#black protagonist

[between-stars-and-waves]

THE EBONY WITCH (PILOT)

[thesunkenplace]

From Night of the Living Dead to The Girl with All the Gifts: How a Black Protagonist Transforms the Narrative

In film, every casting decision carries weight, but sometimes an unexpected choice changes everything. That’s precisely what happened with Night of the Living Dead (1968) and The Girl with All the Gifts (2016), two films where the lead role was not originally intended for a Black actor, but the casting of Duane Jones and Sennia Nanua reshaped the entire narrative. Their performances weren’t just exceptional, they altered how audiences engaged with the films, how character relationships were perceived, and how deeper social and racial themes surfaced in ways that may not have been as profound had the protagonists been played by white actors.

In Night of the Living Dead, having a Black protagonist in 1968 was groundbreaking. And not just any Black protagonist, Ben was smart, educated, well-spoken, and independent. He didn’t need anyone to save him, he was self-sufficient. He didn’t need a white man’s help, there was no white savior in this story, he was going to save himself. That alone was radical for the time. But casting Duane Jones in the role also made several key scenes highly controversial in ways they wouldn’t have been had Ben’s character been white.

First, we see a Black actor touching white actors, a shocking visual for the 1960s. More than that, he strikes Barbara to stop her from running into danger to save her brother. He gets physical with Harry, a white man, and even shoots him. On top of that, Ben kills multiple white ghouls on-screen, something unheard of in the era’s mainstream films. Given the racial and political climate of the time, these moments took on a weight that went far beyond the immediate horror of the story. They subverted expectations, challenged deeply ingrained social norms, and forced audiences to confront the unsettling realities of race and power in America.

Then comes the film’s devastating ending (spoiler alert). After surviving the entire night against impossible odds, Ben, the sole survivor, is shot by a white mob who’s out hunting ghouls. Was he simply mistaken for a ghoul? It’s hard to tell, but there is no hesitation and the mob doesn’t express any regret or acknowledge his humanity. Sheriff McClelland, the leader of the group, casually says, “Good shot! Ok, he’s dead, let’s go get him. That’s another one for the fire." This line is chilling because it completely strips Ben of his identity and agency. He isn’t seen as a man who fought to survive the entire night, just another body to dispose of. The lack of acknowledgment, remorse, or even hesitation hits harder because Ben is Black and it reinforces the racial undertones of the scene, making it even more disturbing. It mirrors the real-life dehumanization of Black victims of violence, particularly during the Jim Crow era and Civil Rights Movement.

After Ben is shot he is dragged out of the house with metal hooks like an animal, and discarded without care. This would have been disturbing no matter what, but with a Black protagonist, the moment becomes an undeniable echo of racial violence in America. It is a gut-punch, particularly for Black audiences who had already seen too many real-life versions of this scene play out. The intergenerational trauma this moment must have triggered is unfathomable.

All of this, the character dynamics, the interactions, the messages the film conveys, changes simply because of the decision to cast Ben as a Black man. It transforms Night of the Living Dead from a standard zombie film into a deeply political statement. It forces the audience to see race, power, and survival in ways they might not have expected. It’s a reminder that representation in the media doesn’t just matter, it changes everything, and the same goes for The Girl with All the Gifts.

In The Girl with All the Gifts, the lead character, Melanie, is also Black. While the story takes place in a different time period and context, the core message remains unchanged, when a Black actor is cast as the protagonist, it reshapes character dynamics and influences the film’s overall meaning.

Despite being a "hungry" (the film’s term for zombies), Melanie is sweet, kind, caring, and loving. She desperately wants to be treated like everyone else, doing her best to suppress her urge to feed on flesh. Yet, we see her locked up in a cell that evokes images of incarceration. We see her tied to a wheelchair, verbally abused, and belittled by soldiers, especially Sergeant Eddie Parks. To Dr. Caroline Caldwell, Melanie is nothing more than a disposable experiment, a means to an end. Caldwell’s goal is to find a cure, not to save Melanie, but to save the humans, most of whom happen to be white. It’s hard to ignore the echoes of the "sacrificial Negro" trope here.

Now, once again, none of this would hit the same if Melanie were white. Because she is Black, every interaction takes on added weight. Every cruel remark, every dismissive glance, every painful moment feels different. Her emotions, raw and heartbreaking, resonate more deeply. The casting choice doesn’t just change the story, it changes how we, as the audience, process the story.

