There’s only one sensible next step after killing a god, and that’s to rob a bank. Not just any bank though, a bank that has random elevators taking you any which way because you tripped the security system. That’s what Turnip Boy is up to now, in Turnip Boy Robs A Bank. A familiar cast of characters return, along with a ton of new faces that have their own awkwardly funny dialogue throughout all the random missions that you’ll need to complete.

Unlike the first game, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, Robs A Bank isn’t an action-adventure game. Instead, this time around, it’s a roguelite. You’ll need to manage your time wisely, fight against security, the police, and get out with as much money as possible. It’s a great twist and a fun way to keep the series going, without it feeling like we are doing the exact same thing over again. Nice to see that the train in the first game set a good standard going forward.

Starting off, you only have a couple minutes to rob the bank. It’s a quick, in and out adventure with minimal interference. You can shakedown customers and defeat security, and some will even drop new weapons to use. At the start you’ll just have a wooden sword, but as you escape with new weapons in each run, you’ll be able to sell them to level up your gun rank and unlock new starting weapons.

Let’s start talking about the hub; the place you hangout in between every run. Don Pickle is out of his jar and ready to pull off a major heist with his team. You’ve got the option to upgrade your weapons as already mentioned, but you also have power-ups to buy, like stronger melee weapons, stronger bullets, and more playtime in each run. Then there’s the black market; very important for advancement, as it sells stuff that will greatly help you progress. Sure, some of the stuff you could technically not buy since it is possible to keep going without it, but why make things harder than they need to be?

Next up is the actual bank itself. The bank layout doesn’t exactly change. What changes, instead, is where each elevator will take you next. It’s part of the “security measures” to send you to a bunch of offices with small safes, instead of to the vault every time. Maybe you’ll find the underworld, led by a kind old lady. Then there’s DJ Sizzle who will offer you a weapon to steal souls with, and then trade you new music for the soundtrack for them. There’s also a Call of Duty Zombies style mystery box that you can either trade souls or money to use, and get some food or weapons for each run.

Within each run, you’ll have a set amount of health that, like most things, can be upgraded. You’ll find first aid kits through the bank, and enemies can drop health as well. In all honesty, it feels like they drop health a little too often, but it doesn’t feel quite that way when you’re in a boss fight. Some of them are really tricky, and have almost no health pickups. What you will find are weapons, because even though your starting guns may have unlimited ammo, the ones you find in the bank don’t, so choose wisely between cool new gun, and not thinking about ammo.

As you delve deeper and deeper into the bank, the treasures and amount of money you find will go up, as you’d expect, but obviously so does your risk of dying. When you lose in a run, you immediately lose half the cash you’ve gathered and all the treasures, and treasure is where the real money is found. Small things are worth about $50 each, but gold items are upwards of $10k. Be careful, and don’t be scared to escape early, instead of risking everything you find.

Visually, Turnip Boy Robs A Bank looks very much the same as the first game, and that’s completely okay. I feel like all the charm that Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion had, has rubbed off here. Now while I thought having a more confined location may have hindered Turnip Boy Robs A Bank, I was happy to be proven wrong. The bank itself is sleek, and you can tell the difference between the “normal” bank customer bit and the “rich” bit just at a glance.

To add to that, the slew of new and returning characters all have their cute appeal (or should I say ap-peel? I’ll see myself out…) and really ties Turnip Boy Robs A Bank together. The one wish I had was that, just like in the first game, a lot of these characters weren’t just talk to them once and then be done with them. Time was spent crafting them, why not utilize them more? But if they’re not in the main hub/hideout, they’re essentially useless after you finish whatever little side missions they may give you.

If it wasn’t clear already, I love Turnip Boy Robs A Bank. I already thought Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion was an outstanding game, so being able to build on that with a fast-paced roguelite adventure, with an excellent gameplay loop which also pokes fun on the horrible depths of capitalism, who would have thought it would be so much fun? This is definitely a game I’ll continue to return to, especially if there is any post launch content like the train in the first game. Here’s hoping!

Graphics: 7.5 Turnip Boy Robs A Bank honestly looks the exact same as Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, or that it’s even reusing locations, but there just simply wasn’t any improvement on what was already a good looking indie game.	Gameplay: 9.0 Improvements have been made by building it around defeating enemies in a much more natural way. If there was anything the first game missed the mark on it was how to build rooms with enemies to fight originally.
Sound: 10 The soundtrack alone is 10/10. Everything else in Turnip Boy Robs A Bank sounds spot on, but the real hero of this entire game is an absolutely banging soundtrack.	Fun Factor: 9.5 Turnip Boy Robs A Bank sets a very high bar early on in the year. This is definitely a game with tons of replay value, and if there’s any post-launch support, I could see myself and others buying it on multiple consoles to enjoy it over and over again.
Final Verdict: 9.0

Turnip Boy Robs A Bank is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X.

A copy of Turnip Boy Robs A Bank was provided by the publisher.