Quick Review: Turnip Boy Robs A Bank

The continuing adventures of budding criminal Turnip Boy!

"Is it for a deposit?"
*cocks firearm* "No, it's for a withdrawal."

Developed by Snoozy Kazoo, published by Graffiti Games and released on January 18th, 2024, Turnip Boy Robs A Bank is a direct continuation of Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, which I already reviewed! Very shortly after the crazy events of the previous game, Turnip Boy gets hired by a criminal pickle to assist in the biggest heist in the history of this world of sentient foods: Steal the Motherlode from Stinky Onion’s Botanical Bank!

This new game plays similarly to its predecessor: You run around with the arrows, and aim and attack with the mouse. Turnip Boy can also trip to go safely through lasers. You beat up enemies with a sword and a firearm, explore the surroundings and progress through the bank’s rooms.

Tripping through lasers. What a graceful veggie.

We’re trading the Legend of Zelda-inspired gameplay of the previous entry for a roguelite. Only one dungeon, but there’s a catch: After a few minutes have passed, Stinky will call waves of cops that get more and more dangerous, so you must dash back to the truck you broke into the bank with. As a result, you can only get so far each time you enter.

Oh yeah, the black turnip that's crying blood?
Very trustworthy. Nothing to report here.

This roguelite is more narratively driven than average for the genre. The map is always the same, and you will go through the main plot beats in the same order. Sometimes, you’ll encounter a roadblock, forcing you to return to home base and buy something there on the “dark web” (C4, a pickaxe, a... body pillow?) that will deal with the hindrance. Those items, in turn, require money, so you're encouraged to go through the bank over and over and steal valuable stuff. Another shop in the lair lets you buy upgrades of various types; greater attack power, quicker reload, extra health, etc.

What's a roguelite without a bonus room
that doubles as a coliseum?

That said, the game does dip into a classic roguelite formula through elevators that lead to rooms at random, with more unlocked the deeper into the game you get. Both the main map and random rooms lead to NPCs you can interact with, with Turnip Boy collecting fetch quests. Find the items, take them back to whoever wants them. Enemies can drop both melee and range weapons, and you can pick those up to fight, then recycle them into weapon experience in the lair to unlock new weapons to go to the bank with.

When in doubt, more bullets.

And of course, what's a roguelike without
cool boss battles?

The story is fun, with a lot of referential humor and some good twists to be found. It shines where it builds upon the world presented in the previous entry. If you liked that one, you’ll find more of that here. The roguelite aspect doesn’t have nearly as much depth as other entries in that genre may have, but it’s alright for what it is, especially if you’re looking for an experience that’s much less of a time sink. (Indeed, you can beat this game in about four to five hours; a little more if you seek 100% completion, which is easy to reach.) The game comes with two difficulty options: One for a more casual experience, and one where combat is made more difficult.

Short but sweet, worth checking out if you like that type of humor and that gameplay. Two is too early to define a pattern, but I’d be on board if Turnip Boy had more games, and each future entry parodied a different genre. Turnip Boy Robs A Bank is available on Steam currently for 9.74$ USD.