Rage-Baited by a Vegetable
From independent developer Luke Sanderson, Turnip Mountain is a physics-based climber that equally delights and enrages. In Turnip Mountain, we play as a turnip living on the titular mountain. An unfortunate event sends us tumbling to the base of the mountain. To return to our idyllic life where we can watch the moon and night sky, we must scale the mountain through a series of themed, obstacle-ridden maps. Controls are intentionally difficult, requiring concentration and co-ordination to climb. This precision-platformer was a joy to play, despite the temporary damage local co-op mode inflicted on my relationship.
As mentioned, we play as a turnip who must scale the mountain to reclaim our home. How does a turnip scale a mountain you ask? This turnip has an impressive set of arms that sprout out in this time of need. Each arm is independently controlled, one analogue stick per arm (or one mouse per arm on PC). Even engaging your hand to hold the platform is a manual task, with each hand being controlled by the LT and RT respectively. Reaching, grabbing, and jumping between platforms is a task of utmost co-ordination and can be extremely frustrating when tackling a new puzzle mechanism – but that’s the point of the game! How well you can co-ordinate your limbs determines your progress and success, and my god am I uncoordinated.
The art design of the game is incredible – pixel graphics are used for a retro vibe. Level design consists of complex structures and obstacles built from simple components, masking the difficulty of the game. There is no clear path to follow to complete a map, it’s guided by your ability and desire to collect coins and bonuses. At first, I took the completionist route, insisting I collect all coins. This didn’t last long as I realised my skill level did not align with this goal.
Sound design for Turnip Mountain is classic retro. The background music is the kind of iconic synthesiser sound we’ve come to associate with pixel games. It’s light hearted and fun, reminiscent of old school platformers. This also makes it even more frustrating as you repeatedly fall and lose progress, the chipper music almost mocking your failures. Sound effects also fit perfectly into the retro sound, especially when jumping and bouncing which creates that perfect 8-bit bounce.
Each map is named after a different vegetable, creating a thematic tie-in across the game. As you advance along maps, new mechanics are introduced and difficulty increases. This prevents the game from becoming repetitive and keeps you on your toes. There are collectible paintbrushes on each map too, allowing for customisation. These paintbrushes allow you to choose the colour palette of the game whilst maintaining the monochromatic aesthetic. Coins can also be used to unlock random character aesthetics for turnip – who doesn’t love a turnip in a top hat!
As mentioned in the introduction, local co-op mode is available for Turnip Mountain. This entails two players on individual controllers who control one arm each. This game mode is amazingly fun in short bursts but unless you are in perfect co-ordination with your partner expect chaos.
Overall, Turnip Mountain is a fun game that I highly recommend for fans of platformers and physics-based games. It brings retro pixelated graphics into 2026 in a way that is enjoyable for all generations of gamers. You can expect entertainment and rage bait as you progress through the game, so make sure you have a spare controller on hand (just in case one goes out the window!).
The code for this review was provided by JanduSoft. This review has been cross-posted to OpenCritic.
