The Gunk

Pros: - The most compelling part of this game is the unique setting and mechanics. - All movement and actions seem to work correctly and never felt sloppy or unresponsive. - The final chapter has great mix of combat and puzzles that aren't solved for you, this is what I hoped the whole game would be. - The visuals look good most of the time. Cons: - Very short game (4-5 hours) considering its price. - The characters are shallow, mostly poorly written, and detract from an otherwise compelling narrative. - The puzzles are virtually no existent until the last chapter of the game as the game insists on telling you and showing you all the answers. - There are some performance issues with the game, these mostly present as screen tearing and blur when moving the camera quickly even with motion blur disabled, capped frame rate, and v-sync. Also, there is slow down in one scene at the end of the game, but it is relatively minor. - Very linear game without much exploration, basically a walking simulator with light platforming for 90% of the game Final Thoughts: For most of my play through I thought I'd be rating this game 2 stars, but the last chapter bumped the rating up a little. Consider this a 2.5 star rating because this game is below average, but not terrible. That being said, I don't think I can recommend this game at its listed price, I'm not even sure you should bother playing it even if you got it for free (I got it from Prime Gaming). The first 4 hours are not worth the slog to get to the enjoyable last 30 minutes, there are just so many other games in this genre that are better. I am a completionist at heart and I missed one achievement that would only take me 10 minutes at the most to get, but I have no desire to boot the game up again and that feeling is the reason for making this review in the first place.

took me 4 hours to beat, overall a pretty good game, worth getting on a discount. IF the gunk mechanics were a bit more fleshed out, and there was a bit more variety in the enemy types, i think i would have rated this higher. As it stands, the gameplay was just window dressing for the plot, wich wasn't all that deep and poignant. I wish the writing were better, more fleshed out characters and motivations. the protagonist was fine, but i would have loved a bit more justification for the character's motives.

It's a simple, cute platformer that takes me back to my younger years. I had a great time. However, there are some VERY HORRIFIC performance issues and glitches that many may have trouble with. There is an elevator section where the framerate crashes into the single digits, and during combat, that's rough. There is also a section where an elevator simply doesn't appear, but the collision is present.

The Gunk is an adventure game where you play as Rani, a scavenger who discovers an energy signal in a seemingly desolate planet. With her partner Becks and robot CuRT, they discovered the planet has been overwhelmed by a mysterious substance known as Gunk. Your main objective will be to cleanse areas infested with Gunk, which will restore life to the surrounding area and open new paths. The game world is open, and you can fast travel/backtrack to pretty much every visited area. As you clean the planet, you will be presented with platforming and puzzles as well. Most are pretty simple, like just carry the right plant to the right spot, but some may be kinda hidden. There's also combat, you fight creatures created by the Gunk. Nothing too difficult, just make sure you don't get overwhelmed. It's actually pretty fun to have some combat here. Another mechanic is crafting, some plants, rocks, and enemies will yield resources you can use to upgrade your Power Glove and its features. There's more than enough resources, but very, very slightly. Like after getting all upgrades, I only have 1 metal left. Be sure to pay attention and try to collect everything, as these resources don't respawn. In conclusion, The Gunk is a pretty good adventure game worth trying, especially if you like to explore colorful alien worlds and puzzle-platforming. It's not very long, but it's one memorable experience. Who knew cleaning giant piles of gunk would be fun and satisfying?