Zoochosis is an open-ended horror simulation game that puts you in the shoes of an unsuspecting zookeeper who finds himself trapped in a living nightmare at Pine Valley Zoo. Not only do you need to know how to take care of animals threatened by a mysterious plague, but there are several endings to uncover as well, which we can help you with in our Zoochosis walkthrough.
Zoochosis Walkthrough - Tips & Tricks
Keep or Disable Bodycam
Zoochosis features a unique bodycam-style POV by default that caters to the game's immersion. However, it can be problematic for those prone to motion sickness while playing. If you prefer, you can disable the bodycam by going to 'Options' in the Start Menu and toggling the 'Bodycam' option 'Off'.
No Manual Saves
There are no manual save options in Zoochosis, only auto-save, so be careful when and where you choose to close the game.
Interact With All Posters
As you go through the game's prologue you'll notice several informational posters along the way that give instructions for different procedures, such as feeding the animals, drawing blood, taking thermal images, etc. These can help you where the tutorial doesn't. Interact with all of them and their locations will be noted in your PDA.
Rely on your PDA
Your PDA is the go-to for everything from all current tasks to your 'Things' (i.e. - inventory), access to different areas, and important notes for procedures. Since the game is very open-ended, keeping track of your objectives is important.
How to take Blood Samples
To take a blood sample from an animal, use the Blood Syringe found on the Gadget Trolley. Simply approach an animal from behind and wait until it rests (its interaction square turns green) to use the Syringe to take a sample. This is important not only for testing for diseases but also for making a cure for mutated animals.
How to take Sound Readings
To take a sound reading from an animal, use the ASSA machine found on the Gadget Trolley. Approach an animal with it and stay in close range until the scan finishes to get a reading. The higher the reading, the more likely that animal is sick/infected.
How to figure out the gender of captured parasites
As you cure mutated creatures in each enclosure of the game, you'll recover the parasites that infected them and take them to Parasite Storage on the train. When it comes to make poison for the Mother later on, it's important to know whether a parasite is male or female, and it's not that easy to tell.
The best indicator is how the parasites act towards one another in the storage unit. Generally, male parasites will be aggressive towards another male if placed next to each other, while if a female is placed between them, they'll both face it.
To make use of this strategy, you need to make sure to cure mutated animals rather than kill them, so the parasites are alive rather than dead.
Unlocking all Animal Enclosures
To unlock all animal enclosures in the game, you must complete a playthrough at least once, regardless of the ending you receive. Once you do and start New Game Plus, you'll start with all of the other enclosures you couldn't access before.
All Zoochosis Achievements (Hidden)
Below we've listed all 19 achievements found in Zoochosis, including 11 hidden ones, and what is required to unlock them. More than one playthrough is required to complete all of them.
| Achievement | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Employee of the Month | Unlock all endings |
| First patient | Heal a sick animal for the first time (Use the correct medicine on a sick animal to unlock) |
| "Can I pet that dawg?" | Pet an animal for the first time (Pet any animal in any enclosure to unlock) |
| Bon Appetit! | Feed the monster with meat |
| Dr. Doolittle | Heal the monster |
| Fresh meat | Grind the first corpse (Choose to grind Sarah into meat instead of saving her) |
| Honored guest | Visit all enclosures (Enter every animal enclosure in the game; must be done in more than one playthrough as the remaining enclosures don't unlock until NG+) |
| Food Ninja | Perfectly slice the food (0.00% deviation) |
| Husband of the Year | Completely ignore the wife (Avoid all interactions with Lily from start to finish) |
| Family Guy | Not to inform the wife that the meat is human (When you give Lily the meat brick you must avoid telling her what it's made of) |
| Love is... | Inform the wife that the meat is human (When you give Lily the meat brick you must tell her what it's made of) |
| Horror Fan | Open all the lockers in the hub |
| Ladies' man | Identify the female parasite |
| Failed interview | Don't sign the NDA (This will trigger the "AFK" ending where Oliver will kill you for wasting his time) |
| It will pass on its own... | Die from mutation (Obtain an ending where Paul mutates and dies from his parasite) |
| Detox | Recover from a parasite (Obtain the best ending where Paul vomits out the parasite, allowing him to recover) |
| Medical professional | Heal the animal before mutation (Must be done without collecting samples; easier on subsequent playthroughs) |
| Internship completed | Complete the tutorial |
| Rescue the Animals | Clean Run (Kill no one, save everyone) (Must rescue all animals including mutants and save everyone except for Oliver) |
How to make and use medicine darts in Zoochosis
In order to heal any animals who have fallen sick in any of the enclosures, you need to craft the correct medicine according to the disease they've contracted and use darts to inoculate them with that medicine. All medicines are created at the Veterinary Station on the KATIE train that transports you around the zoo.
