2021 has been a massive year for Xbox Game Pass; Microsoft's gaming subscription service first launched in 2017 and has become the home of first and third-party Xbox games spanning all generations. While there have been huge titles like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 drawing new fans to the service in the holiday months of the year, it's indie games that have kept Xbox Game Pass feeling lively throughout the year, offering short but sweet experiences. Rounding out 2021 is Image & Form's The Gunk, an Xbox console exclusive game available now through Game Pass.
The Gunk is a third-person adventure game from Image & Form, developer of the beloved SteamWorld indie series, that consists of games such as SteamWorld Dig and SteamWorld Heist. The game is the developer's first 3D project, as the SteamWorld titles were 2D side-scrolling adventures, and is the studio's first game to be created using Unreal Engine 4, the Epic Games-developed engine known for powering many major games released today.
How Long is The Gunk?
The Gunk follows a young scavenger named Rani, who is tasked with cleaning an alien parasite called "The Gunk" off of a mysterious planet. The game is heavily narrative-based, featuring full voice acting from the likes of G4TV host Fiona Nova. Given that this is Image & Form's first 3D game, it's easy to see why The Gunk isn't overly ambitious in its pacing, which results in the game clocking in between four to six hours, but this makes the game perfect for a one-sitting Game Pass experience.
Currently, The Gunk is only available on Xbox platforms and PC; however, it is also playable on mobile devices through Xbox Cloud Gaming. So far, Image & Form's first foray into 3D games seems to be paying off, as The Gunk is sitting comfortably at a 72 on OpenCritic and a 71 on Metacritic. While these aren't mind-blowing reviews, they make the game seem like a safe bet for Game Pass subscribers who aren't sure if the game's gameplay style is for them, as they can try the title through cloud streaming or downloading it without having to opt into a purchase.
As for when or if Image & Form's other titles will make their way to Xbox Game Pass, not much is known yet, although it does seem that The Gunk is only a timed exclusive for Xbox consoles, so the game will likely make its way to PlayStation consoles and Nintendo Switch in the new year, where it will join the SteamWorld series.
The Gunk is available now, exclusively on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.