But then there’s the ending, my favorite part (spoiler alert). In a crucial moment, Dr. Caldwell begs Melanie to sacrifice herself to save humankind. When Melanie presses her for an explanation, Caldwell is forced to admit that the hungries are alive. That’s when Melanie delivers the chilling question, “Then why should it be us that die for you?” This moment gave me chills. It’s yet another example of how casting a Black lead changes everything. Think about all the sacrifices Black individuals have made for others throughout history. Think about all the Black characters in Hollywood who have died so their white best friend could live. Not this time.

Melanie chooses herself. She chooses the "others," the hungries, who have no control over their condition and are no less alive than the unaffected humans. She wants them to be treated as such. And then, in a brilliant twist, the power dynamic shifts. In the final scenes Dr. Caldwell and Sergeant Eddie Parks are dead, actually most of the humans will die after Melanie burns the pods, and Helen, the kind behavioral psychologist who loved Melanie, is now the one locked away, this time in an airtight cabin, seemingly incarcerated. Meanwhile, the hungries roam free, and Helen teaches them from behind the glass. Twist!

Take a moment to reflect on these characters, these films, and ask yourself, how different would the story, the relationships, and the overall meaning have been if the protagonists were white? Now, expand that question to other films you’ve seen. How does casting shape the way you perceive the characters, their dialogue, their relationships, and the message the film conveys? Consider the era in which these films were made. How does the time period influence these stories, these characters, and the way audiences interpret them? And most importantly, how did the choice to cast a Black protagonist change cinema, Hollywood, and audiences? What did it mean for Black individuals to finally see themselves represented, not as side characters, not as stereotypes, but as the lead?

[mysmystique]

I was recently rejected by a revisions program for my literary novel. It made me incredibly disappointed but now… I just want to pivot and build a community around it.

The novel is titled “Orange is a Happy Color”, and I’ll provide my pitch below:

“Orange is a Happy Color is a contemporary literary novel following Star Greene, a 19 year old neurodivergent girl who, in the midst of depression, academic pressure, and a reliance on alcohol, drops out of college after surviving alcohol poisoning. Star begins to rebuild her life through daily repetitive rituals, subpar CBT therapy and a new retail job in her fictional hometown of Ashford, Kansas, where she finds new meaningful connections— specificially with her coworker Coco Garrett, a bold and enigmatic nonbinary artist with a complicated past of their own.

Uniquely told through present day proses and flashbacks, Orange is a Happy Color is a story of recovery, black queer longing, and the aftermath of what it truly means to start over. This standalone novel shows what it’s like to find home and healing in your body, your friends and your artistic abilities, even when everything else seems to collapse around you.”

I’m wanting to of post and self publish my chapters on Substack instead. Letting everyone get the prologue for free and subscribe to read weekly chapter drops. Subscriptions won’t be expensive. Thinking of 10 bucks a month.

If it’s something you’re interested in reading and following, I’ll drop the Substack link tonight.

🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

[nkirukaj]

The Radio Demon & the Billboard Doe

Hey y'all! I love writing fics and I love making OCs! So, please enjoy this Hazbin Hotel fanfiction as well!

Pairing: Alastor x Fem! OC

Warnings: Swearing and depictions of violence?

Genre: Angst?

Word Count: 2.1K

1. Welcome to Hell

She had never fallen for anything as hard as she fell into Hell. Free falling however many feet only to face plant into a concrete barren street is not how she imagined her day starting. Was this the start of her day? What had she been doing before this? Certainly not jumping off a building or out of a plane. She stood slowly, many loud sounds abound while she reached for her now shattered glasses, before realizing that without them, her vision was perfect. 

“What the fuck?” She blinked once, then twice, then 15 more times before she concluded that her vision was finally 20/20. Clear enough to see the crimson sky above her, all the buildings around the same shade of red. Some roads cracked and broken even more than a neglected Brooklyn neighborhood. Suddenly, the sound of an approaching car broke her out of her trance, and she jumped out of the way, barely avoiding getting hit. 

“Get the fuck outta the road ya stupid bitch!!”

