The Gunk lands us on an alien planet overtaken by, you guessed it, gunk

The makers of the SteamWorld games showed off their next project at the Xbox Games Showcase today: The Gunk. That's a really good name for a videogame.

"Lead a duo of outer space explorers that chance upon a dangerous planet plagued by a corruptive gunk," reads the official site. "Explore, gather, craft… and survive."

I'm not sure the intensifying dot dot dot before "survive" is needed, given that surviving is something we're pretty familiar with in games, but it tells us there'll be danger on this gunk-ey planet. 

You play as a looter, or a "space hauler," as the developers put it, sucking up resources from an "untouched planet brimming with life." That's when you encounter the gunk, a "parasite" you've got to save the planet from—the same planet you were about to loot.

"Why did you come here?" asks a fact sheet about the game. "To save this dying planet... or to strip it of its resources, and then leave?"

I'm going to guess that we ultimately decide to save the planet, although who knows? Maybe our protagonist is cold. 

The Gunk will release in September 2021 for Xbox and PC for $30.

Tyler Wilde
Executive Editor

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.