Let loose in this gorgeous world, I started firing off my scanner left right and centre. The more stuff you scan, the more upgrades you eventually unlock.
#The gunk publishers upgrade
At first, the game almost seems to be following the same space tracks left by games like No Man's Sky, tasking you with scanning the local plants for data and scavenging for resources in order to upgrade your power glove. You play as Rani, who ventures out to clean up the titular gunk and investigate that strange energy signal while Becks keeps watch back at base. The Gunk is a visual feast from start to finish, even when the landscape is being eaten alive by its greedy goop. There's a witty playfulness to their dialogue that makes them a fun pair to hang out with over the course of this five-hour planet hop, and I hope we get to see them and their slightly borked yellow delivery bot Curt (whose only line is an increasingly mangled but endearing take of "You've got served!") get another outing in the years to come.
Language aside, Rani and Becks make for an affable duo, and their snappy and rambunctious radio chatter reminded me a lot of Aliya and Six from Inkle's Heaven's Vault. Apart from a few cheeky Easter egg nods in Rani and Becks' ship, this is a standalone adventure that would be great to play with the kids over Christmas if it weren't for the occasional swears. The Gunk isn't related to the SteamWorld universe. There's a lot to like about this 3D action platformer, but it's missing that spark to really make it sing. That said, while Image & Form have clearly navigated their 2D to 3D transition from an art perspective, their typical flair for adding their own spin to different genres has been less successful. If this is what they've been holding back on all these years, then their upcoming action adventure SteamWorld Headhunter should be a real treat for the old eyeballs. Despite its gloopy namesake, The Gunk is frequently stunning, its soft pastels and coral-esque flora showing such an eye for jaw-dropping visuals that it's hard to believe this is SteamWorld developer Image & Form's first ever 3D video game. A burst of light, a shruum of sound, and the world is instantly transformed back to its former glory. Your reward for scooping up all the gunk in any given area is the kind of graphical wizardry video games do best. After all, when it turns the ground black and saps the world of all its colour, this is one case of Extremely Bad Vibes you'll want to remedy as soon as possible. It oozes and throbs in the caves, plains and rivers of this once vibrant landscape, and the urge to suck it all up into Rani's chunky power glove (a literal hand vac in this case) is overwhelmingly strong. As space haulers Rani and Becks touch down on a forgotten planet in search of a strange energy signal, the place is absolutely gummed up with the stuff. The Gunk might not be the most sophisticated name in the universe for a gooey black jelly that pulses with an ominous red light, but goodness it sure is appropriate. A striking and confident 3D platformer that's a real feast for the senses, but one that plays it very safe compared to Image & Form's more inventive SteamWorld games.
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