There are a lot more side quests in Lies of P than most people thought there would be. Some of them are definitely worth the time, but not all of them are.
Most games like Souls have side quests or extra goals that you can complete. Character-based side quests are common in the original Dark Souls games. Players can usually find the NPCs more than once on their trip and “continue” their side quests from there if they want to. But, especially in the Souls games, many of these side quests are very hard to understand, and many players need to use a guide to get through them.
Thanks to smart UI design on the part of the creator, the side quests in Lies of P are a lot easier to follow. The jobs that the NPC gives Pinocchio are also a bit easier. These are the main reasons why there are so many side quests to finish in Lies of P. Let’s talk about the ones that are worth your time and the prizes they offer.
Portrait Of A Boy
The first side quest in Lies of P is probably the most important one you shouldn’t skip. It has one of the best weapon prizes and is a big part of the story. You can find The Portrait of a Boy picture in the Black Rabbit Brotherhood’s hideout after you beat the Eldest Brother in the Malum District. Pinocchio will find this portrait in this hiding place. It was clearly made to look like Gepetto’s dead son Carlo.
If players choose the “lying” road, they must bring this picture back to Hotel Krat and ask Gepetto to hang it up. From there, they can use the painting’s “nose” to keep track of how much they’ve lied. When it gets to its longest point, they can interact with the painting to pull the long wooden staff/nose out of it and get the Golden Lie special weapon.
Julian The Gentleman
‘Julian the Gentleman’ is the next side quest, which players won’t see until they get to Rosa Isabelle Street. Basically, Pinocchio should see a man in a nice suit and top hat standing near the ladder that leads into the Rosa Isabelle Street drains before going into them to get to the Estella Opera House. When you talk to this man, he will ask Pinocchio to find his wife’s body and bring him her things. Piglet will also get a hint that she is the one in the black dress. After moving forward a fair distance, players will finally find her body right before they reach the Flamethrower Puppets that lead up to the Opera House.
But this is where Gemini says that these aren’t human parts, but the body of a robot that doesn’t work. Player can now bring her things back to Julian and decide whether to lie or tell him the truth about whether robots and humans can fall in love. This isn’t always a lie, but Julian will teach Pinocchio the Sad Gesture and give them his Wedding Ring if they say they can fall in love. For the Broken Puppet side quest, you have to get these prizes. They may not seem important at first, but they are very important for getting the Golden Lie.
Old Lady At The Window
Pinocchio can find the other side quest on Rosa Isabelle Street. It’s to collect wine for the Old Lady in the Window. It’s just past the Stargazer and up (and around) the stairs to the left. Players will have to keep going until they reach the Lorenzini Arcade in order to get the bottle of Le Bleiweis that the woman wants. This is past both the Estella Opera House and the boss fight at the end of it called King of Puppets.
The player only needs to keep going through this area naturally until they reach the Lorenzini Arcade Stargazer and fight a huge Jester Puppet in a wine cellar. Once players beat this dummy, they’ll see an open gate that they can go through. Once they do, they’ll see one of those blue flowers on the wall to their left that they can interact with. That flower is the wine they’re looking for. You should give this to the woman on Rosa Isabelle Street. She will give Pinocchio a Venigni Commemorative Coin. It may not seem like a very good reward, but if players show it to Pulcinella, Venigni’s doll maid, and ask her to look at it, they will get a Half Moonstone as a prize.
The Broken Puppet
Next is a side quest that takes place in the Barren Swamp. Players will probably need to go back to it more than once to finish it. At the Barren Swamp Stargazer, players should see an NPC that looks like a doll and has a bright red “core.” They will be asked to teach this Puppet human feelings after talking to it. To put it simply, this means showing four different “human” emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, and clapping. For Pinocchio to get these Gestures, he will have to earn them from many NPCs, usually by lying to them. These NPCs include Gepetto, Julian the Gentleman, Antonia who is almost dead, and Test Subject 826.
When players reach Chapter 11, they’ll find the last NPC. This means they won’t be able to fully fulfill the Broken Puppet’s wish until they’re almost done with the story. But if Pinocchio shows the doll all four of these feelings, they will get an extra Quartz on top of the gifts they got for each Gesture.
Test Subject 826
When it comes to Subject 826, this NPC is more than just getting the Happy Gesture from the first chat you have with him. You can talk to him and let him go. Then, after a few more difficult boss fights, you can find him at Rosa Isabelle Street, close to where you fight the Mad Clown Puppet.
Subject 826 works here as a Merchant, and players can buy lots of cool stuff from him. He will also sell the rare version of the Fascination Record to players who are in their NG+ or NG++ playthroughs.
Black Cat & Red Fox
Out of all the non-playable characters and NPCs that Pinocchio meets in Lie of P, the Black Cat and Red Fox are likely two of the most popular. It’s clear that these two are only interested in themselves and are complete con artists, but as Pinocchio meets them more, they start to open up and become more sensitive.
Even though not fighting these two near the end of the story doesn’t really change the rewards that much, it is one of the few side quests or even objectives in Lies of P where players can choose not to fight and still get the cosmetic rewards they would have gotten if they had fought. Basically, the side quests that involve these two characters are worth doing from an emotional and story point of view.
All Cryptic Vessels
Finally, let’s talk about the Cryptic Vessels that Pinocchio can find many times during Happy Wheels. If you find these things, you can take them to Venigni in Hotel Krat to have them figured out. Once the code is broken, Pinocchio will usually get some pretty cool stuff, like new costumes or quartz, if they find the spot in the picture and follow the directions.
In Lie of the P, there are 6 Cryptic Vessels spread out. The benefits from all of them are usually worth the time spent on them.