The Gunk Reviews
Do not let the quirky name put you off, The Gunk is more than deserving of a play during a lazy summer (or winter for you northern hemisphere dwelling folk) afternoon. Bugs and minor flaws do prove to be an inconvenience, although Image & Form Games have still managed to deliver a solid 3D platformer that’s worth a look.
A platformer based on a few rules, which flows without strokes of genius or resounding failures. Potentially an excellent gateway to the world of video games for the youngest.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Gunk is not a disastrous game. I enjoyed turning my brain off for five hours and exploring this strange and mysterious planet. It’s okay for games to just be empty calories sometimes, and I wouldn’t knock The Gunk for just being a generic popcorn flick. The Gunk aspires to be more than that though, and it falls considerably short. The quality of the SteamWorld games gavethe expectation that this would be a fresh take on the third-person adventure genre, but The Gunk is too shallow for me to recommend - even in the slow December months. If you’re looking for character-driven action-adventure games on Game Pass, Lake and Firewatch were both added earlier this week. Give those a look and leave The Gunk in the gutter.
Successful adventure with great "Schmodder mechanics", but also a few problems.
Review in German | Read full review
The Gunk is an absolute triumph- it looks gorgeous, crafts an addictive and engaging gameplay loop, and tells a story that succeeds on every level.
Players can move through each area cleaning up Gunk, defeating the Gunk creatures, and exploring to gather resources and discover secrets. Along with traveling across the planet, Rani will also run into a few combat encounters. She can use Pumpkin to grab and throw enemies or damage vulnerable spots on them. Battles are far and few between, but they still help to break up exploration enough that the game doesn't get boring. The Gunk offers players a fun experience with consistently entertaining gameplay.
The Gunk is a difficult game to label, but an easy one to enjoy. Whether you’re sucking up a load of the titular gunk to help bring an alien world back to life, or listening to an engaging back and forth between the game’s main characters, there’s plenty to like here, even if it doesn’t quite live up to its early potential.
Enjoyable, but rather slight, The Gunk is an intriguing journey through an alien planet while vacuuming up goop. There isn't much to it, though, which I found a bit disheartening.
Just like the thriving planet it stages, The Gunk is an action-adventure intimately marked by light and shadow. The idea of a measured and collected story is valuable, as well as both the artistic and technical inspiration and certain nuances of gameplay (above all the way in which you joyfully aspire to the dirt that suffocates the world). That is why it really becomes a wasted opportunity that with basic ingredients of good caliber, which in any case once again denote the talent of the Swedish team, the final result betrays the initial expectations.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Gunk offers a great combination of puzzles, exploration and platforming, with good level design (with nods to the Souls scheme) and an interesting story. It's not too long, and some aspects, such as team upgrades or combat, don't offer too much depth.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Gunk is a very fun title, which will give us a few hours of fun. The title gives us great control of Rani and allows us to enjoy its biomes and its absorbing history. It is not a game that stands out, but its components but make us face a most remarkable title.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Little-big surprise published before the end of the year and great present for Christmas.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
The Gunk has a fantastic setting and lovely characters, but ultimately the gameplay is lacking.
Short as it may be, my time with The Gunk has been wonderful. Image & Form’s move into the 3D realm has solidified it as a truly talented developer – and this may just be its best game yet. Beautiful, satisfying and engaging from start to finish, The Gunk is definitely worth getting stuck into.
Overall, The Gunk feels like a weighty, enjoyable adventure that goes to some surprising places with its story. I had a great time clearing up the gunk and living my best adventurer life, and the length of the game seemed just right, ensuring that the gunk didn’t overstay its welcome. To make things even better, The Gunk launches straight into Xbox Game Pass today — so you can’t not give it a go.
While it’s not a SteamWorld game, it still has that Image & Form charm we know so well with Thunderful Development. It took me 3.5 hours to see the end of the game, got 14 out of 16 upgrades, and am missing only 5 achievements. It’s very fun to just navigate and explore this world, taking in the sights and sounds It may be short-lived, but it's a highly enjoyable adventure I want more of. The Gunk establishes itself as a unique and memorable journey worth taking.
If someone asks me the question, what is your game of the year for 2021? My answer would be The Gunk.
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with The Gunk. It works from a technical standpoint and it isn’t the worst way you can spend about five hours of your time. But I just can’t muster up any sort of authentic excitement about it. If it were funnier or cleverer or more challenging, I could maybe start to see it as a title I could recommend. But as it is, the best I can do is pay it that slightly backhanded compliment of saying it’s perfect for Game Pass.
Rani and Becks are an appealing duo to share adventures with, but they deserve something more exciting than The Gunk has to offer.