The Gunk Review
In the life of space haulers many owe their ships and their very souls to the companies that they work for. These companies are only interested in one thing and that is valuable resources on unexplored planets, some of these planets might end up killing a hauler, or they might even be simply the haulers’ final resting place, but there are those unknown planets out there that are brimming with resources that when all the stars align a hauler cannot only make their quota but actually get ahead of what is demanded of them. In The Gunk you will be taking on the role of Rani, a hauler whose curiosity is more than likely to get them in trouble, and who is willing to risk life and limb to satiate that curiosity.
The game starts with you landing on an unknown planet that is causing your sensors to go bonkers. If the sensors are right, the resources on this planet could be the “gold mine” that haulers dream of, but something isn’t completely right with this planet. Rani’s partner starts to get a bit antsy about what this planet might hide, but Rani can’t wait to get to the bottom of this mysterious planet. Of course this planet turns out to be more than Rani can chew, but that won’t stop them from digging deeper into the mysteries that keep popping up.
Most of this game will be focused on puzzle solving and exploration, but don’t be fooled there are still plenty of battles that you’ll have to face, and plenty of different enemies that will try their best to defeat you. One of the game mechanics, which is optional, but I’m the type of gamer who has to take full advantage of it, is the research mechanic. As you progress through the game there’s going to be plants, enemies, structures, and more that you can scan with your glove. When you scan enough things you can level up which of course in turn will allow you to power up Rani. There are also items/ingredients to collect in the game that will allow you to upgrade your equipment (for example: make the suction power stronger).
This was definitely a departure from the games that this developer has created, but I have to say that I enjoyed it from start to finish. Sure there were a couple of times where I got a little lost and so my progress slowed to a crawl, and there was also one specific enemy that made my number and I had to face off against it several times in order to win, but overall I really did enjoy this game. There was a part of me that wished the game lasted a little longer, but after putting in just under 4 hours I still feel like I got my money’s worth.