After the events of Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, the world has become an apocalyptic wasteland. Blinded by greed, Turnip Boy joins up with the Pickle Gang to rob the Botanical Bank. Little does Turnip Boy know, that the greatest treasures inside the vault are much more valuable than gold…
Unlike the first game, which was a Zeldalike, Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is a Roguelite – and it’s a Roguelite in the lightest possible sense because the randomly procedurally-generated content that Roguelikes are famous for only applies to a handful of rooms and the loot enemies drop.
So what is a day in the life of Turnip Boy like? The Pickle Gang break you into the Botanical Bank by driving through a wall. Turnip Boy has a small window of time before the cops show up to mug the bank’s patrons and kill its guards, steadily raising funds to upgrade his arsenal of tools. When the timer runs out, Turnip Boy can either escape with all the money or die and lose half of his earnings.
After every heist, Turnip Boy returns to Pickle HQ, where he can upgrade his weapons, health, speed, firepower, etc. With enough cash, you can increase the amount of time you can spend on each heist, affording you with the time necessary to eliminate the bank’s bosses.
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is an extremely fun, light-hearted romp where grinding for gold and upgrades doesn’t feel tedious. Like in Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Turnip Boy must complete quests. As the rooms of the bank are randomised, this forces players to replay the heist often as you’ll need to stumble across characters in the correct rooms at the right time. Completing quests unlocks hats to customise Turnip Boy’s appearance or songs that you can access via the menu, so completing the quests is entirely optional – anything integral to the game can be unlocked with money.
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank is a fairly easy game with an addictive feedback loop. That is until you reach the final boss, at which point the game becomes a panicked, unbalanced attack of the senses. It almost becomes a different game, which I didn’t appreciate – and, once you realise the tedious hoops you have to jump through every time you die, I’m certain others will agree with me.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. If you loved the first game, you will have no reason not to enjoy this one. Even if you don’t enjoy Roguelites, it’s barely identifiable in Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, so don’t let Snoozy Kazoo’s foray into the genre spook you from this comical shoot’em’up. I look forward to what Snoozy Kazoo does next with the Turnip Boy saga – I have no idea what he could get up to next but fingers crossed it happens in space!
