The Gunk: Release date, story, Xbox game pass, gameplay, features and more

After almost a full year of silence, we were finally able to learn more about The Gunk, a mysterious new game coming from the studio that brought us the SteamWorld series, Image & Form Games.

Unlike SteamWorld games, which are a unique blend of platforming, exploring and turn-based combat, here it seems that we have something closer to a more traditional action-adventure game.

Developers have been working hard over the last year, and now they are ready to share more details about the game, including the first gameplay trailer shown during the Xbox Gamescom 2021 showcase as well as a few new blogs post that reveal some elements of the story and the game's setting.

Join us to take a look at what we currently know about the game.

What is The Gunk?

While we still don't know much about the game at this point, developers have revealed a few more details about the game's story and setting.

Players will play as Roni, a space scavenger who travels across the universe with her partner Becks, searching to mine whatever has any value in order to survive the harsh future.

One day Roni will land on "a seemingly barren planet" where they will find the gunk, a previously undiscovered substance that could mean a big payout.

But the catch is, this black slimy ooze doesn't look like something particularly safe, as it literally devours the whole planet, spreading rapidly across the surface and depriving the planet of any life.

The Gunk gameplay

During the Gamescom 2021 Xbox showcase, developers showed us the first gameplay trailer, which admittedly hasn't revealed much.

We know that the game is a 3D action-adventure with a big emphasis on the exploration of an alien world.

The mysterious world we have landed on consists of different biomes (a rocky canyon region, a dense jungle, deep subterranean caves...) and our main goal will be to remove the gunk as the life flourishes almost immediately upon the removal of the black goo.

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But, of course, it won't be just an easy walk around the landscape, as there are monsters, hidden dangers, and other mysteries that we will discover through the journey, including ruins of an ancient civilization.

One of the main gameplay gadgets is Rani's upgradeable prosthetic power glove. We have seen in the trailer that she is able to remove the Gunk with it, and it probably features a myriad of other abilities which we will use and upgrade throughout the game.

Will The Gunk release on Xbox Game Pass?

Although Image & Form Games is an independent, third-party developer, The Gunk has been developed in partnership with Microsoft and the game will be on Xbox Game Pass on Day 1.

Will The Gunk release on PS5 and PS4?

No, The Gunk is coming exclusively to Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.

"On Xbox One, you can expect a stable 30fps experience that offers the beautiful art design and graphical flourishes that you have seen in our trailer," developers explain. "If you’re playing on Xbox Series X|S or a high-end PC, everything is dialled up and we aim to provide you with a smooth 60fps gameplay experience at up to 4K resolution."

The Gunk release date

While we still don't have the exact release date, the developer has confirmed that the game will be released in December 2021.

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