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Gadgets and Secrets

By ScotPublished Updated Sources checked

Tactical Quick Answer

Gadgets are permanent gameplay modifiers you toggle on or off at the Gadget Rack in your basecamp, with no limit on how many you run at once. There are eleven. Only one comes from digging: the rest are NPC sidequests, secret areas, or a reward for beating the game. The Museum's World section tracks which stages still hold secrets you have not collected.

Gadgets are permanent gameplay modifiers. Once you unlock them, you can turn them on or off at the Gadget Rack in your basecamp. There is no cap on how many you can have active at once, so once a gadget is unlocked there is rarely a reason to switch it off. Superbot is the exception, since it carries mandatory gadgets you cannot disable.

The Shovel​

The Shovel reads like an early pickup and is nothing of the kind. It is a unique weapon sitting in the Excavation Site, the Quarry's secret area, which means it sits behind the whole Ruins into Fields into Quarry key chain. Once you have found it, it spawns at the start of every run in the Canyons spawn area alongside the Fox Gun and Buddybot.

What it digs are star-shaped holes in the ground, not shiny patches. The Canyons has three guaranteed ones. Two normally hold a weapon and one an item, and once you have taken the Explorer Slippers out of them only weapons and items remain.

Only one gadget in the game comes from digging.

Gadget Unlock List​

All eleven gadgets, and how to get each one.

GadgetEffectLocation and Unlock Requirement
Explorer SlippersReduces acid pool damage by 35%.Canyons: Dig a star-shaped hole with the Shovel in the first half of the Canyons.
RollerWhile riding a rail and for 6 seconds after, increases movement speed by 12%.Canyons: Give 5 Data-Logs to Papy Pawn in the break area.
Metal DetectorDisplays Data-Logs you have not found yet on your map.Canyons: Papy Pawn's second request. Bring him a further 35 Data-Logs.
Pogo StickHold Crouch to load, jump to perform a mega jump of roughly 12 meters.Quarry: Hug "Lil Bot", the sad baby robot on the girders above the corrupted challenge area.
Hero CapePress Crouch in the air to stomp for 25 damage, scaling up to +300% with the distance you fell.Aqua Station: Melt the ice block in the first safe area with any Burn damage. Alfred Beauregard does not survive the thaw, but you get the cape.
Business BriefcaseGain 1 Powercell when leveling up.Ruins: Give a Powercell to Wallstreet Slim at the spawn area, once per run, across 3 to 4 different runs.
Battery BurgerRestores 0.5% health for every Powercell spent.Oasis: Give the Swim Trunks to Johnny Waterfall in the Hidden Sanctuary behind the waterfall. The Trunks are behind Smithing TED's door, which only opens while you are holding the Buddybot.
Cooking GlovesReduces Chef Paul's upgrade and affix-reroll costs by 1, for weapons whose card you own.Fields: Show Snapshot Sam a Blunderbuzz, a Junk Rifle, and a Sheriff's Carbine. Progress carries across runs.
JetpackHold Jump in mid-air to fly.Haven City: Give Randy's Nose to Randy Marshmallow in the Cinema. Entry needs the Red Ticket from The Pit, and the Nose is in the Fusion Core checkpoint past an obstacle course.
Grappling HookPress Interact to pull toward terrain or an enemy, dealing 20 damage with high impact.Haven City: In the Botcave, the orange secret area, which only opens once you hold all 6 Power Crystals.
SunglassesPlus 30% damage dealt, minus 25% health.The Moon: Beat IRIS and finish the game once, on any difficulty.

Two of these are worth chasing out of order. The Grappling Hook and Hero Cape are both prerequisites for the Superbot unlock, so if that is your goal, do the Power Crystals and the Aqua Station ice block before anything else.

The Museum​

The Museum in your basecamp tracks far more than gadgets. It has sections for weapons, enemies, items, gadgets, cutscenes, data logs, secrets, and per-stage completion, under the names Arsenal, Robo-Zoo, Bazaar, Cinemax, Story, World, and Profile.

World is the section that helps when you are hunting secrets. It tracks each stage on two questions: have you completed it, and have you found every Data Log and secret in it. Gadgets themselves are cataloged under Bazaar and not World.

Completing the whole Museum earns Gotta Catch' Em All, the rarest achievement in the game at 2.3%. The reason it is so rare is the Arsenal section: each weapon card needs 230 kills with that weapon, or 10 Wrenches paid to Leonardo Brushido.

Frequently Asked Questions​

How many gadgets are in Roboquest?

Eleven, and you can have all of them active at once because there is no gadget limit. Only the Explorer Slippers come from digging. The rest are NPC sidequests, secret areas, or the Sunglasses for beating the game.

How do you get the Shovel in Roboquest?

It is a unique weapon in the Excavation Site, the Quarry's secret area, so it sits behind the full Ruins into Fields into Quarry key chain. Once found it spawns at the start of every run in the Canyons. It digs star-shaped holes, and the Canyons has three guaranteed ones.

Where do you find the Jetpack in Roboquest?

It is a quest reward in Haven City, not a pickup. Give Randy's Nose to Randy Marshmallow in the Cinema. Getting in needs the Red Ticket from The Pit, and the Nose itself is in the Fusion Core checkpoint past an obstacle course.

How do you unlock the Hero Cape?

Melt the ice block in the first Aqua Station safe area with any Burn damage, from a gun or an ability. Alfred Beauregard does not survive the thaw, but you get the cape, which lets you crouch in mid-air to stomp for damage that scales with how far you fell.

How do you find out which gadget you are missing?

Open the Museum in your basecamp. The World section tracks each stage on whether you have completed it and whether you have found every Data Log and secret in it. Gadgets themselves are catalogued under Bazaar.