The opening of Zero Parades: For Dead Spies can be confusing. Your partner, Pseudopod, is completely unconscious on a cot in your safe house. You need to investigate what put him in a coma and gather his hidden clues. Eventually you should wake him up. This guide covers everything you need to know about him. You will learn how to navigate the early room, avoid hilarious quest fails, and recruit him to your crew later in the game.
What we cover:
Early Game Checklist in Foto 24
Most players leave the safe house too early. If you do this, you will miss important clues. You should search the room like a true spy before you talk to Constanz downstairs. Treat these items as loose ends, not immediate puzzles.
- Inspect his jacket. You will find a purchase order inside. Because his cover identity was a sock importer, this item points you directly to Carmuna Pessoa at the Bootleg Bazaar.
- Check the stereo deck. You will find a strange red disc by an L-Pop star named Ultra Violeta. This silent disc put him in a coma. Play the disc, take it with you, and keep it in your inventory as a media lead.
- Look inside the bathroom trousers. You can find the half cipher hidden in a small pocket.
- Search the desk area. Inspect the opened cigarette pack to discover the Rosetta cipher.
The Gonza’s Stamp Fail
The Zero Parades community loves and fears the interactions with this character. If you try to wake him up with the help of Dr. Gonza, things can escalate quickly.
A famous fail animation happens if you miss the Sensor check while using Gonza’s stamp on him. Your character rubs his crotch, slaps him twice, and kisses him with tongue. Players on reddit often laugh at this bizarre scene and immediately reload their save.
Furthermore, you must be very careful with your dialogue choices. If you offer to sell your brain-dead partner to a back-alley doctor, the game immediately ends the quest. You will permanently fail all related subtasks. Therefore, you should always create a manual save before you interact with him or any medical NPCs.
How to Recruit Pseudopod to Your Crew?
Later in the story, you receive the “Make an Impression on Pseudopod” quest. You can finally wake him up and recruit him as your Fool class for the “Zero Out The Grand Lich” mission.
First, you need a Luzian Imprinting Device from Yana. This device requires fresh Luzian batteries. You must trade with the King of Trade at the Animal Zone in the Old Docks to get the required Pre-Breeder 6ZR.
Required Trading Items
| Item You Need | Who to Visit | Accepted Trade Items |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Breeder 6ZR | King of Trade (Old Docks) | Mister Arista Hair Set OR Ouroborous Black Cigarettes |
| Mister Arista Hair Set | Malen (Bootleg Bazaar) | N/A |
After you charge the device, return to Foto 24 and use it on him. You must pass a Records check or a Nerve check. If you choose the Nerve check, your future rolls in this quest will become harder. He wakes up and immediately runs away.
Where to Find Him After He Escapes
- Go to the Old Docks. You will find him conversing with The Boatman. You need to attempt a Personalism check or a Shadowplay check here.
- Return to Foto 24. He runs back, barricades himself in your room, and speaks to Melita. Then, he jumps out the second-floor window.
- Visit the Housing Campaign. He stares at a neon Ultra Violeta sign. You can pass a Records check to convince him of his true situation. Don’t choose the option to murder him here, or you will lose him as a recruit forever.
Known Bugs and Community Fixes
Some players report issues with this questline on reddit and steam. If your objective marks itself as failed after you talk to Dr. Gonza about his anti-LASS drug, do not panic. The community confirms that you can usually continue the thread. You just need to keep playing and talk to other NPCs, like the teens or The Boatman, to update your journal.
Also, developers noted a specific save bug. If you load a save made inside your Foto 24 room at night while his quest is active, the game might freeze or glitch. To fix this temporarily, you should read a book to pass the time until daylight, save the game again, and then reload.
