What an enjoyable game! The Gunk starts off with the player's character "Ran" landing on a planet that appears to be a wasteland. The backstory of your character is quickly explained. You, the player Rani, and her partner are scavengers who travel from one planet to another searching for resources to harvest and sell.

Early on in the game the player will come across "The Gunk." A parasitic creature that destroys life wherever it goes. The player as Rani has the ability to absorb "The Gunk" via a power glove. Early on the player will discover that once "The Gunk" is destroyed wildlife immediately returns to the area it was inhabiting. The Gunk IS the reason the planet appears to be a wasteland.

The core of the game is the player embarking on a journey to uncover what happened to the planet and its inhabitants by clearing the planet of "The Gunk" and discovering its origins. The gameplay isn't complex. The player has the ability to scan their immediate environment and unlock entries in their encyclopedia or local wildlife, minerals and more which will allow them to upgrade their character.

The game is an 3rd person action adventure game with a focus on puzzle solving and platforming. The game shines in the art design. The game is beautiful. I was consistently blown away by the game and the detail in each environment. It was a relaxing experience and exactly what I expected the game to be.

I played the game on Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass. If you're a fan of chill games and found what I wrote above interesting I'd definitely check the game out. It's worth a look!