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The Gunk
The Gunk is an action-adventure game in which you play as Rani, part of our duo of gritty space haulers. As they’re struggling to bring in funds, they chance upon an untouched planet brimming with life. They came in search of valuable resources, and it looks like they’ve hit the jackpot…
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-02 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-13.
What reviewers agree on
62 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“This one is quite meh for me. I was actually excited when I saw this announced a while back, being a sci fi lover it somehow had an unique appeal. In the end it turned out really bad and short for a 25 euro price tag.…”
“The Gunk is one of those games you pick up expecting to kill an hour and somehow look up to find seven hours have passed. Cleaning up the alien goop is weirdly satisfying, almost therapeutic, and the world has this…”
“The gunk was a blast through and through! It is lightheared adventure story game, that was surprisingly interesting and kept me engaged to the very end, while being very respectful of my time spent with it. Sucking up…”
43 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“[h2]TLDR:[/h2] Despite its colorful presentation, the repetitive gameplay and unsatisfying ending mean I can't recommend this one. [h2]GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW:[/h2] The Gunk has a fairly straightforward premise: a small…”
“This one is quite meh for me. I was actually excited when I saw this announced a while back, being a sci fi lover it somehow had an unique appeal. In the end it turned out really bad and short for a 25 euro price tag.…”
“The Gunk is one of those games you pick up expecting to kill an hour and somehow look up to find seven hours have passed. Cleaning up the alien goop is weirdly satisfying, almost therapeutic, and the world has this…”
28 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“This one is quite meh for me. I was actually excited when I saw this announced a while back, being a sci fi lover it somehow had an unique appeal. In the end it turned out really bad and short for a 25 euro price tag.…”
“The gunk was a blast through and through! It is lightheared adventure story game, that was surprisingly interesting and kept me engaged to the very end, while being very respectful of my time spent with it. Sucking up…”
“the visuals are amazing and the story progression is good too. the only advice is to save the game every chapter”
21 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“The Gunk is a fun little action-adventure game with platforming. It is very cozy and relaxing to play. The game is not very long. It usually is on sale with a 90% discount, so I definitely recommend this game if it is…”
“great game for the price”
“itsa fun puzzle platformer, mine the stuff on the planet. upgrade your vacuum cleaner and save the planet. it gets repetitive kinda quick. catch it on sale and id recommend it.”
13 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“adventure > boss fights puzzles > stress just played it every night, chill reached the end screen without forcing it graphics were lively and aesthetic 9/10 indie game”
“Things I loved: * the Ron Jon stickers on the ship \m/ * Becks' crocs. Hell yeah exploring the galaxy in comfort. * Becks and Rani. Normal boring queer couple. Please more of this. * the scenery. GORGEOUS. * the gunk.…”
“The Gunk... Is it the best game in it's category? Likely not. Does it reinvent the wheel of gameplay? Also no. And yet this game has a certain charm to it that makes me feel like a kid again discovering video games. The…”
31 of the 103 reviews raise this · 21 of them still recommend the game.
“[h2]TLDR:[/h2] Despite its colorful presentation, the repetitive gameplay and unsatisfying ending mean I can't recommend this one. [h2]GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW:[/h2] The Gunk has a fairly straightforward premise: a small…”
“I found this game to be dull.....nothing but wandering around identifying plant species, vacuuming up big blobs and other mundane tasks, accompanied by an obligatory LGBT nod. Nothing to hold my interest, so "abort…”
“I was pleasantly surprised how fun this game is. Very chilled and easy to play! The mechanics can get a bit boring but they work around that by keeping the levels different and visually appealing.”
21 of the 103 reviews raise this · 16 of them still recommend the game.
“This one is quite meh for me. I was actually excited when I saw this announced a while back, being a sci fi lover it somehow had an unique appeal. In the end it turned out really bad and short for a 25 euro price tag.…”
“The Gunk is a fun little action-adventure game with platforming. It is very cozy and relaxing to play. The game is not very long. It usually is on sale with a 90% discount, so I definitely recommend this game if it is…”
“Treat platform game, intuitive, not complicated. Only thing it's a bit short and would have loved more options to unlock on the arm but... felt like a good short story and good short game that made me feel good :)…”
18 of the 103 reviews raise this · 10 of them still recommend the game.
