answer — gunshots attract attention.
5. Start researching on the phone. Lockpick use, crafting basics and repairs all require reading the in-game internet first.

Survival essentials

• Calories are a daily budget. Each character has a daily calorie requirement (demo-era: roughly 1,500–2,500 depending on the character). Track it before it tracks you.
• Carry weight is limited. Demo characters ranged roughly 45–90 pounds of capacity; overloading stops you from running. Prioritize: food, bandages, batteries, tools.
• Health and bandages. Ambulances and medical spots carried bandages in the demo. Healing items are worth inventory space even when full.
• Hunting and foraging come later. Rabbits, chickens and other wildlife roam the district, and farming exists — but check mushroom safety online before eating anything you pick.
• Electricity is a base milestone. Scavenged solar panels, not raw crafting, are the confirmed route to power.

Phone first

The single biggest beginner mistake is treating the phone as a gimmick. It is the progression system: crafting recipes, lockpick instructions, repair knowledge, the map, the flashlight and the weather forecast all live in it. Two habits from the demo worth keeping:

• Mind the battery. Reading articles costs charge; power banks restore it. Loot them early. (Demo-era numbers; release values TBA.)
• Expect friction. Ads, CAPTCHAs and wrong answers are part of the design. Budget time for research before you're desperate. Full details in the phone guide.

The first night

Demo players reported nights dark enough to get lost in, with the phone flashlight helping less than you'd hope. Before dark:

• Know where you're sleeping — a bed or a tent skips the night.
• Eat before you sleep. Demo reports describe waking up starving; check hunger first.
• Don't plan long trips at night until you know the routes.

Co-op notes

Everything above works solo or with up to three friends. In co-op, split the phone research — different players read different articles and share results — and pick complementary characters. Raid defense and scavenging runs both get easier with roles assigned. See the multiplayer page for what's confirmed.

Where these facts come from

• Online: 404 on Steam (app 4094350) — story premise, four characters, hunting, farming, electricity, vehicles, zombies and base raids.
• Steam Community hub — official news — demo period announcements and developer replies.
• June 2026 demo gameplay reports — the Charlie opening, motel objective, sleep/hunger behavior, battery costs, loot spots (demo-era; subject to change in the Early Access build).