GGRecon’s Best Indie Games Of 2021: Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

It’s absolutely no secret that The Legend of Zelda has had a monstrous sum of influence on the gaming world. One could even argue that dungeon-crawlers would simply not exist without it - The Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon and Spelunky are notable examples, and they’re not even of Nintendo’s design - titles like Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon carry the flag alongside Link’s Awakening into Nintendo’s dominion over the genre and its offspring.

And now the genre has achieved such a streamlined and perfect equilibrium that games can simply pick up the formula and go nuts with it. And that’s exactly what Graffiti Games have done with their latest outing, a game with the best title you’ll hear all year.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion: The Root Of All Joy

Snoozy Kazoo's top-down action-adventure sees you, the titular Turnip Boy, evicted from your home by Mayor Onion under accusation of tax evasion. Taking off on a journey to clear your debt, you'll go on a journey of self-discovery, all while discovering the truth about your taxes and a mysterious scheme that you'll find yourself right in the eye of.

The pace of the game is brisk, giving you new items to thwart the game's root vegetable-based enemies with a snappy and simple combat system. But it's not exactly the combat that remains the draw for the game - despite its big boss fights.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion: Seditious Stew

The game's little quirks and flashes of silliness are what tie the experience together, and it's no more clear than when you're getting too invested in the game's exploration and an NPC will remind you that, oh yeah, you're playing as a turnip trying to prove he didn't commit tax evasion. It's a game that never loses its silliness, but will poke through with such absurdity in opportune moments that will catch you gleefully unaware.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a game with some solid gameplay mechanics, but that's not entirely its draw - it's a game that lures you in with a silly concept and sweeps you up in wholesomeness and an intriguing world you'd gleefully explore for hours on end. It may have flown under the radar, but don't let that keep you from Turnip Boy - because he's an absolute charmer.