“[h2]TLDR:[/h2] Despite its colorful presentation, the repetitive gameplay and unsatisfying ending mean I can't recommend this one. [h2]GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW:[/h2] The Gunk has a fairly straightforward premise: a small…”
“I found this game to be dull.....nothing but wandering around identifying plant species, vacuuming up big blobs and other mundane tasks, accompanied by an obligatory LGBT nod. Nothing to hold my interest, so "abort…”
“LGBT🤢🤢”
6 of the 103 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Treat platform game, intuitive, not complicated. Only thing it's a bit short and would have loved more options to unlock on the arm but... felt like a good short story and good short game that made me feel good :)…”
“This is a gorgeous game. The music is amazing, the plot is compelling, the graphics are interesting. I didn't feel that I was bored at any point while playing, the gameplay progression feels balanced and going for 100%…”
“it's a short game and it is not bad by any means and I appreciate the efforts and the message of the game. Art direction is good but gameplay could have more depth Here are the complaints -the progress in gameplay and…”
6 of the 103 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“Def recommend if you got it on sale. Took a a break from this game for a few months because I kept getting a bug where I would clean up all the gunk in a couple areas but it wouldn't trigger that I completed the area.…”
“This was disappointing. In it's way, Gunk is a cinematic puzzle platformer ala Planet of Lana but in 3D. Unfortunately while it's beautiful and mostly plays well, the game is buggy. Weirdly buggy. I had one incident…”
“[b]Planet adventure...?[/b] + good graphics - everything else sadly - some gamebreaking bugs where you have to begin anew (enemey falls from plattform, but you need it to clear the zone...and reload) - some weird bugs…”
Counted across 103 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 86.5% positive rating · as of 2026-05-13
“Considering this game usually goes for 1 euro while on sale I didn't expect much but I was pleasantly surprisied. To be blunt, it's not exactly the most thrilling experience out there, the whole premise is scan this, take that resource and clean the annoying gunk. The visuals…”
— a player, Steam review · 4 hrs played“Game gave me some relaxed chilltime. Especially good as intermezzo between long sessions with other games or a stressfull day at work. Nice story. Feel good ending. Little to no fighting. Mostly puzzles and story. And a very tiny bit timing. Good for those of us that want to…”
— a player, Steam review · 10 hrs played“For less than three bucks this was a complete steal. Fun mechanics, engaging story, charming characters, doesn't overstay its welcome. I really loved it. My one nitpick is that to get all the upgrades you really have to go find literally every single resource. A bit more leeway…”
— a player, Steam review · 7 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-09-05.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-09-04). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Hidden Artifacts found: The Gunk Steam Community Items available now!
To all you adventurers out there, We hope you all have a good start into the new week! If not we can hopefully help you out a little bit, because the Steam Community Items for The Gunk are now availab
The Gunk is 20% OFF for Steam Summer Sale! 👨🚀
On to adventure, friends! 🚀 The annual Steam Summer Sale starts in a bit and The Gunk is 20% off for the duration of it! Get it yourself, tell your friends and explore an evocative, moody planet as Ra
The Gunk - Fixes and Improvements Patch (Patch Notes)
Greetings Adventurers, We have just released a new update fixing some translation issues, bug fixes, and improved performance. Down below, you can find the full changelog! Changelog: Rani’s name and s
From The Depths Of Space To Your PC: The Gunk is NOW Available on Steam! 🚀
To all you adventurers out there, Happy Friday! And what a happy Friday that is! Because not only is the weekend upon us, FROM NOW our space exploring adventure The Gunk is available here on Steam! Me
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-13.
| Genres | Action, Adventure |
| Player tags | Action-Adventure · Atmospheric · Sci-fi · 3D Platformer · Family Friendly · Relaxing · Space · Female Protagonist · Third Person · Exploration · Colorful · Adventure (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Full controller support · Steam Cloud · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * , French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese * |
| Controller | Full support |
| Achievements | 17 |
| Official site | https://thunderfulgames.com/games/the-gunk/ |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS: Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher Processor: AMD FX-6100/Intel i3-3220 or equivalent Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 580/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 DirectX: Version 12 Storage: 11 GB available space