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Rani and her partner Becks wonder if their days of scrapping for resources to make ends meet might be at an end with this unusual discovery. In The Gunk, you take on the role of Rani, one half of a space-hauling duo that stumbles across a seemingly barren planet infested with a strange undiscovered substance they call “the gunk”. Players can step into the intriguing alien world of The Gunk now on Xbox Game Pass or via the Xbox Games Store and begin exploring the mystery behind the strange hypnotic substance suppressing a mysterious planet’s otherwise thriving ecosystem from bursting back into life.
THE GUNK XBOX ONE SERIES
It may be the case that Thunderful Games sees The Gunk as something so progressive that it didn’t need to make their relationship explicit, but it just comes across as overt queerbaiting.Thunderful’s anticipated story-driven sci-fi exploration title from the team behind the SteamWorld series, The Gunk, is out now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. Given recent headlines about other studios, my suspicion is that keeping things blurry makes the game more marketable in regions that are less accepting of gay characters. The fact that it’s so deliberately vague about whether or not they’re in a relationship together feels cowardly. Representation is incredibly important and The Gunk had a great opportunity to put forward two strong and complex queer characters. They’re a wonderfully realized couple, so I find it incredibly disappointing that the game goes to such lengths to obscure the nature of their relationship. I enjoyed watching Rani and Becks overcome obstacles in their relationship and I was moved by how deeply Becks cared for and worried about Rani, particularly at times when Rani ventured into dangerous territory and lost her radio connection to her partner. Their opposing instincts eventually lead to a conflict that’s resolved through empathy and honest communication. Rani’s adventurous spirit leads her to jump first and consider the consequences later, while the level-headed Becks is overly-cautious and fear-motivated. The one aspect I did find inspiring was the relationship between Rani and Becks. Rani succeeds by saving the aliens from themselves - it would be offensive if it wasn’t so cliched.
THE GUNK XBOX ONE MOVIE
The source of the gunk is predictable if you’ve played any of the aforementioned games or have ever seen a movie with themes about protecting the environment, and it doesn’t offer a perspective that we haven’t already seen from any number of identical white savior stories. Unfortunately, there’s not much meat on those bones either. While platforming and puzzle-solving are core to the gameplay, The Gunk puts its biggest emphasis on the story and characters. Once you’ve solved one, you’ve solved them all. The environmental puzzles never evolve or get more complex.
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Occasionally, you’ll need to shoot a plasma pulse at a switch to activate it, but those instances are never challenging enough to be considered puzzles. Either you’re carrying a seed to a plot to grow a plant you can climb, or you’re throwing a bomb at a glob of gunk to destroy it. There are frequent lock-and-key puzzles, but they all utilize the same two mechanics. You’ll find the same paper-thin quality with just about every aspect of The Gunk.
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Sucking up gunk at the beginning is the same process as sucking up gunk at the end, and none of the upgrades you unlock add anything useful. There’s a job sim-like gratification that comes from cleaning up globs of goop, but the formula doesn’t evolve at all throughout the game. Some gunk globs can take quite a while to clean up, which I didn’t totally mind because I’m one of those weirdos that likes mopping the floor in home renovation games like House Flipper. It’s certainly satisfying, but the novelty of it wears off quickly, especially considering how many times it's been done before. It's the exact same mechanic we’ve seen in games like Super Mario Sunshine, Flower, Okami, and even this year’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Every time you clear out an area, lush greenery instantly sprouts from the ground and paints the world in bright colors. The power glove can suck up giant piles of gunk just like Luigi’s Poltergust sucks up ghosts. Related: Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX Review: A Nostalgic Blast From The Past