Welcome to the ultimate 100% completion guide for ‘Cleo – a pirate’s tale’! This walkthrough includes all Steam achievements and is written in a simple and straightforward manner, without any spoilers. While there are other walkthroughs available, this guide will focus solely on completing the main story and achievements. Please note, if you do not want to see spoilers, this guide may not be for you. Additionally, this guide should also be valid for the Nintendo Switch version, although I do not have access to it. Let’s set sail and conquer this game together!
FORWARD
This is a full 100% completion gameplay walkthrough including all Steam achievements for the game ‘Cleo – a pirates tale’. Granted there are other video format and hint based non-spoiler walkthroughs – differentiate my guide each step is written to be as simple and straight to the point as possible. There are many other things to interact with in each area that offer up worldbuilding context, flavor and jokes. I will not be going over anything that isn’t directly related to moving to the next step of story completion and I implore you to take the game openly and leisurely for the full experience.
!IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO SEE SPOILERS PLEASE USE A DIFFERENT GUIDE!
This guide will also point out each and every achievement for the Steam version of the game. I do not have access to a GoG version however I imagine the achievements are the same. That goes with saying, this walkthrough should also be valid for the Nintendo Switch version, though I do not have access to it either, nor do I think Nintendo has achievements either?
What is Cleo?
‘Cleo – a pirates tale’ is a roughly 4-5 hour long narrative point and click adventure game that released in 2021 from the German solo developer Christoph Schultz. It’s a lighthearted storybook full of beautiful pixel artwork, mesmerizing soundtracks and some great voice acting inbetween puzzles. A real love letter to Monkey Island. I highly recommend playing through it for the first time blindly without using a guide. I’m putting this together for people who are absolutely stumped in the puzzles or seeking to replay the game for achievements.
Who Am I
I’m Scurvy Banana and I do this youtube channel (and steam guides) so I can talk about games that have pirates in them. Feel free to check out my other content such as the Peachleaf Pirates main story walkthrough or the beginners guide to Sea Dogs or maybe an opinion piece on my thoughts like in A King of Seas Review. If you like it you can go ahead and do the whole like comment subscribe thing. Thanks.
INTRO
Use the shovel to dig into three dirt spots.
Use the sword to kill the skeletons that crawl out of the ground.
[ACHIEVEMENT – THE LAWNMOWER MAN] – Use the sword to cut down all the grass tufts in this area. Some are a bit hidden in the artwork and shadows.
An untouched dirt spot will glint. Dig it up to get the kalimba.
[ACHIEVEMENT – LEITMOTIF] – You are currently controlling Captain Cabeca. Play the notes to spell out his name “C-A-B-E-C-A.”
Open your map and correlate the burn holes with their prospective numbers and letters to understand what to play on the kalimba. After putting this together you should have the order 1C 2E 3A 4B 5E – so play CEABE.
After the door opens grab the will o’ wisp.
CHAPTER ONE
This chapter is separated by three scenes.
-BAR SCENE
Take the first rum bottle off the counter and serve it to Butthair Pete.
Take the second rum bottle outside of the bar to Granny Gabble.
When you return inside you’ll be prompted to visit the kitchen and work.
In the kitchen you’ll need to grab fish from the big pile and hand them off to Hatchet Herbert. This will need to be repeated several times while Cleo and Hatchet Herbert converse.
Herbert cuts into a fish that contains a dead mans hand clutching a book and leaves the room.
[ACHIEVEMENT – DUTIFUL] – After the chef walks off grab another fish from the pile.
Interacting with the book-hand on the cutting board table will prompt a puzzle to “unlock” the hand from the book by pressing different fingers. The ligaments seem to be in working order because touching one finger will trigger others to move as well.
[ACHIEVEMENT – KNICK KNACK] – Unlock the book with the minimal amount of steps. Its two. Pinky finger and then ring finger. (Fingers 5 and then 4)
Interact with the blood on the wall.
-BOAT SCENE
Go below deck and chat with Erik about learning to play Kraken Fodder.
Go above deck and talk to Knot Joe at the bow of the ship – he’ll let you borrow his Kraken Fodder set if you know a thing or two about knots.
Knot Joe will ask you who invented a certain knot and then he’ll make a statement like “an immortal hamster with a ukulele.”
Choose the “Let me think about that…” option but remember his description.
