Even though it's visually rewarding to create new life or destroy roadblocks, getting from A to B was consistently a non-challenge - aside from the end further, the only platforming difficulty is repeating jumps if you're just a single angstrom off the designated grapple ledge.
Pumpkin isn't just handy for vacuuming gunk it's also capable of yanking big plant bulbs that are either countdown explosives or seeds that sprout mushroom platforms. The issue is as that authentic-planet comes to life exploration is dampened by mostly bland puzzle-platforming. The Rest Kinda Sucks One of many scenic vistas. It's a solid concept that could feel rewarding with good supplemental mechanics. When you cross into their oxygen-stealing threshold and Rani automatically dons her breathing mask, you want her to breathe fresh air again. Whether they're locked in place, casually hovering around an area, or slowly attacking, the gunk's unseemly look encourages you to eradicate all traces. Even if this snotty membrane mottled with unguent, crimson boils were benign you'd still want to vanquish it.Ĭleaning eventually gets overplayed, but the loop is still tantalizing.
Credit is also due to the, well, image & form of your main adversary. It's like successfully vacuuming every crumb on a carpet in one motion.
A large part of that is thanks to great audio/visual design: the visual sensation of slurping up huge masses into your hand (akin to Ghostbusters' Ghost Trap), the squelching sound as it's being drawn in, and Pumpkin's soothing suction noise all work in unison. There aren't as many creative ways to clean by comparison, but there's still a similar tug in doing the work. It's you against expansive oily globs disrupting the planet's enchanting flora and fauna.ĭespite a disparate setting, it takes me back to Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine. Puzzles and light combat aside, this is the game's main feedback loop. Sucking up every trace results in renewing the affected area new plants and grass immediately spring forth, freed from previous environmental shackles. This strange, goopy substance that's incommoding you can be vacuumed through Pumpkin. Within minutes of landing, a masked-up Rani encounters one of the creatures inspiring the game's generic title: the gunk. As Rani and Beck soon discover, there's more to this place than initially meets the eye. A rare blip on their ship's radar suggested this place has a high concentration of energy. She, her partner Beck, and their robotic assistant CuRT, arrive on a mysterious alien planet with one goal in mind: finding anything of value to pay off their debts. You assume the role of Rani, a down-on-her-luck scavenger with a metal arm (named "Pumpkin"). The result? Although relatively clean of grimy design issues, only just enough is done to elevate above the heap of other titles. Image & Form's The Gunk essentially mashes those two sensations together in a different way moreover, they're also venturing into the 3D action-adventure genre (they're previously known for venerated SteamWorld series). It makes sense given the growing adult population in the medium: the satisfaction of renewing a once-grimy place can sound just as exciting as vanquishing monsters (given the right context).
Cleaning in games has started to become an interesting trend.
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