The Gunk Reviews
There is nothing special or complicated about The Gunk, but it proves to be a relaxing and light adventure that focuses on the manual removal of a toxic substance and the abrupt return of nature.
The Gunk is a competent product, but it feels very risk-adverse and derivative. You’ve seen and played elements of this game before. It can be fun for a while, but you soon realize that The Gunk has a limited vocabulary and spends too much of its time amicably repeating itself. Instead of being the foundation for something grander, The Gunk is satisfied to make its exploration and simple mechanics the entire game. As a Game Pass product, however, it’s not hard to cautiously recommend The Gunk as a pleasant enough diversion.
The Gunk is an excellent relaxing game without any innovations, but it has a charming, comfortable pace and offers a satisfying cleaning feeling.
Review in Czech | Read full review
But as a package, this is a nicely put-together game and a great little addition to the Game Pass’s ever-growing library.
Ultimately it’s hard to give The Gunk a strong recommendation. It’s a very old-fashioned game, one that feels like it wouldn’t have truly stood out even in the era it feels like it belongs to. Despite likable characters, the story doesn’t really satisfy either. The core mechanics just plain work, though, and its short length doesn’t overstay its welcome. While it feels like the development team squandered the potential for more, those who can check it out without a significant investment will find a few fun hours. Perfect for Game Pass, indeed.
While not perfect, The Gunk is a fun game that carries a great and important message. We need to save our environment. A compelling story, relaxing yet sometimes boring gameplay, and stunning visuals.
The Gunk is a fun to play story based adventure platformer with puzzle elements. The voice acting is very good with performances that really expressed the emotion of the lead characters. It has an unusual graphical style that works well with the soothing music and chilled out difficulty of the puzzles. An interesting world has been created here by Thunderful Games and it is well worth checking out on day one via Xbox Game Pass. I must admit though, after seven hours I had certainly had enough of hoovering up gunk and was very glad to have cleansed the planet of it.
The Gunk is a step in the right direction for developer Image & Form. Barring a few bugs, its length, and mostly easy difficulty that's intentional, you'll have a blast with Image & Form's new universe that isn't called SteamWorld.
Image studio and Form have implemented an interesting and new idea by creating the game The Gunk, but the idea has not been able to show itself in the best possible.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The Gunk is a nice title that fits perfectly into Xbox Game Pass.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The Gunk is an entertaining and beautiful experience in which you will find fun but it does not offer ideas or challenge that distinguishes it from other platform games or leaves a lasting impression after it is finished.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
There's a lot to love about The Gunk even if the core gameplay rarely rises above being pretty OK. It's a good adventure through a unique and pretty alien world, filled with character and life.
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.
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.
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
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 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.
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.
Nothing here will surprise seasoned gamers but The Gunk has enough diverting action and puzzle-solving in its brief runtime to keep players' attention
The Gunk is a simple little platforming adventure full of malicious messes that are plenty fun to clean up.