The Gunk Reviews

The Gunk is ranked in the 44th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Recommended
Dec 16, 2021

Rewild an alien world in this elegant and thoughtful game.

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Tom Marks
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2021

The Gunk is a simple little platforming adventure full of malicious messes that are plenty fun to clean up.

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Dec 16, 2021

Rani and Becks are an appealing duo to share adventures with, but they deserve something more exciting than The Gunk has to offer.

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Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
6 / 10
Dec 17, 2021

Too familiar, too easy, and too short but if you're looking for an undemanding time waster on Game Pass you can certainly do worse than The Gunk.

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6.5 / 10.0
Dec 30, 2021
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7 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2021

Nothing here will surprise seasoned gamers but The Gunk has enough diverting action and puzzle-solving in its brief runtime to keep players' attention

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6 / 10
Dec 22, 2021

Cleaning up the titular Gunk is satisfying, but the rest of the game surrounding it is routine and overly familiar.

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6 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2021

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.

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7 / 10
Dec 16, 2021

The Gunk is an entertaining adventure with a message about pollution and industrialisation. with a likeable protagonist. The pacing is a little drawn out toward the end of the six to seven hour journey, but there's a great visual style and an enjoyable game to experience.

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72 / 100
Dec 16, 2021

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

7 / 10
Dec 17, 2021

The Gunk never really falters at any point during its decidedly short runtime, but also fails to do anything to push itself above a crowded group of peers in the action-platformer genre. The pro-environmental themes are laid on real thick here, but it all works reasonably well within the confines of the story and action. As with many new games released recently, The Gunk is eligible for Xbox Game Pass on Day 1. While it may not offer a memorable experience, it is difficult to argue against giving it a try for the price, especially if you are smitten with most action platformers.

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7 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2021

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

6 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2021

The Gunk has a fantastic setting and lovely characters, but ultimately the gameplay is lacking.

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Unscored
Dec 16, 2021

A striking and confident 3D platformer that's a real feast for the senses, but one that plays it very safe compared to Image & Form's more inventive SteamWorld games.

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75 / 100
Dec 22, 2021

The Gunk is a creative, witty, and charming adventure game, albeit a bit on the short side at only five or six hours in length. Still, the writing, world, and exploration more than make up for the short campaign as players will find themselves immediately immersed in the world and Rani and Becks' friendship. Unfortunately, a few technical problems plague the game, the most blatant of which – getting stuck on various items – becomes frustrating in later platforming sections. Still, The Gunk is an adventure well worth partaking in.

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Dec 24, 2021

The Gunk has its flaws, but it's still a mostly enjoyable way to spend a few hours. It's a short but sweet adventure with gameplay reminiscent of PS2-era platforming games and so fans of the genre should certainly give it a look through Xbox Game Pass.

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Dec 16, 2021

The Gunk is a satisfying puzzle-adventure game where two down-on-their-luck space scrappers must help save an alien planet from a destructive black goo. The combat in The Gunk does feel frustratingly underbaked, but solid story pacing and excellent puzzle challenges help overshadow the struggle.

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Dec 16, 2021

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.

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8 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2021

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.

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Unscored
Dec 16, 2021
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