Halo Infinite

For all the reports of its reduced scale and performance issues on PC at launch, the Slipspace Engine did deliver on the promise of a somewhat-open world in Halo Infinite. Environments were lush with sharp textures and vibrant lighting and shadows, while the effects were on point. It achieved all this while still running at 4K/60 FPS on Xbox Series X, which is still an impressive feat.

The Steam release coincides with the new Photo Mode update. As the name implies, it allows players to take pictures in-game. You can also edit photos, changing the field of view, exposure, depth of field and other settings while adding filters like Cartoon, Sepia, Noir and so on. Protagonist Rani can also be adjusted in different poses and facial expressions based on one’s preference.

Other features include support for languages like Simplified Chinese, Russian, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese. As for whether any more new features or content will be added to the game, we’ll need to wait for more details. Stay tuned in the meantime.

A new update will also launch at the same time which adds Photo Mode and four additional languages (Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Russian and Brazilian Portuguese). Photo Mode provides tools for taking screenshots and editing different settings like focus distance, depth of field, exposure and field of view along with filters and grading. These images can then be shared online with others.

Stay tuned for more details on The Gunk’s release for Steam and other storefronts in the coming months (though the new update seems to be coming to Xbox platforms first). Check out our official review here in the meantime. You can also watch the first 15 minutes of gameplay here.

The Gunk tells the story of Rani and Becks, two scavengers exploring the outer reaches of known human space to gather resources and find something that can make them some money, which they desperately need. The two friends land on an alien planet after chancing upon an energy signal, and soon upon their arrival, they find it completely decayed and isolated, with much of its long-standing troubles seemingly being brought about by an unknown, corrupting, black gelatinous substance that they dub “the gunk”. Hoping to find the source of the energy signal, which they’re assuming will lead them to a money-making discovery, Rani heads deeper into the planet with Becks’ support in an effort to uncover the planet’s mysteries.

"With The Gunk, Image and Form has delivered yet another stone-cold classic that sinks its teeth into you the moment it kicks off, bites deeper and deeper as it progresses, and then embeds itself into you by the time it comes to an end."

The Gunk’s story succeeds in more ways than one. Rani and Becks are the heart and soul of this tale, and it’s a tale with a lot of heart and soul. Both of them are very relatable, very normal people who, even though they find themselves in an extraordinary situation, are dealing with very real, very ordinary problems. In spite of these obstacles, they both remain upbeat and optimistic, with Rani’s sense of wonder and curiosity being constantly piqued by the rich enigmas and alien beauty of the planet, and Becks pulling her back with her pragmatism and cautious personality. The dynamic between the two characters and the bond that grows deeper and deeper as the story progress makes this an incredibly human story that’s easy to immediately get invested in. It helps that both characters are voiced and written expertly.

On a macro level, there’s plenty else to pull you in in The Gunk’s story as well. Right from the get go, the game builds up an intriguing of mystery, and instantly, you have core questions to latch on to that pull you through the entire experience. What is the gunk? What’s it doing to the planet? What’s the source of the energy signal? As you progress further, Rani and Becks discover ancient alien ruins of a long-forgotten civilization, and those questions are compounded even further. The intimate and big-picture halves of The Gunk’s story work together perfectly, combining to deliver a narrative that is as heartfelt as it is captivating.

And there’s just as much to love on the gameplay front. The Gunk abides by the “less is more” philosophy, and rather than creating a vast web of mechanics, it focuses on a handful of those and builds on them in increasingly clever ways as the game progresses. Your primary way of interacting with the world is by using a vacuum-like device in Rani’s prosthetic hand, which is used to suck up the gunk in corrupted areas. Once all the gunk in an area has cleared up, that area transforms, going from decrepit and rotten to lush and gorgeous in the blink of an eye. With that comes a change in the environment, with new areas to traverse, new environmental objects that you can use to get to previously inaccessible areas, and new resources to collect.

"The intimate and big-picture halves of The Gunk’s story work together perfectly, combining to deliver a narrative that is as heartfelt as it is captivating."

Collecting resources is equally important too, because those resources – divided across various categories like metal, fiber, and organic – are used to upgrade and improve Rani’s prosthetic arm, which in turn allows you to explore and traverse the alien planet more effectively. These two elements – the need for collecting resources and being able to explore areas that change through your actions – work together perfectly to elevate exploration in The Gunk to incredible heights. The environments and levels that you find yourself in this game are also never awfully massive, but they’re intricately designed with interconnecting paths, unlockable shortcuts, and smartly designed puzzles that ask you to use your limited arsenal of tools in different ways.