Instantly her middle finger was up and she was shouting right back “Fuck you, ya decrepit piece of shit! I do what I fucking want!!!” Well, she didn’t want to be standing here in the middle of an unfamiliar street, but nobody told her what to do. She could’ve left her frames in the middle of the street where they’d landed, but without thinking she placed them in her pocket. She wasn’t going to get any answers just standing in this one spot, so she started walking. The red in the air had to be due to terrible air quality, but she could breathe just fine. 

It was a very strange adjustment, being able to see clearly without her glasses, she kept reaching to push them up on her nose, only to realize every time that they weren’t there. She didn’t know how long she’d been walking, but the sounds of a city were growing louder as she kept on in this direction. City sounds she knew well from living in the Big Apple. 

There were many others scattered around, none of them looking quite human. Some had human-looking bodies with inhuman additives and some were just straight-up nonhuman, be they animals or monsters for lack of a better term. The buildings were bright and the people were loud, adding to the TVs in windows and the cars, trucks, and buses all running concurrently. Denizens fighting and screaming, tearing up roads and buildings as she walked aimlessly in the same direction. The building lights grew brighter as the noise levels built up. Everything was so much louder than usual, she had become accustomed to complex noise, but these made their way through her ears, down her spine, and into her stomach. She didn’t have her headphones, she’d left them at home. 

She bent over and closed her eyes, trying to steady herself enough to keep walking, at least enough to get away from this noise, but she was caught in the middle of it. The last building she saw was a large tower with glass windows all around it, and the tall letters “vVv” plastered on it for all to see, before she crouched down, feeling physically sick from the commotion. 

That is until she felt arms dragging her up. Her eyes shot open, to see some beings that looked a lot like sentient hyenas dragging her away from the busy streets. Their touch was wildly uncomfortable, not only because they were strangers, but because their appendages were digging into her skin quite painfully. She tried to stand and hold her weight, but the way she was building held did not allow it. She began squirming to get loose, the restriction of her body movement and the vast amount of sound combined to make a very unpleasant experience in her body. 

“Stop squirming, you’re making this harder than it needs to be.”

She started kicking and squirming even harder, as though she was trying to escape her own body. 

“Hey! Stop moving!” Yelled another directly into her ear “Grab her legs” he spoke to another. When they went to grab her, she let out an inhuman screech, startling her would-be attackers into letting her arms go. When they attempt to recapture her, she lets out all the pressure built up in her chest, screaming at the top of her lungs. Out of her mouth came blazing flames hitting the faces of her would-be captors, screaming until she couldn’t scream anymore.

When she finally opened her eyes, the entire area was now engulfed in flames. It didn’t seem too out of place with the rest of the streets. The charred corpses of the hyenas were all around her on the ground, still flaming. She stood there and caught her breath. Once she was able to breathe steadily, she finally looked up at the sky. Standing in full sight of anyone who happened to look up, was a casino-like sign, reading “Welcome to Hell”.

______________________________________________________________

Hell? Like the place, Christians are always screaming about? This is what they were all afraid of? It looked like an ungoverned city. Broken windows, trash on fire, broken-up roads, dead bodies strewn all over the place. Falling lampposts, guts all about the streets. People killing each other all over, while she just walked right on by. There were many large buildings like skyscrapers clearly in view as if the wealthy were flaunting over the regulars. The majority of the light in the city came from these towers and buildings. Their area was cleaner and sleeker, more modern.  The class distinction was obvious. Like it wanted to be near them, but not part of them.

So if she was in Hell, were these demons? Was she a demon? Why was she in Hell? She couldn’t think of anything she had done in life that would get her sent down here. Was this even real? She knew when she was dreaming, and this felt like real life. She was still a bit in shock about the fire that came out of her mouth, but at this point, she was running on adrenaline, her legs carrying her somewhere, anywhere that wasn’t here. She starts playing with her fingers and staring at all the lights. The brightest lights surrounded a large billboard reading, “You Are Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel” with directions listed at the bottom. The words were next to a picture of what she guessed was a demon girl, with a white face, red circles on her cheek, and a long ponytail that went down her back. She cocked her head at the sight, the demoness’s face was quite striking and burned itself into her memory. 

The building was in the middle of nowhere. She had to take about 10 breaks just to get there. In front of the building was a large pentagram and the hotel itself was propped up on a hill. After 4 more breaks just to climb the hill, she reached the door. She wondered why the hotel had a marquee. She knocked once quietly, then thought for a moment and knocked again, louder. The demoness that was on the billboard was the one that opened the door.

