About a year ago, I stumbled upon Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion on a Switch eShop sale and decided to pick it up, curious about its offbeat name and seeing it available everywhere. I ended up playing Tax Evasion right away, and found myself enjoying its silly nature, but bored with its story and puzzles. Since then, I have become an avid indie gamer.
When its sequel, Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, launched on Xbox Game Pass, I gave it a shot, excited to see what developer Snoozy Kazoo has been up to. I have already played it twice and fully completed everything this short and zany adventure has to offer. I may have found one of my favorite games of 2024, and it’s only February.
A Familiar Look but Different Feel
In 2021’s Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, you play as Turnip Boy, a turnip who lives in the town of Veggieville with food-folk villagers. After failing to pay taxes to Mayor Onion, Turnip Boy faces eviction, and must commit an assortment of crimes to get his home back. In Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, the story continues as Turnip Boy has been tasked with his biggest crime yet: robbing Botanical Bank.
Unlike Tax Evasion, Robs a Bank is an action roguelite, tasking the player with rummaging through the bank, collecting loot, killing enemies, and performing fetch quests. During each bank run, you have limited time to perform each task, all of which will help you commit the final heist of taking Botanical Bank from a garlic named Stinky.
After completing a bank run, you end up back at the warehouse where you started, alongside your team who will advance your weapons, sell you goods, and help you navigate the Dark Web to purchase items needed for various fetch quests. If you end up dying on a run, however, you end up back at the warehouse and lose any weapons you’ve gathered and half the money you’ve stolen.
Use Turnip Boy’s Phone to Your Advantage
In this sequel, Turnip Boy now has a phone, and it’s an invaluable resource to help you keep track of progress and complete your tasks. On his phone, you can view unfinished quests, collect arcade-like songs, put on a new hat, utilize settings, and more. There’s also a load of new accessibility features designed to make the game playable for all. For example, there’s a God Mode which, when turned on, prevents Turnip Boy from taking damage. Or if you like a challenge, the settings also offer a meter to customize the amount of damage you can take.
Having advanced accessibility options is a great resource for gamers of all skill levels and even for those who like to speedrun. I especially appreciated God Mode for my second playthrough, when I didn’t want to challenge myself to the same bosses I already beat in my first run. You can tell how much thought the developers put into making the game accessible to the masses, and can feel the love for Turnip Boy.
The Weaponry Is Wacky, Fun, and Effective
As you progress, you collect an array of weapons with various abilities. You may have a fish that slaps (literally), a musical shell with killer notes, or a flower bomber; all designed to wipe out any enemy you face. During bank runs, you must collect these weapons and bring them back to the warehouse to recycle. With that, you’ll level up and own more advanced weapons created by your fellow bandits.
With these weapons and the ones that you find around the bank, Turnip Boy can take down enemies like peach cops, snail security guards, and a pepper SWAT team. Some weapons are better at taking down certain enemies than others, and you’ll certainly find a favorite one by the end. My favorite is the Grenade Launcher because it’s easy to aim and kills enemies quickly.
While Turnip Boy wasn’t nearly as violent in Tax Evasion than he is in Robs a Bank, that’s what spices up the game this time. Do you think your friends would believe you if you mentioned you’re playing a game as a turnip who owns an assault rifle? It’s that quirky and wonderfully weird. And that’s what Snoozy Kazoo does right in the Turnip Boy franchise: they make crazy, quality games that players love.
An Improved Sequel
As someone who thought Tax Evasion was just okay, I really loved Robs a Bank. The game feels improved in every way. I love the change up from the action-adventure genre to an action roguelite.
Despite not being a fan of Tax Evasion prior to Robs a Bank, I’ve since hopped back into the 2021 indie hit and have a newfound appreciation for its original story and cutesy pixel art style. Initially, while playing Tax Evasion, I wasn’t fond of the Zelda-inspired top-down open world (likely due to inexperience).
In Robs a Bank, all I had to navigate was Botanical Bank, a much easier ask for a less adventurous player like me. While running in and out of the bank may feel tedious for those who love to explore, I liked the fact that I knew the place well, and felt more confident in my interactions with foodfolk. This is my first time playing through an entire roguelite, and my experience with Robs a Bank has me confident in trying other popular games in the genre like Hades and Slay the Spire.
Final Thoughts
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank was an absolute joy to play, and I’m thankful it made its way to Xbox Game Pass. It runs incredibly well, aside from some minor lagging during a boss fight. The game may only be on a few platforms right now, but if it’s anything like its predecessor, it will be on nearly every device soon enough. My total playtime was around five hours each session, with the second time reaching 100% completion.
If you’re a completionist, however, keep in mind that some players have experienced bugs in the system. For example, some couldn’t collect all the hats or finish the final boss. However, Snoozy Kazoo is already working on bug fixes for each platform, with many already fixed.
It seems safe to say that if you enjoyed Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, you’ll enjoy Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. Or, like me, you may even like its sequel much more than the original, due to its genre change-up and updated gameplay mechanics. I had an amazing time playing Turnip Boy Robs a Bank and it is likely to end up on my 2024 Game of The Year list in December. Heck, I may even play it a few more times by then.
Rating: 9.8/10
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank launched on January 18, 2024, developed by Snoozy Kazoo and published by Graffiti Games. It is currently available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox X/S, Xbox One, and PC, with a MSRP of $14.99. It is also available on Game Pass.
Have you played Turnip Boy Robs a Bank yet? If not, do you plan on pick it up? Let us know in the comments below.