The environments, in fact, motivate you to explore just as much as the game’s own mechanics. The Gunk is a gorgeous game, and the alien planet is a dense, lush, and beautiful location full of striking sights and vistas and vibrant flora and fauna. There’s also a scanning mechanic that takes heavy cues from the Metroid Prime games, and looking for new things in the world to scan and learn more about never gets boring. It also helps that there’s a surprising amount of environmental diversity in the game, like dense and lush outdoor locations, towering alien ruins with ancient statues, networks of dimly lit caves, abandoned mines with crumbling machinery, and much more.

With almost zero emphasis on combat, intricately designed levels that are as enjoyable to explore as they are beautiful to look at, and a tight, compelling loop of collecting resources, upgrading your tools, scanning objects, and solving puzzles, The Gunk exhibits that it’s perfectly aware of where its biggest strengths lie, and it doubles down on those strengths every chance it gets. Things only get more complex and mechanically interesting as the game progresses, which means you’re always excited about what lies around the corner. If there’s one issue with the how the game plays, it’s that the movement can sometimes feel a bit inaccurate and cumbersome, especially during the light platforming sections, and can, as such, lead to unnecessary moments of frustration- though these are, in the grand scheme of things, little more than minor annoyances.

"With almost zero emphasis on combat, intricately designed levels that are as enjoyable to explore as they are beautiful to look at, and a tight, compelling loop of collecting resources, upgrading your tools, scanning objects, and solving puzzles, The Gunk exhibits that it’s perfectly aware of where its biggest strengths lie, and it doubles down on those strengths every chance it gets."

On the audio-visual side of things, The Gunk is similarly excellent. In my time with the game, I have had some issues with excessive motion blur and the sound occasionally glitching out, but other than these minor stumbles, the game has impressed me thoroughly. Technical strengths such as incredible draw distances, densely packed environments, and a solid frame rate go a long way towards allowing the game’s artistic beauty to shine the way it should, and the soundtrack serves as a perfect companion to the tone that The Gunk sets every step of the way.

Though The Gunk is not a flawless game, such shortcomings as it has are relatively minor when all is said and done. The lingering sentiment that stays with me regarding the game at this point is one of overwhelming positivity- a positivity that is a composite of emotions such as awe, empathy, wonderment, curiosity, an investment in its narrative and storytelling, and an appreciation for how expertly it builds on and emphasizes its own narrative strengths. When all is said and done, The Gunk is fantastic, and it is heartily recommended to just about anyone.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.

The story sees Rani and Beck, two scavengers scouring the galaxy for work, venturing to the planet in search of valuable resources. Things quickly take a turn as Rani explores the world, restoring its natural beauty with her mechanical arm, and fighting off the corrupted creatures that dwell within. An ancient civilization was present before and discovering their fate encompasses half of the mystery.

Eventually, players will have to make a choice – whether to save the planet or scavenge whatever resources they can. The Gunk is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC along with Xbox Game Pass. You can read our review of the game through here.

As revealed in a video uploaded by Xbox On, the YouTube channel run by Xbox UK, nine more games will be added to Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass for cloud in a couple of days, on December 16. The highlights here are Mortal Kombat 11, the upcoming The Gunk, and the acclaimed narrative adventure title Firewatch.

Meanwhile, Transformers: Battlegrounds, Lake, Race with Ryan, Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay, Broken Age, and Ben 10: Power Trip are also being added to the subscription service’s ever-growing catalogue.

Several upcoming releases over the coming months were also recently announced as day 1 titles for Game Pass, including the likes of Sniper Elite 5, Weird West, Trek to Yomi, and more.

Via IGN, we get to see what is essentially the game’s beginning. You’ll see the start by landing on a planet that is in the midst of a storm where you first see the titular gunk. There isn’t a whole lot of combat, but we do get to see how you clean up the gunk as well as traverse the area. The big thing is the introductions to the game’s characters and how they interact. You can check it out in full below.

The Gunk will be available on December 16th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC. It will also launch on both versions of Game Pass.

By contrast, The Gunk is a fully 3D action adventure that focuses on exploration and combat as it does on survival and puzzle-solving. It’s out on December 16^th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC along with launching day one on Xbox Game. Let’s take a look at eight things you should know before picking it up.

Story

The Gunk focuses on Rani (voiced by Fiona Nova) and Beck (played by Abigail Turner), two scavengers who travel the galaxy, mining resources and attempting to make ends meet. They arrive upon a mysterious uncharted planet that’s seemingly teeming with precious resources. Things seem to be looking up but they also find it covered in a mysterious black substance. This “Gunk” is actually a parasite and is seemingly corrupting the environment along with its wildlife. Rani thus sets out to learn more about the planet, cleansing the Gunk and unraveling its greater mysteries. Throughout the story, the relationship between Rani and Beck is also unveiled. As they remain in radio contact, we learn more about their struggles, conflicts and much more.