Go below deck and ask Erik about knots – he’ll get mad and say Joe talks about them to himself in the cargo hold.
Go all the way left behind the stairs, the cargo hold is locked.
Return above deck to Butthair Pete and get the cargo hold keys.
On your way back to the cargo hold, below deck check The Knotfather poster. Grab the round paper that is hidden behind it.
Use the key to unlock the cargo hold.
In the cargo hold use the tab button to put the round paper on the barrel.
In accordance with whatever description Joe gave you line up the outer barrel rim image with the image on the paper.
In the example I gave “an immortal hamster with a ukulele” the image on the rim (hamster) will need to line up on the paper with what it has (a ukulele) and the adjective at the beginning of his statement (immortal) will have a slot above for the correct name.
Tell Joe the name and he’ll give you the Kraken Fodder set.
Return to Erik and learn to play cards.
(SAVE HERE)
[ACHIEVEMENTS – AMBITIOUS/NATURAL BORN KRAKEN FODDERER]
These two achievements cannot be completed during the same run of the game, so if you’d like to knock them both out in one sitting save your game before playing cards. Keep in mind further achievements require you to win every Kraken Fodder match (three matches in total) on your very FIRST try. You can get around restarting the whole game by making sure the gamesave you continue is after completion of [NATURAL BORN KRAKEN FODDERER] while continuing a save after [AMBITIOUS] will require a full game restart to unlock the rest of these card game chieves.
[AMBITIOUS – Lose the match to Erik and ask to play again.]
[NATURAL BORN KRAKEN FODDERER – Beat Erik on your very first try.]
Retrieve tools from the shelf on deck for Erik. Go below deck and then back up. Finally go to the empty side of the boat.
-ISLAND SCENE
Talk to the siren and gather the 19 Folo Flower Blossoms around the area.
On the furthest right side of the island (after the swamp) there is a section of water and another area of land. A darker portion of water looks like a crossing but its actually shrimp.
The shrimp give you a broken hairpin which you will use on a dresser at the beach to the south. Take the socks and Malthe’s Cocktail Bible.
Use the socks on the clothes line to distract the crab in order for you to steal the tights.
From the left of here make your way down the rock pathway onto Malthe’s boat. When he is done talking pick up the jawbreaker he spit on the ground.
Directly north of the beach camp with laundry there is a small outcropping of rocks that leads to a forked tree branch. Use the tights and jawbreaker here to blast the beaver.
Return to the shrimp to cross the water.
Before picking anymore flowers grab the wooden leg from the beaver dam.
(SAVE HERE)
[ACHIEVEMENTS – ONLY THE BARE NECESSITIES/PERFECTIONIST]
These two achievements cannot be completed during the same run of the game, which is why we saved. After achieving one you can go ahead and reload to do the other.
[ONLY THE BARE NECESSITIES – Gather ONLY the exact 20 Folo Flower Blossoms asked by the siren.]
[PERFECTIONIST – Gather EVERY Folo Flower Blossom on the island for the siren. This should be a total of 56.]
While heading back to the siren stop at the cup and straw in the middle of the swamp. It’ll bring up a swamp monster who wishes for a mustache.
Bring the flowers to the siren and her pool will drain.
[ACHIEVEMENT – SCARED OF THE DARK] – Go into the newly revealed cave and then immediately walk back out again. Going too far into the room will cause it to become lit up, you must enter/exit while it is still dark.
Chat with the great Jichomilele and take the parrot.
Collect the tomato growing on the side of her bookshelf as well.
Go back to Malthe’s ship and use the wooden leg to fix the CocktHAL 8000 machine.
Check the Cocktail Bible book to see that you can craft the ‘Michael Hair Jordan’ cocktail for someone that wants facial hair.
Cocktail Recipe – BASE: Whisky MODIFIER: Testos Tomato FLAVOR: coconut milk
Take the cocktail to the swamp monster and collect his disregarded cocoon.
Give the cocoon to Malthe for use as a sail.
CHAPTER TWO
This chapter has a very large map and you will freely travel between islands. This section also has a large bulk of achievements based around the map traveling and fishing mechanic.
-PALM ISLAND
Talk to Ingo in the information hut. He gives you a fishing pole, bait, and a full map of the islands.
Take a hard left after exiting the dock and collect the sunscreen from the sunbathing woman.
Go into the hotel and steal some of the corks located on the left side of the staircase.
