Without Gamepass I wouldn't have discovered this little gem of a game.
I'm not usually a fan of smaller indie games and specifically I'm not a fan of 'platforming' elements as I find most of them to be very suspect when it comes to consistency and correctly implemented game mechanics. But The Gunk really surprised me and had me totally hooked for the 5 1/2 hours I played it.
It's an action adventure game that has you land on an unexplored planet and search for resources all while fighting back "The Gunk" a dark matter that seems to be sentient.
Collectible materials found in the world allow you to upgrade your character with powerful new abilities and boosts meaning it pays to explore that little bit between main quest lines and get rewarded. This progression keeps you working towards new upgrades all while visiting new areas of the map to solve puzzles and fight enemies, this loop is done brilliantly and is paced perfectly keeping you entertained with each path you choose to take.
The gameplay itself is excellent with the movement system feeling very fluid and the platforming feeling smooth as silk, absolute no lag or missed jumps here, it works perfectly every time and reacts instantly to your button inputs.
The story itself is very basic but it does unfold at a good pace and has your goals changing throughout each 'chapter' culminating in a boss fight that is fun enough to be worth the wait.
Graphics surprised me as on Xbox Series X the contrast between dark and light colours really made them pop and although the art style is more basic, there were times I found myself impressed with the world and the beautiful view from the top of a cliff or hill. On top of this I had almost zero issues with bugs/glitches/crashes. On a very early build (first 2 days after release) I had zero crashes and the only bug I encountered was towards the end of the game when I fell through a platform the was meant to take me upwards, but I reloaded a save and was instantly back to that exact spot.
Overall The Gunk is a game I would have NEVER purchased or played ordinarily but because of Gamepass I got to play this wonderful little game and enjoyed every minute of it, well worth a download for anybody who has Gamepass.
