Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 17
  2. Negative: 1 out of 17
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 30, 2024
    80
    The unassuming act hides a few hours of pleasant, soothing fun, where you don't have to stress with difficult enemies or overly complex puzzles. [Issue#317]
  2. Dec 16, 2021
    80
    Enjoyable, but rather slight, The Gunk is an intriguing journey through an alien planet while vacuuming up goop. There isn't much to it, though, which I found a bit disheartening.
  3. Jan 24, 2022
    75
    The Gunk is a little-big surprise. It is an unconventional platforming game with puzzle elements and interesting gameplay aspects. It offers a strange world, fun game mechanics, although it doesn't have many fights and its story is a bit clumsy.
  4. Jan 10, 2022
    75
    The Gunk is a game that does a decent job of offering ideas that other titles have explored in better ways. The gameplay is fun at first barely evolves. The story, especially the interactions between Becks and Rani, is decent but has nothing especially memorable to offer. The game has everything it needs for some cool cooperative play moments but does not offer those mechanics.
  5. Dec 20, 2021
    75
    It doesn't hit the highs of the SteamWorld series, but The Gunk is enjoyable. When you break things down, the game doesn't offer up a plethora of things to do, but it remains enjoyable thanks to how satisfying it is to clean up gunk. There's payoff for the curious in the form of extra materials to power up your arm faster, and even though it is familiar, the story remains satisfying. Its short length makes it perfect for the Game Pass service, but it is also a worthy purchase if you like brisk, uncomplicated adventures.
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  1. The Gunk is good rather than great, then, but given it's on Game Pass you'd be silly to pass it up. Maybe it's just the time of year, but watching each region unfurl in a bubble of light and colour, not knowing what it's going to look like until the last minute, feels very much like pulling back the windows of an Advent Calendar, with each de-gunking revealing yet another jaw-dropping treat for the senses. It's Christmas comfort food for lazy afternoons on the sofa, and at just under five hours, it can be done and dusted in just a couple of sessions, too. Very good vibes indeed.
User Score
4.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 73 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 73
  2. Negative: 31 out of 73
  1. Dec 21, 2021
    8
    Haven't played much of it, but can Russians just kindly F**k Off? 'Disregard'? Who cares about your localization? And you blame the developerHaven't played much of it, but can Russians just kindly F**k Off? 'Disregard'? Who cares about your localization? And you blame the developer with an Xbox hashtag?
    Must be too much vodka making you all retarded.
    I'm from Hungary, last time we had localized voice in a big game was like 15 years ago, and even today, we need to download fan made localizations for every game because nobody cares about us, even though we're in the heart of Europe. My girlfriend can't speak English, so I can hardly play anything with her, without those fan made locals.
    So, 0 points cause you can't hear your own voice in a game? Let me tell you, no person on earth wants more voices other than English.
    Full Review »
  2. Dec 22, 2021
    9
    The game is good
    1- Art style: 10/10
    2- graphics: 9/10
    3- Gameplay: 9/10
    4- The Story: 8/10
    5- The Music: 10/10
    6- Time play: 9/10

    I Like it
  3. Dec 22, 2021
    3
    Highly tedious, uninteresting story and somehow even less interesting characters