The Gunk is a gritty, story-driven action-adventure game. This Sci-Fi game has players explore an alien planet while trying to restore it to its original environment. It was released on December 16, 2021, for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S. The game was developed by Image & Form, a Swedish studio based in Gothenburg that brought you the SteamWorld series. The Gunk was published by Thunderful Publishing, the publishers who brought you Harvest Moon: One World.
The Gunk received mixed reviews from critics but has very positive reviews from its players. It has been praised for its art direction, worthwhile story, and colorful world. It is full of unique challenges and puzzles at every corner.
The Gunk Premise
This alien landscape is tainted with a corrupt substance that is affecting the environment and wildlife. The planet has numerous unique biomes to explore like jungles, caves, ruins of an alien civilization, and canyons. But the landscape is covered by black, slime parasites called the Gunk. An entity known as the Gardener has caused the Gunk to appear, forcing the planet’s alien inhabitants to leave. It is the player’s job, as Rani, to stop the Gardener, clear out all of the Gunk, and allow the world to be free again.
Get rid of the Gunk, fight corrupted monsters, and learn about the alien civilization that used to live here. You may even find a local that is still around.
The Gunk Main Character
The main character is Rani, a human space hauler and scavenger, who arrives on an alien planet with her partner, Becks. Rani is as caring as she is smart and resourceful. Becks stays in the ship for most of the game, so Rani is on her own to navigate this new world. While Becks may be missing out on the action, Rani and Becks keep in tight radio contact throughout the game. Becks acts as the voice of reason.
While Rani might intend to just collect resources with her powered glove, Pumpkin, she soon finds that Pumpkin can be used to remove the pollution and restore the planet’s beauty.
The Gunk Series
The Gunk is a standalone game, at this point in time, there are no prequels or sequels. Both the developer and publisher have a long history of unique adventure and puzzle games. If you are hungry for more Sci-Fi or industrial-themed platformers, here is a list of games published by Image & Form before they integrated into the Thunderful Group.
- SteamWorld Tower Defense (2010)
- Anthill (2011)
- SteamWorld Dig (2013)
- SteamWorld Heist (2015)
- SteamWorld Dig 2 (2017)
- SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech (2019)
- The Gunk (2021)
And if you’re looking for more surreal puzzle games or platformers in a unique style, check out Thunderful’s full catalog, with games like Lost in Random and Fe. They have a wide variety for you to check out.
- Bridge Constructor (2012)
- Stick It To The Man! (2013)
- SteamWorld Dig (2013)
- SteamWorld Heist (2015)
- Zombie Vikings (2015)
- Curious Expedition (2016)
- SteamWorld Dig 2 (2017)
- Bridge Constructor Portal (2017)
- Fe (2018)
- Flipping Death (2018)
- Hellfront: Honeymoon (2018)
- Ghost Giant (2019)
- SteamWorld Quest (2019)
- Lonely Mountains: Downhill (2019)
- Anthill (2019)
- Deadly Premonition 2 (2020)
- Pumpkin Jack (2020)
- Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead (2020)
- Tinkertown (2020)
- The Gunk (2021)
- Firegirl (2021)
- White Shadows (2021)
- Industria (2021)
- Source of Madness (2021)
- Lost in Random (2021)
- Escape from Naraka (2021)
- Gigapocalypse (2021)
- Lost at Sea (2021)
- Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield (2021)
- Say No! More (2021)
- Dead Age 2 (2021)
- Harvest Moon: One World (2021)
- Curious Expedition 2 (2021)
- Wavetale (2022)
- Togges (2022)
- Swordship (2022)
- Paper Cut Mansion (2022)
- Cursed to Golf (2022)
- Hell Pie (2022)
- Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit (2022)
- Lego Bricktales (2023)
- SteamWorld Build (2023)
- Laika: Aged Through Blood (2023)
- Viewfinder (2023)
- Dr. Fetus Mean Meat Machine (2023)
- Planet of Lava (2023)
- Super Meat Forever (2023)
The Gunk Cheat Codes
Unfortunately for players on all platforms, The Gunk does not have any cheat codes. But luckily for players who own the PC version, they are still able to implement cheats into the game by downloading a cheat trainer. These cheat trainers can activate useful cheats such as the following:
- Super Jump
- Super Movement Speed
- Super Player Speed
- Slow AI
- Infinite Jumps
- Infinite Resources
- Instant Scan
- Fast Gunk Absorption
- Godmode
- Super Absorb Range
- Pulse Cannon No Cooldown
- Noclip
- Jump Height Multiplier
- Movement Speed Multiplier
- Player Speed Multiplier
- AI Speed Multiplier
- Edit: FOV
- Edit: Camera Distance
The Gunk Achievements
While The Gunk may not have any cheat codes, it does have several achievements for players to focus on. These could take players an estimated 6-8 hours to finish.
| Achievements | Requirements |
| Give me Five | Craft five upgrades |
| All In | Craft all upgrades |
| Learning on the Go | Scan fifteen objects |
| Space Archaeologists | Scan every scannable type of object in the game |
| Two Birds With One Stone | Throw one on another |
| Slip One Past | Sneak up and clog |
| Charge Off | Make one charge off of a cliff |
| Take Charge | Make one chart into another |
| Three’s a Crowd | Blast three in to smithereens |
And just in case you do not want to be spoiled, the next list is the “secret achievements”.
| Secret Achievements | Requirements |
| First Gunk | Encounter your first Gunk blob in Chapter 1 and clean it up |
| Land the Ship | Complete Chapter 1 |
| Settle In | Compete Chapter 2 |
| Mega Gunk | Complete Chapter 5 |
| Charged Up | Defeat your first Gunk beast |
| Try Some Gardening | Complete Chapter 6 |
| Friends After All | Complete Chapter 7 |
| What’s so bad about wilderness? | Complete Chapter 8 |
While the game does not have any collectibles, there are plenty of items to scan with Rani’s scanner that can seem hard to miss. There are a total of 57 scannable items to be found. And try not to miss any, you need to scan them to unlock more upgrades. All findings will be documented in Rani’s logbook.
The Gunk Cheat Code FAQ
Does The Gunk have any cheat codes?
No, unfortunately, The Gunk does not have any in-game cheat codes but there are cheat trainers available online. These cheat trainers can grant Infinite Resources, Super Jump, affect the Pulse Cannon cooldown, and much more!
What are cheat codes for?
Cheat codes are exploits that can change the game’s behavior and give players an advantage. They may move players to the next level, make the player immune to damage, or some other action that wouldn’t take place without them.
They can also make the game more accessible and appealing to casual gamers or those who find the game’s current state inaccessible.
What is the difference between cheat codes and cheat trainers?
They both give players some sort of advantage in the game, whether they make their speed runs faster or to make the game more accessible to them. But cheat codes are built into the game by the developers. What many people don’t know is that cheat codes were originally a tool by developers to make game testing easier. With the gaming industry becoming so large, cheat codes are no longer needed and are becoming less frequent in new titles.
Cheat trainers are external tools that are made by third parties to be downloaded. Since cheat trainers can be made by almost anyone, they can even be seen as the more accessible option. They have more options for what they can do than your usual cheat code. Players can adjust the speed of the game, camera speed, and other things that can make it difficult for certain players.