After you've gathered your necessary readings and samples from the animals in a specific enclosure, interact with the computer at the Veterinary Station to bring up the 'Diagnose' and 'Crafting' menus. First, you need to figure out an accurate diagnosis for your sick animals by filtering their flagged symptoms (e.g. - temperature, blood, etc) on the main list. Different diseases will have different symptoms, so choose carefully.
Once you've gotten your correct diagnosis, tab over to the Crafting menu and search the list of Formulas for the medicine that will cure your sickly animals. Make sure to pay attention to the description for each Formula on the right side of the screen, as it will indicate what diseases they're used for.
When you've found the right Formula, make sure you have enough of the required chemical ingredients for it, which you can find in different colored vials scattered around the zoo in substantial quantities. If you don't have enough, you won't be able to make your medicine, and you'll need to explore the complex for more.
Once you have everything you need, click 'Create' at the bottom of the screen and the machine will craft the medicine for you and place it inside a dart for you to load your Dart Gun with (found on your Gadget Trolley). If you need more than one dose (for multiple animals),hit the 'Create' button again until you have enough darts. They will be stored in your 'Things' inventory.
Remember that to reload your Dart Gun you can either do it from your PDA (click the dart in your inventory and press 'Use') or via the gadget submenu at the bottom left corner of your screen (press 'R' to reload another dart of the same time; press 'MMB' to cycle through different dart types). The latter option is often better, especially when you need to handle aggressive or mutated animals.
How to determine if an animal is sick in Zoochosis
Beyond feeding the animals at each of the zoo's enclosures, Paul is also tasked with running tests and monitoring any animals that appear to be sick. Unfortunately, quite a few of them turn out to be sick with different diseases, and knowing how to look for all signs of sickness is key to not only diagnosing and crafting the correct medications but also saving them in the event of dangerous mutations.
First off, there are the unspoken, visual hints of sickness to look for when interacting with the animals. While some animals appear normal, others may exhibit strange behavior, such as wailing sounds, thrashing gestures, and particularly vomiting (as seen above). Another hint (which can be spotted on a poster if you have sharp eyes) is if an animal goes to sleep for unusually long periods, indicating low energy/metabolism.
Along with those factors, you also need to make sure to use all of the tools on your Gadget Trolley to ascertain exactly which animals are sick and their symptoms. Collecting feces, blood samples, body temperature readings, sound readings, and tracking wounds with a UV light all contribute and help you figure out exactly which disease is infecting those animals and the medicines you need to make.
All Endings in Zoochosis & How to get them
Beyond the tutorial, Zoochosis is an entirely open-ended game heavily influenced by most of the choices you make throughout the story. While the story itself is relatively short, there are numerous possible endings you can get (up to 23 endings, per the developers), so the slightest change in your actions can lead to a different outcome each time.
Below we've listed all endings in Zoochosis that we've discovered thus far, including the most notable and unique ones that have specific objectives for how to get them. This section is a work in progress and will be updated as we find more endings.
Neutral Ending - AFK (or Don't Sign NDA) Ending
The quickest ending you can obtain in Zoochosis, and unlocks the 'Failed interview' achievement. After not signing the NDA, "Doc" (or Oliver as he's later known) will grow impatient and jab Paul with the parasite before dragging him to his death.
To get this ending, when the NDA screen pops up, simply remain idle and wait for Oliver to exhaust his dialogue options, including where he sends a fabricated recording of Paul threatening suicide. Soon after, the ending will trigger.
True Best Ending (Everyone Lives)
Paul injects himself with the poison from the parasites and he and Sarah work together to expose Oliver and the evil organization behind the zoo and the plague they've unleashed. Paul sets himself as bait near the entrance to the Mother's enclosure while Sarah sets up a hidden camera and lies in wait for Oliver.
After Oliver arrives, opens the Mother's enclosure, and threatens to kill them all (including Paul's wife for informing the police), Sarah ambushes and knocks him out before injecting him with the poison from the parasites. The Mother drags infected Oliver into the enclosure and eventually feasts on his corpse, the poison killing the Mother in the process. Meanwhile, Paul manages to vomit out the parasite from his body, free of the mutation.
Sarah and Paul leave the facility afterward and Paul remarks that not only did he survive the night, he now has Oliver's car as well, which is parked outside.
The known requirements for this ending include:
- Do not give Lily the Meat Block at the start of the game.
- Cure at least three mutated animals (do not kill them) and bring the parasites you recover back to Parasite Storage in the train.
