Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a 2021 comedy indie game. In it, you play as Turnip Boy, and you start the game by ripping up your taxes, thus tax evasion. Mayor Onion, instead of punishing Turnip Boy, sends him on a series of quests for unknown purposes. As you wander around doing things for the Mayor, you discover his motivations and some background of the insane plant world you are in.

Gameplay is a blend of action and puzzle solving. The action is straightforward; you have an attack button and a “dodge” (trip) button. You will fight various different creatures in the game, and most sections end in a boss fight that often means dodging, using different things on the map, and different strategies, as well as attacking.

Puzzles are more varied and interesting. You can grow different plants throughout the game that help you. Some act like bombs, others help you fill in holes in paths you can traverse, things of that nature. There is also a portal element to the game where you either grow or plant your own portals to cross obstacles.

While most of the game is straightforward in terms of gameplay, there are different degrees of challenge to it. Some of the puzzles will be pretty straightforward, and others will involve trial and error. I found myself able to get through most of the game fairly easily as far as puzzles but did have to make several attempts for a few of them before working it out. So there was nothing that felt too much, but there was a challenge.

Fighting was a different matter. A lot of the fighting in this game was easy; however, two of the bosses presented pretty extreme challenges for me. The last and next-to-last bosses were pretty difficult, and I failed both many times before I was able to move forward. You can learn their moves and improve each time, but I still struggled. However, and while I didn’t use it my first time playing, the game is prepared for that. You can change how much damage Turnip Boy does or takes, and you can even turn on God Mode.

I have mentioned in other Impressions, such as Dodgeball Academia, that this is something a lot more games, especially indie games, seem to be adding, and I appreciate it. I am no pro gamer, and I like that you can set things according to your skill level and really experiment with it. As I said, with this game, I ultimately did not need it for my first playthrough – I stupidly didn’t notice it was an option – but it would have been nice, and it made my second stress free.

While gameplay and puzzles are solid, where Turnip Boy shines, and really the purpose of the game is the comedy. This game has a lot of reference humor, especially for very online people, gamers, nerds, etc. In fact, one character goes on a whole rant from a meme about being a badass. There is also just a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor and a general silly vibe. I laughed out loud while playing this game a lot.

It has a fairly cool story for such a short game and some interesting world-building. I can’t tell you for a fact what it all meant after reveals, but I have my own theories. There was a nuclear war at some point, and humans were a thing. However, in the game, walking and talking plant life has taken over, so something after the war shifted things. You also fight a little girl whose diary you have been following after she was corrupted by something post-bombs. It is shocking, sad, and pretty interesting. Especially when added to a game that is mostly silly, and while it does have dark humor never really goes that far with it.

The art style and music are also top-notch. In short, like the rest of the game really a treat.

So bottom line? It is on Game Pass as of my writing this, so there is really no reason not to check it out if you have Game Pass. If you don’t, I still recommend it. It’s fun, fairly affordable, on many different systems, hilarious, and just a solid game from start to finish. If you aren’t a giant nerd, a lot of the humor might miss, so take that into account. However, the rest of us losers will really enjoy the silliness of it. Check it out!

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