Setting

The planet in question is interesting for a number of reasons. It’s full of jungles, caves, canyons and barren deserts to explore, though it’s all been corrupted and warped thanks to the Gunk (which also seems to be affecting the weather by generating dangerous storms). By removing the Gunk, players can restore these areas to their previous natural beauty. With the help of the revived plant life, new areas can be unlocked. Players will also find evidence of an ancient civilization, including statues of alien figures – they must discern what happened to them and how the Gunk played a role in their apparent downfall. The August 2021 gameplay trailer also showcased a massive facility with giant, neon-lit pipes connected to it and alien architecture within. Perhaps it’s another species that set up shop on the planet for their own mysterious purposes?

Power Glove

In order to traverse the Gunk-filled environments, Rani must rely on her Power Glove. This device is capable of sucking up the Gunk, thus cleansing the environment. Some form of environmental manipulation also seems to be available but Rani can also suck up enemies and shoot them out to damage others (along with firing energy blasts of some sort). There are puzzles to solve, though we’ve only seen lever-pulling up till now. Given how the SteamWorld Dig series plays, expect some side areas with devious challenges to overcome. Though Rani’s Power Glove starts out relatively simple, it will be possible to enhance it with the right resources.

Crafting and Upgrades

Another aspect that carries over from SteamWorld Dig is using the gathered resources for crafting and upgrading one’s equipment. How exactly it works remains to be seen but there are Achievements for crafting five upgrades (which could be per equipment piece) along with crafting all upgrades. Perhaps the energy blasts that Rani can fire from her Power Glove are an upgrade. One Achievement also seems to hint at being able to blow up enemies – this may either involve an upgrade or utilizing the environment. We’ll have to wait for more details.

Corrupted Wildlife

The environment isn’t the only thing affected by the Gunk. Various wildlife have also fallen prey to it, resulting in corrupted creatures that will attack Rani. Some of them are fairly small and can be sucked up with the Power Glove to launch at others. But there are bigger creatures to fight which can charge at her. Interestingly, it seems that one will be able to defeat these larger foes by making them charge into each other or off of cliffs (at least according to Achievements). This is likely only a small sampling of the threats that players will face though.

Logbook

Along with cleansing the environment, Rani can also scan it for different details. This would provide more details on the various flora and fauna along with the ancient statues and architecture adorning the landscape. All of this will be categorized into a Logbook which players can view. While the main story is focused on Rani and Beck, scanning and reading the Logbook could provide lore and additional clues as to the planet’s past.

Save or Profit

One aspect that’s been brought up a lot is the ability to either save the planet or simply strip its resources and peace out. The official description also speaks of the crew being caught in a “spiral of festering mistrust,” which seems to indicate that Rani and Beck have opposing views on what should be done (or that something is manipulating them into distrusting each other). As such, having financial troubles is only one aspect to their troubled relationship – by cleansing the Gunk and altering the planet, perhaps they’re messing with forces beyond their control. How this will ultimately play out – like possible choices that could lead to different endings – remains to be seen but it is intriguing.

Up to 4K and 60 FPS on Xbox Series X

For Image and Form’s first ever fully 3D game, The Gunk offers a unique art-style that looks vibrant while maintaining a grimy feel. Along with being optimized for Xbox Series X/S, it supports up to 4K and 60 FPS+ on Xbox Series X and PC. Smart Delivery is also supported, which means cross-gen save progression and only having to buy the game once on consoles. Xbox One players can experience it in 30 FPS but there’s no word yet on the resolution. Though PC requirements have yet to be revealed, the Microsoft Store indicates that it will require a minimum of 2 GB VRAM with 6 GB VRAM being recommended.

Century: Age of Ashes

After being delayed to get out of the way of Battlefield 2042 (which is hilarious in retrospect), Playwing’s Century: Age of Ashes is slated to release on December 2^nd for PC. This free to play competitive multiplayer arena title is pretty unique in that players ride dragons and battle in high-speed aerial bouts. Along with three classes to choose from, each with their own unique abilities, there are three modes – 6v6 Carnage, the CTF-style Gates of Fire, and Spoils of War which involves slaying foes and stealing their gold. It may seem fairly straightforward but given its looks and concept, Century: Age of Ashes could end up being a dark horse…er, dragon in the multiplayer department.

Solar Ash

Heart Machine’s Solar Ash is its first major release since the spectacular Hyper Light Drifter in 2016. It’s a 3D action adventure platformer, focusing on Rei as she ventures into the Ultravoid to save her planet. Along with encountering various entities, players must traverse the surreal environments of the black hole, grappling between obstacles and dealing with gravity shifts. Eventually, they’ll combat the massive Sentinels and destroy their weak points while hanging on for dear life (not unlike Shadow of the Colossus). Solar Ash is out on December 2^nd for PS4, PS5 and PC via the Epic Games Store.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko’s Choice

As a new expansion to Mimimi Games’ acclaimed stealth title, Aiko’s Choice sees the titular kunoichi going up against her former master, Lady Chiyo. Thankfully, she won’t be going it alone as the gang reunites for three new main missions and three interlude missions in new levels. Much of the gameplay remains the same though – you can either infiltrate locations quietly and dispatch opponents in non-lethal fashion or massacre everyone, synchronizing your squad’s abilities for deadly assassinations. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – Aiko’s Choice is out on December 6^th for PC and doesn’t require owning the base game.

