gamescom 2021: The Gunk resurfaces in the lead up to its release this December

Guten tag, everyone! Thank you for waiting so patiently for more information on the new Thunderful title, The Gunk. The development team has been working hard since July last year to get the game ready for prime time. We’re excited to finally reveal our first gameplay trailer during gamescom 2021: Xbox Stream.

At first, we decided to use Unreal Engine 4 to bring this story to life. Not only does it allow us to quickly prototype and iterate, but it also gives us incredible flexibility and powerful graphical tools that have made the jump from 2D to 3D extremely seamless for the team. On top of that, we added some of our own super cool tech to do things like give garbage a life of its own. From the beginning, our goal was for grime to have this fascinating quality, something you can sit on and watch bubble for years, like a lava lamp.

The partnership with Xbox has been incredible and we wanted to harness the power of the Xbox ecosystem to its full potential. We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure that whatever platform you play on, you experience our full vision of The Gunk.

Unsurprisingly, we are using Smart Delivery to better support all Xbox platforms. On Xbox One, you can expect a stable 30fps experience that delivers the beautiful art design and graphic details you’ve seen in our trailer. If you play on Xbox Series X | S or on a high-end PC, everything is marked and our goal is to give you a smooth gaming experience at 60 fps with a resolution of up to 4K.

It is the last title of the team that brought you Steamworld series … us! However, once we partnered with Microsoft to develop for the Xbox platform, we decided to go in a very different creative direction than Steamworld Serie. The Gunk It’s our first 3D project, so we wanted to use that literal extra dimension to create a more immersive, cinematic experience than anything we’ve done before. What we have created is a story-driven sci-fi exploration game that really focuses on character development.

You play as Rani, one part of a space shuttle duo who are mining the galaxy for whatever resources they can sell to make ends meet. When she and her partner Becks land on a seemingly barren planet, they find the grime, a previously undiscovered substance that could mean a great reward. The only problem is that the dirt is somehow damaging this natural habitat, creating a dilemma: Should Rani and Becks interfere with something they don’t fully understand? Will this dangerous discovery cause a rift between two friends?

The Gunk It has a great emphasis on exploration and the world you will discover contains different biomes like a region of rocky canyons, a dense jungle, deep underground caves (we couldn’t help it) and a few more surprises too. Dirt is rendering all these areas sterile, but as you remove it, you will discover the flourishing ecosystem that this world apparently had before this destructive substance arrived.

You can scan the environment to make new discoveries and learn more about the world. All that remains is indigenous wildlife and the ruins of an ancient civilization that appears to have left the planet or disappeared. Maybe dirt has something to do with it? All your findings are added to a log book, so when you have a spare moment, we recommend excavation in and reading about the entries. You can find some clues about what happened here!

Our hero Rani is equipped with her trusty, upgradeable prosthetic power glove, which she affectionately calls Pumpkin. With it, you can soak up dirt that not only looks really cool, but plays with key mechanics to transform corrupted areas of the world back to their natural state. When Rani removes the grime domain, you will see the ecosystem rebound, which is extremely satisfying to watch. From a creative standpoint, the contrast of wasteland areas of dirt morphing into flourishing havens was fun and inspiring for the team to work on.

We can’t wait for you all to get your hands on The Gunk This December, we are truly proud of what we have been able to accomplish with Xbox and have been impressed with the support you have given us. In his heart, The Gunk it’s a story about friendship and the impact we have on the environment, so we hope it resonates with you. We wanted to create a fun, modern and inclusive game that was in line with our core values.

That’s all from me, have a thunder day and see you in December!