Exit the hotel and head north into the cemetery. Take one of the lemons growing from Benny Badbreath’s grave.
Head back to the ship and talk to Malthe to sail to a different area.
-Long Achievement Intermission
[ACHIEVEMENTS – GOODFISHING/LETTER OPENER BRONZE/SILVER/GOLD/PLATINUM]
Fishing uses a combination of line colors and bait. Using certain bait and line colors within different map quadrants will result in fishing up different things.
The GOODFISHING achievements require you to fish a grand total of 100 times, which will happen almost naturally while hunting the LETTER OPENER achieves.
bronze:fish 25 times
silver:fish 50 times
gold: fish 100 times
The LETTER OPENER achievements require you to fish up 64 different ‘message in a bottle.’ These are all notes written by kickstarter backers. In order to fish up the messages in bottles you’ll use the starter bait as well as the green fish bait. To start I suggest fishing up the required 27 green fish before following the onscreen guide to map location as well as line and bait combination. *WARNING* you MUST read the messages and not discard the bottles
bronze: read 1 message in a bottle
silver: read 10 message in a bottle
gold: read 25 message in a bottle
platinum: read 64 message in a bottle
[ACHIEVEMENT – GLOBETROTTER] – Visit every single section of the map. You’ll visit nearly all of them while attempting LETTER OPENER so might as knockout this achieve in the process.
-Post Intermission
Visit one of the mushroom islands and cork up the holes. The related mushrooms on the other mushroom island will now be unable to run away. Pick the mushrooms.
Return to Palm Island. And talk to Fleur who is rummaging through books and papers at her table in the back of the hotel lobby.
Return to the ship and craft up a Risky on the Docks cocktail to entice Fleur into playing cards with you.
Cocktail Recipe – BASE: Tequila MODIFIER:Sherbet Powder FLAVOR: Lemon
(SAVE HERE)
Feed Fleur the cocktail and then show her your souvenir mushrooms to wager her Atilantis ticket.
[ACHIEVEMENT – MERCILESS] Win the game of Kraken Fodder with Fleur on your first try. Reload and try again upon failure.
Visit Atilantis with your new ticket.
Use the table in the back for directions to the Sushi Restaurant.
Take the loose thread from the golden cape.
Tickle the mummy for a piece of its thin paper wrap.
Talk to Atila about borrowing the will o’ wisp.
Go north to Sushi Madness and talk with the owner. He makes a deal, if Cleo brings him a gold tooth piranha he’ll give us something rare that we can give to Atila for the wisp.
Take the pencils off the children’s table to the left of the restaurant.
Retrieve the crab claw from the bucket in the window.
Back to Palm Island.
Go to the lighthouse.
[ACHIEVEMENT – CLUMSY] – Go up and down the lighthouse stairs until you fall down it two times.
At the top of the lighthouse use the greasy leftover sunbather’s lotion and then the crab claw to reposition the light.
Return to the sunbather and let her know she is BURNT.
Take the room card she drops.
Into the hotel to check the card information with that in the guestbook. I believe this is randomized per playthrough but the card will give a room number, example room 16 of Hearts, as well as a three number check digit. The guestbook will supply a name to go along with the room number.
Once you’ve gotten your information straight enter the exhibition room, firstly telling the correct info to the receptionist.
Use the thin mummy paper and the children’s colored pencils on the fishing chart.
Interact with all the museum exhibits before you leave. Don’t forget the eels!
The gold tooth piranha has multiple paths to catch as shown on the chart. Should be pretty straightforward – letter and number is map quadrant, fish is bait, color of line is color of fishing line… (The yellow line is the thread we took from the golden cape in Atilantis if you missed it.)
I went the route of;
F3 – normal bait – blue line
A4 – green fish – yellow line
I4 – purple fish – green line
F3 – blue fish – yellow line
Turn in the gold tooth piranha to the Sushi Madness Owner and he’ll reveal himself as the legendary Cutting Board Pitt.
Go back to Atilantis and trade the ultra rare Cutting Board for the now less rare will o’ wisp.
Get back on your ship and use the wisp to light through the fog on the way to Pambo Island.
CHAPTER THREE
This is a relatively short section that takes place predominantly on Pambo Island with the exception of cinematics.
After lengthy dialogue with Avery it starts to rain.
Use the empty coconut half with the stream of water leaking down the cliffside next to the cave entrance.
