Donkey Kong: King of Swing's spirit returns in Turnip Mountain's arcadey cliff-clambering Steam Next Fest demo

Key art for Turnip Mountain showing the root vegetable reaching out while holding a rope — (Image credit: Luke Sanderson)

When I start playing Turnip Mountain during Steam Next Fest I'm an uncoordinated mess, my fingers clacking the triggers on my controller out of time as I jerk the turnip with arms (you know as much as I do) that I'm controlling. Yet, by the end of my time playing, I'm in sync. The controller has melted away and I am the turnip.

Pressing in the left trigger, then the right trigger with perfect rhythm, while flicking both analog sticks I bend and extend, grapple and release. Soaring across the hatched walls, it's almost like I'm flying unhindered as I ascend ever upward, my twitchy climbing fingers gliding me across what had previously been sheer, insurmountable wall. (You can find out more about playing for yourself in our Steam Next Fest guide).

Root cause

Holding onto a cliff in Turnip Mountain — (Image credit: Luke Sanderson)

Turnip Mountain is developed by Luke Sanderson, and there's a reason the arcadey controls feel so immediately slick when I play – it's not the developer's first rodeo with turnip-based climbing action. Tiny Turnip released as part of Playdate's second season of content, where the clambering used the bespoke handheld's crank controller.

That's also why Turnip Mountain has a similarly limited color palette, which creates a striking visual design. Dashes of color, unlike its monochromatic predecessor, help to highlight climbing paths. Additional flourishes like gusts of wind add to the atmosphere while also drawing your eye to wear to fling the turnip off to next.

The side-on, 2D clambering is definitely reminiscent of the Game Boy Advance's Donkey Kong: King of Swing, though Turnip Mountain is more about precision of movement as you have a lot of control over the position of the turnip's arms. In that respect, Turnip Mountain's flinging and pulling motions are a little closer to the monkey suit in Astro Bot. Yet, the game builds on these arcade-style climbing mechanics to build its own root vegetable flavor.

Holding a chain and reaching for a hand hold in Turnip Mountain — (Image credit: Luke Sanderson)

You're not always armed and dangerous – hold down a button and you can retract the appendages to roll across surfaces. As I get brave, I grow comfortable flinging myself off platforms after rolling to build up speed, then throwing out my arms to stop myself falling mid way down.

Reaching hand holds revolves around pivoting one arm with a full range of motion, which is where the analog sticks come in, left and right pivoting around the respective hand you're clinging with. At first this feels a bit jerky, but quickly I get used to the degree of control. When I've reached the top of my hands-on, I can't wait to reach out my gloved hands for the next ascent. The full game is described as "short but sweet", featuring nine biomes that I'm already looking forward to conquering. Turnip Mountain is coming soon to PC.

A player before me destroyed a bridge in this Steam Next Fest demo, so I had to build it again in this narrative adventure where your choices have consequences for others

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