The Gunk is a short game that I probably would never play without Xbox Game Pass. After my experience, I can say that a service is perfect for this kind of game: fun but forgettable.

Something is missing on this game. The gameplay is ok and there are some mechanics from Luigi’s Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine. It had everything to be really special but it isn't.

During the gameplay, You basically have to clean the map while you try to understand why that gunk is trying to dominate that wild planet. That's all.

About the battles, there are nothing special about them and they use the same mechanics used to clean the gunk.

The story is ok. There are two characters and I didn’t care about them.

The Gunk is a game that I only recommend if you want a short game to finish. You’ll probably forget your experience in some days after you finish.

The first game has been a high point in my gaming history, a cherished perfect memory, so maybe there was no way this could live up to it, but I've been a little disappointed. Picking up the thread all these years later has been done very well but the levels just aren't as iconic and differentiated as in the original game, and the platforming (not my favorite game type to begin with) is annoying and repetitive at times. The emotional problems you face as a player seem more abstract and less in your face. Worst of all are the boss fights which are tedious and take way too long. I don't need a 30 minute boss fight to feel satisfied. Maybe my reaction times just aren't as funky fresh as they were 20 years ago, but I'm not enjoying it as much as the original.

I'm enjoying this more than most factory games precisely because it's so chill. Nobody is blowing up my carefully laid production lines, I'm not running out of things constantly, I can just enjoy building to specifications and marvel at the larger and larger tangle that results. Almost feels like an IO game at times. The soundtrack is lovely as well. The only negative I've encountered so far is that the huge amounts of product required to advance later in the game can leave you feeling like you're playing an idler at times, if you don't feel like building the same factory over and over again. But the upgrades to your tools offer supplementary puzzles to fill your wait time.
Edit: Tapped out at the rocketship which, even after looking up the solution, tipped my fun/aggravating scale in the wrong direction. Still had a lovely time until then.

Absolutely gorgeous, tightly scripted 90 minute (if that) puzzler. All hand drawn and smoothly animated, this game was clearly made with love and perseverance, and it shows.

The puzzles were all very clever, the few timing based ones give big windows to move the pieces around in, and there was never a point where I felt like my failure made me backtrack or undo/redo anything. The whole experience was very thoughtful and respectful of my time and energy.

The story, in as much as there is one, was lovely as well, about life and aging and memory and regret and, really, anything you think it is about.

Just lovely.