Halo Infinite

The wait has been long but Halo Infinite is nearly here. Though the multiplayer is already available – and under fire for numerous reasons – the campaign launches on December 8^th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. As Master Chief ventures to Zeta Halo, what happened to Cortana after the events of Halo 5: Guardians and how does The Weapon fit in? What are the goals of The Banished? It’s up to the Chief to find out, exploring a semi-open world with various side missions and points of interest, unlocking new equipment like the Grappleshot, and battling new foes like the Skimmers. If nothing else, it should offer the same tight gun play that fans love.

Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach

While previous titles were known more for their jump-scares, Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach leans more into first person exploration and survival horror. Trapped in Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex, protagonist Gregory must survive against various deadly animatronics until the morning. In an interesting twist, Glamrock Freddy is a friendly animatronic whose suit can be hidden inside of when required. Enemies can also be stunned using the new Faz-Cam and Fazblaster, and along with minigames, there are also boss battles to overcome. Releasing on December 16^th, Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach is coming to PS4, PS5 and PC.

The Gunk

The SteamWorld series is beloved for its quirky style and solid gameplay but with The Gunk, Image and Form is offering a completely different, fully 3D adventure. As Rani, players venture to a planet corrupted by a slimy parasite called Gunk. Armed with a power glove that can suck up the Gunk, one battles monsters, utilizes the environment, and scavenges resources while learning more about the planet’s past, before deciding whether to save or exploit it. The Gunk is out on December 16^th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

White Shadows

Following The Great War, civilization as we know it has evolved into half-human, half-animal beings that reside in The White City. As Ravengirl, players must venture to Tin Town in search of freedom, navigating the city’s monochromatic terrors to escape. Touting itself as a “modern fable,” White Shadows features an interesting aesthetic with puzzle solving and platforming challenges. It’s out on December 7^th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

After the Fall

While Arizona Sunshine leaned into zombie-slaying, Vertigo Games’ After the Fall leans into a different kind of post-apocalyptic VR (read: one with lots of snow). Taking place in snowy Los Angeles during the 1980s, players must survive and craft weapons while also wielding powers to survive against the undead hordes in an evolving world. Along with standard zombies, there are Special Zombies and bosses to battle with four player co-op and 4v4 competitive modes. After the Fall releases on December 9^th for PlayStation VR, Oculus, Steam VR and Vive.

Syberia: The World Before

Microids’ Syberia series is an underrated classic for adventure game fans (except for the terrible third game which was released in 2017). Syberia: The World Before is a brand new story with Kate Walker, taking place across multiple continents and time periods. Along with playing as Kate in 2004, players will also venture back in time to 1937 as pianist Dana Roze with World War 2 looming over Europe. Syberia: The World Before arrives on December 10^th for PC so here’s hoping it signals a return to the series’ compelling roots and gameplay.

Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo

Developed by Pendulo Studios, who also made Blacksad: Under the Skin, Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is another 3D adventure title with plenty of mystery. It’s not a direct adaptation of the film, instead focusing on Ed Miller who suffers from vertigo after a car accident. With his wife and daughter missing, Ed undergoes therapy to learn the truth via flashbacks. Vertigo could be an intriguing mystery but that all depends on its storyline – hopefully, the Alfred Hitchcock name will be more than just an attempt at brand recognition. It’s out on December 16^th for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

Chorus

Chorus is a brand new space combat title from Fishlabs, best known for its Galaxy on Fire series. It offers a distinctively stronger narrative focus with Nara, former right hand of the Circle, abandoning the cult and rising against them with the help of Forsaken, a sentient ship. Throughout their journey, the duo will gather allies, undertake various missions – from eliminating Circle targets to taking back space stations – and navigating Ruins of the Faceless to ultimately bring down the cult. Chorus is out on December 3^rd for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia.

Things start going south very quickly as the world is discovered to be covered by a mysterious substance (referred to only as the Gunk). Rani can suck up the Gunk using her Power Glove, thus restoring the landscape to its natural beauty. Interactions between Rani and Beck also define the journey, from humorous exchanges to conflicts.

Though players can save the planet from the Gunk, unraveling the greater mystery of how it got to be this way, there may be some motivation to just harvest its resources and leave. Rani and Beck are in dire straits financially, and this tension is only heightened upon landing. The Gunk releases on December 16th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC – it also launches day one on Xbox Game Pass.