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The Directive 8020 Kitchen pantry door code is 0402. You uncover it during Episode 3, “The Sample,” by exploring the Mess Hall, using the surveillance system, and then checking the right side of the doorframe after squeezing back through the gap. Return to the Kitchen and enter the code on the pantry keypad.
Where the pantry-code puzzle takes place
This puzzle occurs in the Mess Hall during Episode 3, “The Sample.” Cooper and Anders are searching for Simms when the route leads through a broken section of the room and into the surveillance-system sequence. The pantry is not opened from the first room you enter. You must complete the surveillance interaction and follow the same cramped route back before the clue becomes useful.
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The Kitchen is part of the Mess Hall area. Its entrance is marked by a cyan sign, which is the clearest landmark when you need to return to the keypad. If you are searching other rooms for a combination, you are likely still in the wrong part of the sequence.
Step-by-step solution
- Begin Episode 3, “The Sample,” and enter the Mess Hall. The pantry clue belongs to this episode and area, not to a separate later chapter.
- Explore the Mess Hall. Look for the large broken screen. Nearby, you will find a door that can be hacked open.
- Hack the door and pass through. Continue beyond it until the route requires you to squeeze through the gap.
- Use the surveillance system. Do not leave the area immediately after this interaction; the clue is located on the return route.
- Squeeze back through the gap. Once you are back on the other side, inspect the right side of the doorframe. A handwritten note is attached there.
- Read the note and keep its four-digit number in mind. This note provides the pantry combination. It is easy to miss if you head straight to the Kitchen after using surveillance.
- Return to the Kitchen. Use the cyan sign above the entrance to confirm that you are at the correct room.
- Enter the code at the pantry keypad. The pantry opens when you enter the number from the handwritten note.
The code and the correct keypad
The number you need is 0402. Enter it at the keypad on the pantry door inside the Mess Hall’s Kitchen. The leading zero matters, so treat the solution as a four-digit code rather than as the number 402.
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| Item | Confirmed detail |
|---|---|
| Game | Directive 8020 |
| Episode | Episode 3, “The Sample” |
| Area | Mess Hall, then the Kitchen |
| Clue | Handwritten note on the right side of the doorframe |
| Pantry code | 0402 |
| Input location | Pantry keypad in the Kitchen |
| Result | Opening the pantry adds information to the timeline |
Why the note is easy to miss
The surveillance-system interaction and the pantry clue are separated by movement through the gap. Players who assume the objective is finished once surveillance is accessed may turn around and run directly to the Kitchen. That shortcut bypasses the side of the frame where the handwritten note is placed.
The game’s route can therefore feel as though it has two distinct passes:
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- TRUST NO-ONE - Encounter an alien lifeform that perfectly imitates its prey. Years of training and trust are lost among the crew when their enemy hides in plain sight. Who is human and who is not? Your choices are now more important than ever!
- REWIND DECISION - Rewrite your destiny and change the course of your story with our new Turning Points story tree. Uncover multiple endings, unlock hidden paths, and save your crew from their fateful deaths.
- REAL-TIME ALIEN THREATS - Evade a deadly alien threat that roams the dark corridors of the ship, intent on eradicating human life. Overcome your enemies using improvised weapons, lightning reflexes, and stealth.
- DON’T PLAY ALONE - Recruit up to five players to join you on your mission in couch-co-op movie night mode. Choose which crew members to control and work together with your friends to survive alien infiltrators, deadly dilemmas, and catastrophic system failures.
- DELUXE UPGRADE INCLUDED – For a limited time only, receive with every purchase: The Dark Pictures Outfit Pack, Additional Dark Pictures Collectibles, Cinematic Filter Packs, Digital Artbook and exclusive soundtrack
- Outbound pass: find the broken screen, hack the door, squeeze through the gap, and access surveillance.
- Return pass: squeeze back through the gap, stop at the doorframe, and inspect its right side for the note before continuing to the Kitchen.
Use that return pass as your checkpoint. If you have not examined the frame after coming back through the gap, the pantry combination has not yet been collected through the intended route.
What to do if you cannot find the clue
You went straight to the Kitchen
Turn back toward the route used after the surveillance interaction. The note is not described as being inside the Kitchen; it is on the right side of the doorframe encountered after returning through the gap. Revisit that frame and inspect it closely.
Rank #3
- TRUST NO-ONE - Encounter an alien lifeform that perfectly imitates its prey. Years of training and trust are lost among the crew when their enemy hides in plain sight. Who is human and who is not? Your choices are now more important than ever!
- REWIND DECISION - Rewrite your destiny and change the course of your story with our new Turning Points story tree. Uncover multiple endings, unlock hidden paths, and save your crew from their fateful deaths.
- REAL-TIME ALIEN THREATS - Evade a deadly alien threat that roams the dark corridors of the ship, intent on eradicating human life. Overcome your enemies using improvised weapons, lightning reflexes, and stealth.
- DON’T PLAY ALONE - Recruit up to five players to join you on your mission in couch-co-op movie night mode. Choose which crew members to control and work together with your friends to survive alien infiltrators, deadly dilemmas, and catastrophic system failures.
You have not used surveillance yet
Continue through the hackable door and the gap, then access the surveillance system. The walkthrough places the note on the way back, so searching the frame before completing that interaction may not match the intended progression.
You are unsure which room is the Kitchen
Look for the cyan sign above the entrance. That sign identifies the Kitchen in the Mess Hall and distinguishes the pantry keypad’s location from the other doors in the area.
The keypad rejects your entry
Confirm three things before trying another route: you are at the pantry keypad in the Kitchen, you have read the handwritten note, and you are entering all four digits, including the initial zero. The documented solution is 0402; there is no alternate number established for this puzzle.
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What opening the pantry changes
Opening the pantry adds information to the game’s timeline. The available walkthrough confirms that the timeline is updated, but it does not describe the exact information added. That means the safe expectation is a progression or record update rather than a separately documented item, reward, or scene. Do not assume a specific timeline entry unless you have observed it in your own playthrough.
Quick route for a second playthrough
Once you know the location, the shortest reliable route is:
- Enter the Mess Hall in Episode 3, “The Sample.”
- Find the large broken screen and hack the nearby door.
- Squeeze through the gap and use surveillance.
- Return through the gap instead of going directly to the Kitchen.
- Inspect the right side of the doorframe and read the handwritten note.
- Follow the cyan Kitchen sign.
- Use the pantry keypad and enter the four-digit code from the note.
This order prevents the most common navigation mistake: reaching the Kitchen before checking the clue.
Evidence and scope of this solution
The route and code are documented in Asmir Kovacevic’s AltChar walkthrough, published May 12, 2026. It is a secondary game guide rather than an official developer reference, and the available documentation does not establish platform-specific differences, current store availability, or the exact wording of the timeline information. The solution above is limited to the in-game sequence and keypad combination described for Episode 3.
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