Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

It’s tax season again, everyone’s faaaaavorite time of the year! Are you one of those people that already has their forms sent in and their return spent? Or are you a, “completely forgot about it so you end up doing it in a mad dash, worry you made a bunch of mistakes and now you’re just hoping you don’t get audited” kind of adult? 

Well, the little turncoat tuber in today’s game took a very different approach to tax season altogether and threw his caution and W2’s into the wind! Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion from Snoozy Kazoo and Graffiti Games is the tangled tale of a rebellious little turnip who said no to overpriced tariffs and sets out on a journey to…still do a whole mess of complicated tasks set forth by his governing official, Mayor Onion. However, it's all in the interest of getting his ancestral greenhouse back so, sally forth little Turnip Boy! We’re here for all of it!

Turnip Boy has been on my Steam wishlist for a long time now. Too long actually, now that I’ve played it. But as the old saying goes, too many games, too little time. And that’s exactly what happened in this case. It went on sale not too long ago and since we were in the market for something light-hearted and short, Turnip Boy fit the bill perfectly.

As far as simple, cute, 2D adventure games go this game ticked all the boxes. The gameplay was very straightforward and easy going. Mayor Onion gives you a clear cut objective, you get side tracked by a few NPC requests, you fight a boss, rinse and repeat. What made Turnip Boy stand out in particular though, was his penchant for tearing up anything and everything document-like that found itself in his invisible hands. Which I guess in turn greatly relates to the sense of humor found expertly woven throughout the entire game itself. The whole taxed turnip thing is just the tip of the iceberg honestly. This game had me giggling on many occasions.

Aside from an expanding pocket filled with torn papers, books, and anime girl drawings, Turnip boy also collects hats which was a really fun addition. Who doesn't love alternate costumes for the game’s main character? Especially extra goofy ones. Usually the hats are rewards for helping someone, while others were tied to a particular achievement.

The Zelda-lite features like growing bombs, pushing (watermelon) blocks, and unlocking key doors were all utilized in clever ways to work your way through each level. Nothing super challenging, but some pretty creative uses for each of the abilities you unlock.

I don’t have a lot to complain about when it comes to Turnip Boy honestly, I think it was a perfect tidy little package that did everything it set out to do. Sure, having hot keys instead of having to go into your inventory every time to change between your watering can, sword, etc would have been nice, but that’s definitely no biggie.

I found the game’s overall simplicity to be refreshing if I’m being honest. It’s a game I could see myself replaying with my son sometime and I know that while even he wouldn’t struggle with the gameplay at any point, it’s still really enjoyable for a more experienced gamer like myself to play. I think that takes a serious amount of skill to pull off and the devs for Turnip Boy clearly know their stuff. The art, the writing, the game design, *chef kiss*.

On the whole, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a short and sweet, snackable game. It’s here for a good time, not a long time ya know? And I dig that. Sometimes you don’t want a game with a drawn out complex story, or a controller’s worth of button mashing moves, and if that’s what you’re looking for then look no further. Also, for only fifteen bucks (MSRP) you too can spend an evening or two living vicariously through a rebellious little turnip who has shirked his taxation responsibilities instead of getting that adrenaline rush from avoiding your own.

If you’d like to take on tax season with Turnip boy at your side you can find Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

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