That character tension interacts with the central narrative in predictable but satisfying ways. It’s not a spoiler to say that Becks’ relentless cynicism and practicality gets in the way of Rani’s reckless wonder. It’s a simple start, but one the game builds a lot out of. Their relationship’s underlying attraction and tension is between Rani’s optimistic curiosity and Beck’s down-to-earth pragmatism. It’s the normal fodder of a long running relationship: “when are we eating… what’s the plan going forward… I hope you are staying safe.” It’s grounded in a fundamental chemistry between characters and warm, enduring voice work. Platform puzzles are consistently accompanied by Rani’s and Beck’s conversation. It helps a substantial amount that the game is legitimately well written. It’s just fulfilling to play, the work of a team that knows what they are doing and that has far more craft and confidence than any AAA game I’ve played this year. It has the efficiency of a good joke or a well drawn action scene, layered with set up and pay off, ratcheting in complexity but never getting too far out of its core components. However, nearly all of them slot in with the satisfaction of a good jigsaw. Only one or two stumped me briefly and none of them turned over in my mind like truly great puzzles. It’s a classic videogame multitool and a perfect accompaniment to Rani’s warm conversation with Becks as she hops across gaps.Īll of The Gunk’s puzzles are straightforward. Pumpkin, as Rani calls it, can absorb minerals and plants to craft upgrades, grip onto walls, and suck up the goop. Attached to Rani’s missing arm, lost because of the negligence of a foreman in a space mine, is a gigantic vacuum hand. Rani will jump across caverns, arrange old machinery to make a path, and fight monsters. What follows are the classic verbs of puzzle platformers. Quickly they discover that clearing the gunk uncovers a lush world, dotted with the ancient machinery of a dead civilization. Determined to not make this trip a waste of their ever-strained resources, Rani and Becks resolve to solve the mystery of the gunk. They find pockets of energy… surrounded by a life-choking, shape-shifting goo. Poor spacefaring freelancers Rani and Becks track a mysterious energy signal to a seemingly uninhabited alien world.
The Gunk has a simple premise, which moves with refined elegance. It’s a regular old videogame with craft and heart. Fortunately, The Gunk is simultaneously deft and straightforward. It’s also the studio’s first venture into 3D, with a budget that shows on screen. It’s a puzzle platformer, with classic step by step design. The Gunk is at once new and familiar ground for the studio. All are confident, understanding the power of their genre while streamlining it to their essence.
Under the Steamworld franchise, they have made card-based RPGs, Metroidvanias, and squad tactics games. Image and Form Games have built a reputation as rock solid genre swapping devs.
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