Turnip Boy Robs a Bank - Review

The son of the Don of the Turnipchino family is back for more financial crime. Not only has he successfully committed tax evasion, but now the God Vegetable, civil war inciting Turnip Boy is going to rob a bank!

It has been a few short years since we were introduced to the whacky, comedic, and colourful world of Turnip Boy. Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is the direct sequel to Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, taking place only two days after the events of the first game. Since you successfully took down the God Vegetable Mayor Onion, a civil war broke out, and ravaged the vegetable world. Now Turnip Boy must do the only thing he knows how. Commit crime. Alongside your own father’s sworn blood rival Dilitini, you must help him carry out one last job and rob the botanical bank.

A lot can be said for the humour of Turnip Boy. The first game made a lot of references to memes and jokes that people had come to enjoy and experience over the last decade or so. The poignancy of the comedy made up for what in turned to be a rather short experience, that was hiding a much darker overall theme of lost civilisation and nuclear fallout. Turnip Boy Robs a Bank in turn looks at the here and now. A comedic focus based on the ludicrous nature of the modern-day millennial and Gen Z culture, a boss that tries to keep you engaged with soap and slime videos mid-fight, as well as a radically different style of gameplay to the first. Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is a title that has grown with its audience.

The gameplay difference will be the first thing that really stands out here. Instead of a baby’s first Zelda experience as we saw in Tax Evasion, we get a much more baby’s first bullet hell roguelite experience instead. In the first game you progress by finding new weapons, slowly upgrading through environmental exploration and puzzle solving. In this one you’ll find weapons in the environment to take back to your base to scrap, collect money to spend on permanent upgrades and special items from the dark web. There is a strong focus on the roguelite elements of the title. You’ll go in, kill enemies until you max out your money, explore the randomised rooms that spawn through the elevators, and maybe complete some side quests along the way for an array of hats. The change in gameplay is nice, but as a result some of the whimsicality of Turnip Boy is lost for the sake of fitting an idea.

Which is unfortunately the tale of the tape for most of Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. A lot of what made the first game so enjoyable was the environmental storytelling, the zany and hilarious interactions with the various NPCS, the exploration and puzzle solving. There was something pleasant about the whole theme of the first game, that it made the darker underside that wasn’t so clear, and wasn’t so funny, more poignant. Turnip Boy Robs a Bank still maintains some of that comedic interaction, but because of the gameplay choice loses a lot of the additional aspects that gave the Turnip his identity. There are environmental interactions, and all the favourite characters from the first game are back. Yet you could very easily go through the entirety of the game, only ever interacting with Dilitini and Avocado at your base, and never be worse off for it.

There is absolutely no reason not to interact with the other characters and get to hear their jokes, their references to being very old at seven days of age, or to get your side quests completed for the array of whacky hats. There are flashes of what made the first game great here, and don’t get it mixed up. This is still a great game, with fantastic humour and gameplay. Just the choices made on what to change between the two titles, has resulted in an experience that may come across lesser for those who were more interested in the world, the humour, and the comedic timing of the first title. Turnip Boy Robs a Bank has a much deeper emphasis on the Roguelite gameplay loop, and as a result loses some of that strength in pacing and story that it could have had, had it maintained the Zelda-like design.

But Turnip Boy does have a gun now, so maybe I shouldn’t be so critical of the gun-toting, tax evading, bank robbing crazy little turnip. The boss and enemy design is where this game will stand up on its own two legs quite proudly. Each section has its own unique boss, with a unique set of mechanics and features. Without spoiling any of them, you can expect something unique and unexpected with each area you step into, and an array of enemies that will keep you on your toes. The game is short enough of an experience that the variety on offer will keep fresh throughout the game. The final stretch requiring you to beat all the bosses and then complete another section, in one shot, without dying will likely prove to be the part that takes the longest. Of the four hours I took to complete the game 100 per cent, close to forty-five minutes of that was spent in just the final chapter section alone.

The money collecting also sort of becomes irrelevant in the final stretch of the game. You’ll start making millions of dollars with minimal effort, but by this point you’ll have purchased all the upgrades, and there doesn’t appear to be any other reason for the currency anymore, other than the flex of having a ton of money. Which may be enough reason in of itself. Innate competitions between friends, or for screenshots. A lot of it seems to be for the case of self-gratification at the point where everything is maxed out.

Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is a game that on its own stands up incredibly well. For those who haven’t played the previous entry, there is a likelihood they will enjoy this game moreover, as they haven’t got the expectations that fans of the series will now have. The game is a fun approximately four-hour experience, with a solid amount of the Turnip Boy style humour we have come to enjoy. The rogue-lite elements are approachable, and for those who are not very good with the Enter the Gungeon and Binding of Isaac style of games, this is a far more accessible entry title. Fundamentally enjoyable, there is a sort of lost charm with the design choices, as it hamstrings the ability to effectively put across the zany interactions that the first title brought to us. The gun-toting, sword swinging, soul reaping Turnip Boy continues to commit crimes, and bring joy to us whilst he does so.

The Score

8.0

Review code provided by Graffiti Games

The Pros

Incredibly witty

Difficulty curve is very approachable.

Gameplay is very smooth.

The Cons

Very short experience

Not enough variety in the random rooms

Inherent lack of need to interact with other characters