“Awww you are so cute.” The blonde demon cooed over her appearance 

“I know right?” She brightened up at the compliment

“Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!”

“And who are you?”

“I’m Charlie! And this is my girlfriend Vaggie!” She gestures to another woman who walks up to the door with grayish-purple skin, long hair, a bow, a large spear, and an eyepatch over her left eye. 

“Okay, so I have a question,”

“Yes?” Charlie bats her large eyes

“This is Hell? Like, I am in Hell? Like the place Bible thumpers are always telling everyone else that they’re going? Like, fire and brimstone, eternal punishment for sinners? That Hell?”

“Yes.” Charlie’s smile doesn’t falter, she looks quite pleased 

“And I am here because…?”

“Well…chances are that you’re here because you’re a sinner. Meaning you did something wrong in your life. Unless you’re a fallen angel, but I think you would know if you were.”

“Is it possible that there was some sort of mistake? Because I was awesome.” 

Charlie and Vaggie look at each other, unsure of how to answer the question. “Um I don’t think there’s ever been a mistake,” Charlie responds, unsure. She looks off to think about it.

“First things first,” Vaggie spoke sternly “Our mission is very important to us, so do you plan on staying here or not? If you are, that means that you are agreeing to do your best to be redeemed. Which includes daily lesson plans, trust exercises, interacting with other guests and staff as well as doing your part around here. Do you accept?”

She squints in confusion “Why is all that necessary?”

“Because!” Charlie piped up, back from her existential thoughts “We believe that it’s easier to make strides towards redemption when you feel like part of a community! Usually, we suggest that each new guest finds another guest that they’re similar to. Although that may be difficult for you.” She strokes her chin “I don’t think we have any other guests that are deer.”

“Wait what?” She breaks up Charlie’s thoughts “What do you mean?”

“Well, when building a community, it’s easier to start small-“

“No! I mean like…other deer? What do you mean by other deer? Who’s a deer?”

Charlie glances at her girlfriend to make sure she’s seeing the same thing as her. “Um..you are,” Vaggie informs her

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other before parting to let her in the hotel. There’s a large mirror in the common room wall, she approaches and looks in it; unable to comprehend what she sees. The first thing she noticed was that her dark locks were now fiery red curls. Her nose was black and the holes were larger, her lips were two different colors; the top one black and the bottom one pink. Her face was slightly more angular, with white spots all over, and two big brown deer ears sat atop her cranium. And her irises were now a deep blood red. 

She stared at her reflection, with no sound or movement. Other guests were passing by as if she was strange. Charlie stood behind her, she could tell she was getting worried, stepping out to approach the doe, but Vaggie put an arm out to stop her. She slowly reaches up to touch her face, to make sure that what she was seeing was real. She opened her mouth to speak, seeing four fangs, two on each of the sides of her mouth. She picked at them for about 5 minutes straight. They were real too. This was all real. She was a deer, specifically, a doe. 

Vaggie cleared her throat, “Don’t forget um…on the back.”

She turned her head to see what she was referring to and shot Vaggie a confused stare. Vaggie took her by the shoulders, causing her to flinch. Vaggie retreated a bit before slowly replacing her hands on the doe’s shoulders, turning her backside towards the mirror, bringing to her attention, a tail. Brown on top, white on the bottom. She looked back towards the girlfriends. 

“It can be a big shock,” Charlie looked apologetic “but at least you’re adorable!”

She turns back to the mirror, looking at herself once more, then turning back to them. 

“Yeah, I guess I am cute.” She states bluntly

She backed herself up, hitting something hard and solid. She finds herself frozen for a moment before feeling a slight weight on either side of her. Long, slender, and sharp red fingers covered her shoulders, holding her up from falling backward. She steps forward and turns to see who they belong to. She was greeted by the sight of an extremely tall demon, with a fancy red coat, a cane with a microphone on it, and red hair with black tips, that gathered on top of his head in a similar shape as the ears she had on her head. A large grin took up the majority of his face and his bright red eyes were quite a sight to behold. She stared, unable to form words at the moment, and his grin got even wider before he spoke. 

“Alastor. Pleasure to be meeting you, sweetheart.“ he takes her in, noticing her form, ears, and face. He hadn’t seen another deer down here before. Quite interesting to say the least. He brings an arm from behind his back, takes her hand, and pulls it up to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it. “Quite…a pleasure.”

