Once Human Carnival of Doom quest – How to beat Chuckles

The side quests in Once Human are decently varied and fun, and Carnival of Doom is one that stands out as particularly unique. You’ll stumble upon it while running around the Broken Delta, and it will offer a quick and zany break from hunting Stardust-infected mutants. But from the start, it’s not clear how exactly to beat Chuckles the clown at his nefarious game of Russian roulette.

How to start the Carnival of Doom quest

You’ll get the Carnival of Doom quest automatically as you progress through Once Human. Though Broken Delta is a level 10+ area, the quest location, the Junkyard, is a level 19 zone. So you might want to spend some time leveling and gearing up before heading over, not because the quest itself is tough but in order to survive the human enemies lurking around the place.

Fight your way to the large building in the center of the Junkyard. There will be a few drones flying around, as well as soldiers inside and outside. In the middle of the building, you’ll find a glowing revolver called Carnival of Doom, which you unfortunately don’t get to keep. Click on the firearm to get transported to another, wackier location.

Chuckles the clown and Russian roulette

After watching the cutscene, which I won’t spoil for you, initiate dialogue with Chuckles. He wants to play Russian roulette, and you have to pick whether you or he will pull the trigger. No matter which you choose, you’ll lose and the quest will fail, placing you back at the beginning of the cutscene.

Cheat the cheater

Instead of talking to Chuckles right away, press Q to use your Spacetime ability. It will light up a black wire leading from the table and show a red quest icon. Follow the wire into the next room, where V will say that there’s a man behind the glass. I didn’t see anybody, but okay, V.

Return to Chuckles, and this time when you chat with him, you’ll have a third dialogue option: “I need some fresh air.” For a homicidal clown, Chuckles is surprisingly amenable and lets you do your thing.

This triggers a giant red door to mysteriously open. Head through and you’ll see that there is indeed a man behind the wall, a second clown mischievously using a terminal labeled “Roulette Cheating Device.” You can’t use your gun in this weird place, so you’ll have to melee or backstab. Kill the cheating clown, interact with the terminal to get some dialogue from V, and then head back to Chuckles.

Finish the game of Russian roulette

When you talk to Chuckles again, select “Accept the challenge.” This time, you can no longer choose who will shoot the gun; your only option is “I’ll pull the trigger.” Take out Chuckles the Cheater, and your reward will be a Voodoo Doll Deviant. Once that’s captured, you’ll get teleported back to the Junkyard, where all the soldiers will have respawned, so be ready. Now, back to your regular routine of whacking Once Human’s mutants and going fishing.