- Online 404 is a multiplayer zombie survival game with a demo live during Steam Next Fest.
- In-game phone: Players Google real-world questions to learn crafting, lockpicking, and survival skills.
- No saves in demo: Progress resets on death or disconnect — play sessions accordingly.
- Known bugs: Doors, inventory overlays, and respawn black screens are the biggest demo issues.
- Best strategy: Loot by daylight, learn recipes early, and avoid melee fights at night.
Online 404 Overview: What the Demo Offers
Online 404 is an upcoming multiplayer zombie survival game that gained visibility after being featured at Summer Game Fest, with a demo released during Steam Next Fest. The core hook is unusual: your character carries a smartphone, and nearly every skill in the game — from lockpicking to butchering animals — must be learned by searching the in-game internet, complete with ads and battery drain.
Video Highlights:
- Two players team up to test the Next Fest demo in co-op
- Door interactions were completely broken until a post-demo hotfix
- The in-game Google search system teaches crafting and lockpicking
- Sleeping saves the game — but only in the full version
The demo drops players into a rural zombie-infested map with hotels, abandoned cars, a smugglers' camp, and NPC holdouts like a sassy grandma who trades rewards for canned food and juice. Combat, looting, and building systems are all present in early form, giving a clear picture of the intended full experience.
| Feature | Demo Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Multiplayer co-op | Available | Joining mid-session can cause desync bugs |
| Single player | Available | Some bugs appear less often than in co-op |
| Saving | Disabled | Full version only; demo resets progress |
| Base building | Available | Requires hammer, wood, and nails |
| In-game internet | Available | Learning system with ads and battery cost |
The demo is best described as pre-alpha quality. The developers were temporarily locked out of their Steam account during Next Fest but returned to ship a hotfix that fixed the infamous door problem. Treat the demo as a preview, not a polished product.
Core Mechanics: The In-Game Phone System
The most distinctive Online 404 mechanic is the smartphone. Reading pages drains roughly 10% battery, ads interrupt searches, and some searches spiral into unrelated rabbit holes — exactly like real browsing. Skills are not granted by default; you earn them by researching.
| Action | How to Unlock | Battery Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Lockpicking | Search "how to open a lock with lockpick step by step" | ~10% per read |
| Butchering | Search "how to skin an animal" | ~10% per read |
| Crafting recipes | Find notes in the world, then research terms | ~10% per read |
| Mushroom safety | Search which mushrooms are poisonous | ~10% per read |
| Phone recharge | Find power banks or a car battery | None |
Research Early
- Learn lockpicking first
- Unlocks police cars and locked buildings
- Best use of early battery
Manage Battery
- Reading drains ~10% per page
- Ads force extra clicks
- Hoard power banks when found
Notes Matter
- World notes hint at recipes
- Campfire and bandage recipes found in notes
- Notes guide your search terms
Prioritize lockpicking research in your first daylight hour. A locked police car down the road yielded a Glock with 30 rounds in the demo — firepower that trivializes the first few nights.
Survival Step-by-Step: Your First Day
Follow this sequence to survive the demo's opening hours. Daylight is your safe window; zombies become far more dangerous after dark when visibility drops to flashlight range.
Loot the Spawn Area
Search starting buildings for food, a flashlight, and any weapon. Chickens are a food source, but you need a knife to skin them — note it for later research.
Research Lockpicking
Use your phone immediately. Ten percent battery is a cheap price for access to locked cars and buildings with better loot.
Secure a Ranged Weapon
The double-barrel shotgun and Glock are demo standouts. Conserve bolts and ammunition — melee combat is unreliable in the current build.
Visit the Grandma NPC
She asks for five cans of food and two boxes of juice. Deliver them and she gives useful gear in return. Do not shine your flashlight at her.
Set Up Before Nightfall
Gather wood with a hatchet, craft a hammer, and start a basic base frame. Stay inside after dark and avoid open roads.
Night fights in the demo are brutal. Holding the phone out as a light source occupies your hands, visibility is near zero, and friendly fire in the dark is a real risk. If a zombie chases you at night, break line of sight and reposition rather than fighting blind.
Known Demo Bugs and Workarounds
The demo's bug list is long, but most issues have practical workarounds. Knowing them before you play saves significant frustration.
| Bug | Severity | Workaround |
|---|---|---|
| Doors impassable (pre-hotfix) | Critical | Fixed in post-demo update; glitch through corners if it recurs |
| Inventory overlay stuck on screen | High | Drop the item causing the stuck UI slot to clear it |
| Black screen on death | High | Host cannot respawn; restart the session |
| Progress reset on rejoin | High | Expected demo behavior; no fix until full release |
| Melee attacks not registering | Medium | Avoid double-clicking; single deliberate swings connect more often |
| Stuck in walls/geometry | Medium | Respawn via the escape menu |
| Car inventory blocking view | Medium | Avoid opening multiple inventories over vehicle trunks |
Several of the worst bugs — desync, host respawn failure, and phantom players sprinting past windows — appeared specifically in co-op sessions. If a bug blocks you, try single player before assuming your save is lost.
Before Ending a Demo Session:
- Drop valuables in a container or hidden spot for teammates
- Note your researched skills for the next session
- Confirm melee and door interactions still work after any update
- Report persistent bugs through official Steam channels
Loot Priorities and Building Basics
Not all loot is equal in Online 404. The demo's item pool rewards players who know what to grab first and what to leave behind.
| Item | Priority | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Glock / shotgun + ammo | ★★★★★ | Only reliable zombie killers in the demo |
| Knife | ★★★★☆ | Required for skinning animals for food |
| Hatchet | ★★★★☆ | Gathers wood; doubles as backup melee |
| Lockpicks | ★★★★☆ | Opens police cars and locked doors |
| Power bank | ★★★☆☆ | Keeps the phone alive for research |
| Canned food / juice | ★★★☆☆ | Grandma trade requirement plus sustenance |
| Car battery | ★★★☆☆ | Needed for vehicle repair attempts |
| Nails | ★★★☆☆ | Required for wooden storage crates |
Base building uses a block system: right-click to select a building block, left-click to place, middle-click to destroy, R to rotate, and H to hide the preview. Wooden crates are the cheapest storage option but demand a box of nails per crate, so collect nails during every loot run.
A low fence around your base is faster to build than walls, but zombies are likely to path over it. Spend your wood on full-height doorway frames instead — doorways remain the most defensible choke point in the current build.
FAQ
Q: Is Online 404 free to play?
The demo was free during Steam Next Fest, and the full version is expected as a paid release on Steam. The demo jokingly referenced a pay-to-save model, but saving is simply restricted to the full version — no payment exists in the demo itself.
Q: Can you save your progress in the Online 404 demo?
No. Saving is disabled in the demo. Every death, crash, or rejoin resets you to a fresh character at the starting point with no gear. Full save support is planned for the full release.
Q: Why couldn't players go through doors in Online 404?
Door collisions were broken in the initial demo build, making most doorways impassable. After the developers regained access to their Steam account, a hotfix resolved the issue, and doors now function in the updated build.
Q: How does the phone learning system work in Online 404?
Your character starts with almost no skills. You search an in-game internet for topics like lockpicking, butchering, and mushroom safety. Reading pages drains about 10% phone battery per page, ads interrupt browsing, and power banks scattered across the map recharge the device.
Online 404 has a genuinely strong premise — the phone-based learning system and NPC trading give it identity beyond standard zombie survival. The demo is rough, but the post-hotfix improvements show active development. Wait for the full release if bugs frustrate you, and watch the official Steam page for launch news.