- Rescue Sarah from the meat grinder (the one who awakens and screams)
- Obtain the Severed Hand when prompted to unclog the Biowaste Filter
- Use the Severed Hand to access Oliver's office and choose to call Lily
- Choose a female parasite from Parasite Storage (make sure it's a female) and use it to make poison for the Mother.
Bad Ending 1 - The Mother Kills Everyone
Paul and Sarah attempt to frame Oliver and his organization by recording their last encounter and getting footage of the Mother herself. However, in the process of Sarah knocking out Oliver and injecting him with the poison, the Mother grabs not only Oliver but everyone (including Paul's wife Lily) into her enclosure and kills them all, leaving no survivors and the evidence seemingly lost.
The known requirements for this ending include:
- Do not give the meat block to Lily at the start of the game
- Save Sarah from the meat grinder (the one who awakens and screams)
- Cure at least three mutated animals (don't kill them)
- Obtain the Severed Hand from the Biowaste Filter when you're required to unclog it
- Open Oliver's Office with the Severed Hand
- Do not call Lily on your cell phone when the opportunity comes
- Choose a Male Parasite from Parasite Storage and inject the poison into Paul instead of Sarah
Bad Ending 2 - Paul Murders Sarah and Gets Killed by the Mother
In another "bad ending" option, Paul chooses to murder Sarah with the axe (for better or worse) and then goes to confront Oliver alone. Ultimately he succumbs to the parasite inside him and collapses. Oliver opens the Mother's enclosure and Paul meets his doom.
The known requirements for this ending include:
- Save Sarah from the meat grinder (the one who awakens and screams)
- Cure or kill at least three mutated animals (parasites can be salvaged either way)
- Obtain the Severed Hand from the Biowaste Filter when you're required to unclog it
- Open Oliver's Office with the Severed Hand
- With access to the axe, take it and use it to kill Sarah, triggering the ending
Bad Ending 3 - Oliver Feeds Paul to the Mother
One of the simpler "bad" endings where after visiting enough enclosures and returning to the Hub, Oliver confronts Paul who collapses from his infection, unable to move. Oliver opens the Mother's enclosure and feeds Paul to the monster, immediately ending the game.
Depending on how you interacted with Lily during the game (whether you ignored her at the door and her calls later on or acknowledged them) Oliver may have her captured and killed as well, saying her fate is in the Grinder.
Bad Ending 4 - Sarah Dies and Paul Kills Oliver
For this "bad" ending, Oliver reveals that he ended up killing Sarah and feeding her to the Mother after finding her hiding in the lab. Just before Oliver prepares to do the same with Paul, Paul holds up the axe and kills Oliver. The game immediately ends afterward.
Known requirements for this ending include:
- Give Lily the Meat Block but tell her NOT to consume it during the phone call later on
- Rescue Sarah from the grinder (the one who awakens and screams)
- Obtain the Severed Hand from the clogged Biowaste Filter and use it to access Oliver's office
- Cure at least three mutated animals to make a poison for the Mother
- Inject Sarah with the poison instead of Paul
Bad Ending 5 - Paul Mutates and Kills Oliver (and Possibly Sarah)
This "bad" ending is split into one of two variations where Paul ends up fully mutating and succumbing to his parasite. One instance is on the train, where Oliver comes to investigate, and a mutated Paul ambushes and kills him.
The other instance is in the office bathroom, where Sarah locks him in for safety reasons. When hours pass and morning comes, Oliver comes to check on Paul who attacks him as soon as he opens the bathroom door. Sarah witnesses it and Paul chases her down and kills her as well.
Known requirements for this ending include:
- Rescue Sarah from the grinder (the one who awakens and screams)
- Obtain the Severed Hand from the Biowaste Filter but DO NOT use it to access Oliver's office
Bad Ending 6 - Oliver Ambushes Lily at the Door
In this "bad" ending, when morning arrives Paul attempts to meet his wife at the exit door who says she's brought him breakfast, including some of the meat he gave her and their daughter, Gina. Oliver arrives and either knocks out or kills Lily off-screen. He comes inside and takes them both to the Mother's enclosure. Saying that his wife will "make a nice dessert", he feeds them both to the Mother, and the game ends.
Known requirements for this ending include:
- Give Lily the Meat Block at the start of the game
- Obtain the Severed Hand from the Biowaste Filter but DO NOT use it to access Oliver's Office (thus the phone call with Lily never occurs)
Be sure to check out all of our latest gaming guides and news for Zoochosis here at Pro Game Guides, such as our Top 10 Best Indie Horror Games of 2024.
