The Gunk

very cute

TLDR: Cute straight forward campaign with equal mesures of exploration and puzzles, with some combat sprinkled on to change the beat up every now and again. The game is relatively short, around 5 - 6 hours. There is no replayability, and the game can, at times, feel a bit more like a proof of concept rather than a full on game. Story: Play as Rani, a bit of a self-absorbed twitt, and explore the world you've landed on in the hopes of finding a profitable energy source to be able to pay off your debts. Your partner, Becks, is the ever so logical supportive kind, making many interactions over comms remind you that Rani (you) is kind of a ♥♥♥♥. There's also Curt. But no one cares about Curt. Bam, YOU get served Curt. As the exploring gets going, realise there's gunk everywhere that saps surrounding life. Where did it come from? Why is it here? Where is everyone? Find out on the next episode of ''The Gunk''! Gameplay: A linear game where exploration is key to be able to upgrade your gear. As you progress, you'll unlock new fast travels, and going back to camp is never a bad choice. The upgrades are useful, though very few are an obligation. Each upgrade costs ressources, and those do not respawn, hence the importance of exploring each area thoroughly. Many of the puzzles are simple. For the less obvious ones, the camera always allows you to glance in either the direction of the solution or the loot, lessening the likelyhood of missing a bunch of stuff. Loot shimmers, so it's actually hard to miss anything. There is sub optimal colision for the amount of jumping around there is. Early game you'll find yourself stuck between a few rocks, hovering in the air thinking you're stuck, only to ooze out a few seconds later, jumping on a mushroom that you just fall through because ''that one'' is just for looks. In the end it's nothing game breaking, but you would expect a more polished result from a game that requires so much platforming. Falling to your death just instantly warps you back to where you jumped from, so this makes for a very casual game experience. Graphics: The characters are so so, sporting the cartoony 4 finger with chicken legs and bad lip sync, but the environment looks good. It's colorful and eye catchy. The game runs smooth except on a specific elevator where the game slows down to a crawl. It's not game breaking but obviously something is coded weird in that section. Audio: The voice acting is fine, though the lines themselves can be a bit cringy at times. The music is nothing mesmorising, but is very chill and fits. I mostly played this title cuz' I wasn't sure what to play next and I needed a chill, short, and fun game. Though not perfect, it delivered what I expected. Since it's very short, you may want to get it on sales.