Chapter 2>

[esmeraldaka]

[yautjalover]

I have been taking my sweet time to finish my fanfic “Star Child”. It’s coming together beautifully and I’m honestly sad to put Dhare and Ashaki down. 🥺 They’ve been my babies for almost two years now. It feels like losing a part of myself! It’s wild how attached you can feel to characters who live in your head.

If any of you have been looking for a story with a black protagonist, then you would definitely love my fanfic “Star Child”! It’s an epic enemies to lovers romance between a human woman and an Elite male Yautja. There’s drama, there’s angst, steamy smut, and lots of action! Check it out here (Ao3) and on WattPad! I really hope you love it!

Tags include: Idiots in Love, Wrongly Perceived Unrequited Attraction, Bisexual Male Character (Dhare is a Bisexual!), Plus Size mc (Ashaki), Miscarriage, PTSD, Near Death Experience, Eventual Smut, Fluff, etc.

The WattPad Cover ❤️

I own this cover. Commissioned by me to Cyvorg.

[okgacreations]

YOU CAN GET OUR DEBUT NOVEL FOR ONLY $4.99! The first two chapters of the book are available for free as a preview!

Ishmael Star, often described as a 'mad scientist' by his peers, is mere hours away from his coming-of-age ceremony that will at long-last allow him to join the Adventurer's Guild, when a mysterious woman named Lillyth comes hurtling into his life. Between her mysterious sudden arrival on a wrecked ship, her missing sisters, and their odd connection, her presence throws Ishmael's life-goals into question. Discover the world of Obsidian and the universe that surrounds it, as Ishmael grapples with this new sense of duty and his longest held dreams. Will he help Lillyth find her sisters? Or will he focus instead on the position he has been training for since childhood?

Obsidian Moon is the first book in this series and a launching point for a wild ride full of magic, ancient secrets, death-defying space adventures, and so much more.

[a-m-w-worlds]

The Gunk Review

Spoiler free review at the top for newcomers and my more in-depth thoughts below for those familiar with the game!

Spoiler-Free Review for Newcomers

The Gunk is indie action/adventure/3D platformer developed by Image and Form and published by Thunderful for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S in 2021.

Story and Characters

The Gunk sees you take control of Rani, an enthusiastic and adventurous space scavenger who, along with her partner, Becks, follows a mysterious energy spike to a seemingly deserted alien planet hoping for a big payout. Once they land, they discover the planet is abundant in natural resources, but is being corrupted and slowly killed by an invasive black substance Rani dubs "the Gunk". Rani, much to her partner's chagrin, takes it upon herself to find the source of the Gunk, purify the corrupted world, and discover the fates of the planet's inhabitants who seem to have disappeared long ago.

Gameplay

The Gunk is a fairly short, linear game that could be played in its entirety in a day or two, but is a pretty fun time./gen The main gameplay loop involves traveling through jungles, caves, and ruins, using Rani's mechanical arm to vacuum up Gunk and revive the planet's flora (which is satisfying as heck!), a bit of basic combat, and solving environmental puzzles. Most of the puzzles are simple and easy enough to figure out, but they aren't mind-numbing either. The main loop doesn't evolve much, but with the game's length, it will be over before you can truly get tired of it, and it is executed really well, feeling smooth and intuitive.

One thing that stood out to me while playing is that this would probably be a really good "baby's first platformer" because of its short length, simple controls and gameplay, and smooth handling. So, keep that in mind if you want to corrupt any friends or family and hook 'em on platformers!/lh

Rating and Trigger Warnings

The Gunk is rated T for Teen for violence, bad language, and blood.

Gonna be real for a sec, I'm not even sure what to mention in this category, The Gunk is a really "safe" game in my opinion.

I honestly don't remember any blood, so if it's there, I'm gonna say it's incredibly minor.

The violence is pretty mild in comparison to most video games.

The bad language is prevalent throughout the course of the game but is confined to the relatively tame end of the spectrum.

And that's it? If there are any major triggers, I don't know what they are, tongues, maybe? There's a type of fungus in the game that look like tongues and is a little gross. So, avoid the game if you have an extreme aversion to tongues or the word shit? That's all I got for ya!

