Gunk literally means strange, greasy, sticky and unwanted filthy substance. Do you remember the game World of Goo? You can think of it as the cheesy one of the substance there. We are trying to deal with this item on the name of Xbox’s latest exclusive game The Gunk, which offers a single-player experience in exploration and resource gathering. But our problem is not small, and an entire planet has been adversely affected.
In the game, we manage the character named Rani, one of a pair of galaxy “scavengers” who finds herself here after a signal from an undiscovered planet. We are having our first encounter with this sticky substance while we are just getting used to the controls after our ship lands on a gray and lifeless world at first glance. Our mission is all about exploring this new world, while our co-explorer Becks focuses on the source of the signal and what it could mean for the duo in the long run. As the story progresses, these different focuses also cause problems between the two good friends. Let’s not miss the excitement by giving more details on this issue.
What you call gunk is the cheesy one of Goo!
There is no war, but nature is what matters
While there are bosses you fight, in most of The Gunk you actually sweep up the mess to clear areas and bring them back to life. Since gunk has a huge ecological impact and kills the natural environment, it’s actually a direct allegory for real-world pollution and the destruction it causes. Gunk is a nature tale against overindustrialization and covers it very well. Anyway, the environment tells most of the storytelling much better than Rani’s dialogues.
Puzzles are fun and not boring
A series of environmental puzzles unfold as you explore the new world and progress through The Gunk’s story. To solve these puzzles, you may need to use a seed plant to create a solid natural platform or another plant that acts as a bomb. Although the puzzles start out simple, they get more complex as they progress and the solution spreads over a wider area. But we can say that it never gets so complicated that you will be stuck for a long time.
It is possible to finish Gunk easily in about 6-7 hours. We had to go back to the main menu a few times and start the game again due to a few minor mistakes, such as the animation not being activated throughout the game. Luckily we didn’t lose much progress as the game saves often. So it’s not worth worrying too much about it.
Conclusion
We tried the game on Xbox Series S as usual. While The Gunk has a very good visual style, with environments that open up with colors that give a feeling of hope when you clean up the mess, the grayer and dreary areas really do do well at instilling a sense of pressure and fear. The voice acting with the actors behind Rani (Fiona Nova) and Becks (Abigail Turner) is also very well done, both the performances are very strong and it gives the feeling that these two characters have known each other for a long time.
The Gunk is a hilarious adventure with a lovable hero and a social message about pollution and industrialization. Although the excitement decreased a little towards the end of the six-seven-hour journey, it was a pleasant game to play with its wonderful visual style. You’ve done cargo in space, why wouldn’t you also do garbage disposal? It can also be played for free on Xbox Game Pass.
75
Developer: Image & Form
Publisher: Thunderful
Genre: TPS, Adventure
Platform: Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, PC
Web: https://imageform. se/game/the-gunk/
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