Craft a Coffee 2 Know cocktail for yourself and consume it at the top of the hill.
Recipe BASE: Mead MODIFIER: Rainwater FLAVOR: Coffee
You’ll be in a pitch black room walking around in your thoughts. The correct answers will light up with a ring of color. Remember the correct answers for the next upcoming achievement.
After waking up a lightning strike will scorch the tree. Collect the flaming root-branch off to the bottom right side.
Enter the cave with the flaming stick as a torch.
Collect the shovel and the golden coin.
[ACHIEVEMENT – NAMASTE] – During the second coffee meditation touch ONLY the correct thoughts. If you do not remember them they go in order of;
portrait – coffin – pambo island – avery allwick – gold coin – atila
After waking up talk to Avery about your epiphany.
Ask Malthe to sail us out – he can’t without a light.
Use the shovel to dig up the worm. While it is in your inventory the worm will eat the leftover glowing mushrooms.
Feed the rest of the worms the glowing mushroom and then dig them up.
Feed the shoal of fish under Avery the glowing worms.
Ta-dah! You can sail out of the fog.
Back at Atilantis the console requires a code. The ticket says the exhibition was established in 1652, try that number.
Take the Kraken Fodder set.
CHAPTER FOUR
This is the final chapter of the game. You’ll reunite with a couple ol’ pals and hopefully get revenge. Maybe shed a tear when the credits roll at the very end.
Go left and chat with Archibald before getting booted out of the admin building.
(SAVE HERE)
[ACHIEVEMENTS- KRAKEN FODDER GOD/KRAKEN FODDER VETERAN]
If you’ve done it right you should pull both these chieves at the same time.
KRAKEN FODDER GOD – Win all Kraken Fodder matches on the FIRST try.
Kraken Fodder Veteran – Win a Kraken Fodder game against Erik, Fleur and Schmodor.
Beat Schmodor at card games.
Enter Teddy’s Bar and try to talk with everyone in the bar.
After chatting up everyone the room extends showing Captain Cabeca at the back. Go talk to him.
The halo glows so you must return to the administration building.
After the shrimp rescue you go to the hotel lobby and take the ashes in the wall fireplace on the right side of the staircase.
Exit the hotel and go dig up Britta’s grave for her liquor at the far north of the cemetery.
At the publishing building outside the lighthouse talk with Avery.
Interact with the ink barrel and dunk your personal journal into it. This is the only time the game prompts you to use something like the journal as a puzzle item, I believe you press the tab key while it is selected and you’re looking at the ink.
Go down the steps to the fishing spot and find the ruined drink robot.
Craft a Near Death on the Beach cocktail for yourself.
Recipe BASE: Herbal liqueur MODIFIER: Cold Ashes FLAVOR: A personal Sacrifice (your inked up diary)
After returning to the Administration room of the dead head left.
Investigate the paper sticking out of the drawer nearest the door. It’s Apeonso’s file. Take the paperclip at the top of his page but also remember his ID number is 1365.
[ACHIEVEMENT – MASOCHIST] – Put the paperclip into the junction box on the table to shock yourself. Now do it 20 more times.
Using the paperclip on the junction box nearest the door prompts the old lady to bring out a protocol book.
While her back is turned move over to her desk and check out the weird keypad – Cleo seems to be missing some numbers.
We’ll try again, using the junction box by the door. This time ALSO use the junction box on her desk while the book is out.
After she moves the book and beats the shredder into working order crawl over to her desk and read the book.
It shows instructions to ACTIVATE HALO. Three weird symbols and then a 4 digit ID number.
The strange symbols correlate to numbers on the weird numpad shes got.
Make her turn her back again and then enter the three symbols followed by Apeonso’s ID number from the file.
If you are having trouble remember any of this the full numbers are 7141365.
FINAL CUTSCENE CONGRATS YOU DID IT
[ACHIEVEMENT – THE LISTENER] Complete the game.
Reflect on a phenomenal gaming experience as the credits roll.
Maybe thumbs up this guide.
Or like the video.
Or write a positive review for the game.
🙂
And that wraps up our share on Cleo – a pirate’s tale: 100% Completion Walkthrough (text and video). If you have any additional insights or tips to contribute, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below. For a more in-depth read, you can refer to the original article here by Scurvy Banana, who deserves all the credit. Happy gaming!