Verdict

If you're looking for a challenging game, this ain't it, but if you're looking for a casual game with smooth controls, pretty environments, and a few unique mechanics it pulls off really well, this might be the game for you!

My Personal Thoughts (AKA Gushing, Gabbing, and Griping!)

Story and Worldbuilding

For as short as the game is, it does a really good job in these areas. I appreciate that you can scan all the flora, fauna, and mechanisms to learn their names and attributes and that this plays into upgrading equipment. It goes a long way to make this alien planet feel grounded. Honestly, I wish more games did this!

I like the story of the game, but kind of wish we saw more of it, both the story of the actual planet and the story of Rani and Becks. How they became partners, where Bunny and C-RT came from, what a normal day in their lives looks like when they aren't dealing with Gunk. Who really is the Gardener? Where did he come from? What's the origin of the geist?

Maybe the fact that I care enough to ask these questions at all is a sign that the worldbuilding does everything it's really supposed to!

Characters

Rani and Becks are a really likable duo and I honestly don't mind that they're really the only characters throughout most of the game. Rani's optimism, compassion, and sense of adventure bring a lot of heart to the game and Becks' practical outlook helps ground everything. Their back and forths over the comms also do a lot to liven up the exploration and really intensifies the feeling of isolation when the Gunk causes interference.

As much as I enjoy them though, I can acknowledge issues like queer-coding and Rani falling into the perfect prosthetic trope.

I'm more inclined to forgive this game's handling of Rani's prosthetic because it is easily one of the most creative and plot relevant uses of this trope I've seen, but leaving the specifics of Becks and Rani's relationship in a grey area doesn't benefit the game in any way. Either make them girlfriends or make them more explicitly platonic, pick one!

Environments

The environments are stunning and one of the highlights of the game in my opinion! The world feels so vibrant and alive, you end up wanting to stop the corruption just as much as Rani does!

It also reminds me of the planet Felucia from Star Wars, so that's cool!/gen

One thing I really appreciate about the environments in this game is how they manage to be so linear without feeling boxed in. I tend to obsessively try to explore every nook and cranny in games (that's part of the fun!) and am prone to feeling overwhelmed by big open worlds, so it's nice every once in a while to find a game that's really efficient to explore. It's nice that there are so few branching paths and that the optional paths tend loop back around on their own without making you backtrack. The exploration feels very streamlined and is honestly refreshing to see occasionally./gen

I also really like the difference in how the areas look when they're corrupted versus purified. Sucking up all the Gunk and restoring life to the flora is so satisfying, even late into the game and is actually the reason I bought the Gunk in the first place. One of my favorite games of recent years, Kena: Bridge of Spirits has a similar mechanic of having to clear corruption from nature and I found that so rewarding that when I saw that there was another game focused around that concept, I just had to play it!

Soundtrack and Atmosphere

The Gunk (Original Game Soundtrack)

The Gunk's soundtrack is beautiful./gen There is one complaint that I have though, there are no happy tracks.  All the tracks are really pretty, but they all sound sad or bittersweet, maybe nostalgic, and I just wish there were a few lighter, more whimsical tracks thrown in to break it up some. Don't get me wrong, this is PERFECT for most of the environments in the game! We're exploring the remnants of an abandoned civilization on a dying world and the soundtrack conveys that melancholy incredibly well, but it's just a little out of place at the beginning of the game.

Rani's enthusiasm for this beautiful, lush new world in the start is palpable, but the soundtrack just doesn't really capture that. It feels especially odd at the campsite with Becks and Bunny and the immediate surrounding area where there are no signs this planet was even inhabited once.  Rani is such a vibrant, free spirit and is so excited to explore, I just think there should have been a few tracks early on that matched her whimsy and sense of wonder.

Gameplay and Puzzles

*slurping noises intensify*

Animations

Definitely not the highlight of the game, but also not the worst I've ever seen! Mostly they feel like they're from a much older game, maybe from the Wii era.

Art Style

I really love the art style for the environments, all of which are absolutely gorgeous, and honestly don't mind it for the characters either. Some people think the characters look weird or uncanny, which is valid, but I honestly find them kind of endearing. They remind me a bit of the character designs from Scooby-Doo! First Frights and Spooky Swamp, which look terrible, but are also very nostalgic!/lh

Closing Thoughts

I don't think The Gunk is a masterpiece by any means, but honestly, it's a cute game and deserves more love than I think it gets!