The Gunk

Without Gamepass I wouldn't have discovered this little gem of a game.

I'm not usually a fan of smaller indie games and specifically I'm not a fan of 'platforming' elements as I find most of them to be very suspect when it comes to consistency and correctly implemented game mechanics. But The Gunk really surprised me and had me totally hooked for the 5 1/2 hours I played it.

It's an action adventure game that has you land on an unexplored planet and search for resources all while fighting back "The Gunk" a dark matter that seems to be sentient.

Collectible materials found in the world allow you to upgrade your character with powerful new abilities and boosts meaning it pays to explore that little bit between main quest lines and get rewarded. This progression keeps you working towards new upgrades all while visiting new areas of the map to solve puzzles and fight enemies, this loop is done brilliantly and is paced perfectly keeping you entertained with each path you choose to take.

The gameplay itself is excellent with the movement system feeling very fluid and the platforming feeling smooth as silk, absolute no lag or missed jumps here, it works perfectly every time and reacts instantly to your button inputs.

The story itself is very basic but it does unfold at a good pace and has your goals changing throughout each 'chapter' culminating in a boss fight that is fun enough to be worth the wait.

Graphics surprised me as on Xbox Series X the contrast between dark and light colours really made them pop and although the art style is more basic, there were times I found myself impressed with the world and the beautiful view from the top of a cliff or hill. On top of this I had almost zero issues with bugs/glitches/crashes. On a very early build (first 2 days after release) I had zero crashes and the only bug I encountered was towards the end of the game when I fell through a platform the was meant to take me upwards, but I reloaded a save and was instantly back to that exact spot.

Overall The Gunk is a game I would have NEVER purchased or played ordinarily but because of Gamepass I got to play this wonderful little game and enjoyed every minute of it, well worth a download for anybody who has Gamepass.

Gameplay: The Gunk is a puzzle adventure game where you travel through a faraway alien world left in shambles, but with a glimpse of the probability of it returning to its former glory. What I liked mostly about its gameplay is that it knew when to add new elements and not just splatter everything in the hopes that you would get everything from the get-go. People who play games regularly don't require much to 'get it' and just plow through the entire game, but for some, a semi-casual introduction of new elements is overall the better way to go. Puzzles are beginner-friendly and don't require timing except for a few, which still don't require pinpoint timing to complete. Enemies are, as everything in this game, absolutely beginner friendly. If you have played games before, you will know what each can do and how it can be beaten. Triple-A games should take notes from developers who know when to add and when to let players play around a little bit more with an already established mechanic.

Story: We follow Rani, a space explorer/scavenger, going through an alien planet in search of materials to sell. While we traverse this alien planet, we are met with a plethora of wild flora and fauna, which, if you read them, tell a story of their own of a forgotten planet with a long-gone population. As the story progresses, more and more truths are uncovered, and after one thing leads to another, we find out what caused all this. As we are sticking to no spoilers here, The Gunk is a pretty short game with a respectable story, but not something that will blow your socks off.

Graphics: The literal meaning of a mixed bag: some objects, be they close or far, appear somewhat muddy, and then we get others with more graphical quality and popping colors. Furthermore, particle effects are rather well done; some actually illuminate their surroundings and some even warp the screen. The art style is unique and an acquired taste, but for every dish, there is a subsequent connoisseur.

Music and Soundtrack: Overall soundtrack and music impressions are lukewarm, but the choice of instruments or synths or whatever they used stands out in a good way. The whole soundtrack had an eerie mystery to it and sounded 'strange', and that perfectly encapsulates what the game is trying to portray.

Characters: We follow a set of three characters who find themselves on an uncalled-for adventure and ultimately beat any emerging challenge. Rani is your ever-curious adventurer, going around more and more corners just to find out what cool feature may be hidden there. The devs really added to their ultimate cohesion with your trusty friend calling in constantly to see how you are, what you found, and to be careful. These small but meaningful interactions are splattered throughout the whole runtime, and they are a delight, but we get to the bad part. As the story progresses and Rani becomes more and more hard-headed, they ultimately get into a big 'fight' with Beck, which leads to them acting like spoiled teens and not talking to each other, or just one trying to communicate while the other stays in stern silence. I appreciate where the devs were going with this, but for me, it didn't work at all and just made every interaction a chore.

Weapon Variety: Rani is equipped with her trusty power glove, which is her only weapon throughout the entire game. It serves to collect all crafting materials, beat all enemies, and solve all puzzles. Those collected crafting materials are used to upgrade the weapon by boosting its main purpose and adding some new gadgets with varying effects to the arsenal. For The Gunk and its subsequent runtime of a few hours, one weapon is plenty and does what it is meant to do.

World: The Gunk, as stated above, is situated in an alien world with interesting objects and places to meet. There are numerous objects that can be scanned throughout the world with different aspects to them, like the type of object, materials it is made of, possible purpose, and much more. These little scannable objects were a great addition with a few caveats here and there, mostly regarding which objects are actually scannable, as many already are, but some that are pretty interesting were not. Personally, I would have liked to know even more; we were already riding on the curiosity train, but it didn't end smoothly, more like it stopped abruptly.