Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

Developer: Snoozy Kazoo | Publisher: Graffiti Games | Release Date: 2021 | Genre: Action / Adventure / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Picture this: after failing to pay property taxes, Mayor Onion evicts Turnip Boy from his greenhouse. But that’s not all. In a twist of fate, the mayor decides that until the taxes are paid off, Turnip Boy must perform menial tasks for him. And so begins a single-player adventure set in Veggieville, a seemingly post-apocalyptic world where vegetables have risen to dominance but still face threats from enemies like snails and other vegetarians. This unique setting sets the stage for a quirky and engaging gameplay experience.   

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a top-down adventure title that shares more than a passing resemblance to Gameboy Color classics like Links Awakening. As Turnip Boy, players get to run around an overworld while talking to NPCs and hacking away at enemies before venturing into dungeons for some puzzles and boss battles. There are no stats to worry about, no experience to earn, and no grinding needed to advance. Instead, players are given instructions by Mayor Onion to fetch something silly like a fork or a laser pointer and return it to him. Along the way, Turnip Boy can acquire items or abilities that will help open up new areas. The game world is not that big, though, and even without a map, it’s almost impossible to get stuck or lost. Handy signposts are scattered everywhere, so players always know which direction to head, and it’s always very obvious where new items or abilities are needed to proceed. 

In addition to a penchant for ripping up every piece of paper he finds, Turnip Boy also has no qualms about murder, vandalism, and property theft. For such an innocent and happy-go-lucky-looking vegetable, Turnip Boy will happily kill a snail for not paying its rent, steal a watering can from an old lemon, and tear up a love letter in front of its author. As should be evident from the title, this game doesn’t take itself very seriously and is filled to the brim with memes and pop culture references. Some of these are laugh-out-loud funny, but how well they will age remains to be seen. 

Visually, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion looks like a high-definition Gameboy Color game with beautiful pixel art graphics and vibrant colors. Turnip Boys’ adventures will take him through Veggieville, a forest, farmhouse, barn, graveyard, and more. Each of these is populated with fellow vegetables as well as enemies like worms, sheep, mutated animals, and candy. Speaking to NPCs also shows neat close-up portraits of their faces, and each boss comes with their own little introduction animation. Turnip Boy is already a very endearing protagonist, but players can also find and equip a variety of hats. These are all purely cosmetic but are charming, to say the least. The character animations in the game are all pretty basic, but this doesn’t detract from the experience at all.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion delivers in the audio department with a soundtrack featuring a whole range of different genres. Every area in the game has its own tune, and there’s even a song with vocals after completing it. The sound effects are passable, although we are not fans of the burping sound that accompanies every health pick-up. As is typical for small indie titles, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion does not feature any voice acting. Most conversations in the game are short and text only, but Turnip Boy never utters a word or says anything. Other characters still react like he does, though, which is pretty funny.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion can be played with a keyboard or controller but does not support a mouse. Combat is hack-and-slash, and Turnip Boy has only one primary attack. In addition to hitting enemies, Turnip Boy can use his sword to cut through plants blocking his way. Instead of a dodge, Turnip Boy has a “trip” button that functions similarly and is helpful for some of the faster bosses. Finally, a “use” button activates whatever secondary item Turnip Boy has equipped. Players can open their inventory to select the items to equip or cycle through them with a button. These range from a watering can that can make certain plants grow to an item that can create portals between which Turnip Boy can warp. The growable items include boombloom plants that can be used to blow up rocks and blocked doorways, as well as watermelons that can be used to plug gaps in the floor. The combination of portals and bombs, as well as being able to set fire to certain things, make up most of the puzzles in the game. Boss battles tend to be straightforward, and all of them can be killed by dodging and attacking, but a few die quicker if players use the environment to deal extra damage to them. If players die, they are taken back to a nearby checkpoint, but dying during a boss battle means having to sit through their entire intro animation again.

As fun as Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is, it’s worth mentioning that it is a very short experience. The main story should last most players only about two hours, and even returning to get all the achievements won’t add too much playtime. Finding and ripping up all the documents in the game will reveal the true final boss and a different ending, and there’s even a timer that can be toggled for players who want to speedrun the game. After the game’s release, the developers added some additional hats, but the most significant update is “Sunset Station.” This adds a “Limitless Line” mode for players who have completed the game and offers a roguelike experience like The Binding of Isaac, where players fight through rooms of enemies and bosses. After each boss, players get to choose from three different trinkets to help improve their odds of victory. These include items that have a chance to set enemies on fire with every hit, increased speed, longer tripping distance, and more. As players progress further in this mode, they will also encounter elite enemies that are bigger, more resilient, or poisonous versions of regular enemies and bosses. Limitless Line is fun for a few rounds, but the only rewards are tickets that can be spent on even more hats.  

Overall, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a charming and lighthearted game with some dark undertones lurking beneath its colorful exterior. The short length and abundance of fetch quests will turn away some players, but the irreverent sense of humor kept us coming back for more.