GEARBOUND
Survive. Scavenge. Upgrade.
In a post-apocalyptic future, machines that once represented the cutting edge of technology have become obsolete relics of a forgotten world.
Their advanced successors are long gone, leaving behind rusted metal, outdated robots, and scraps of technology scattered across the wasteland.
You are one of these machines. Your Core is all that remains of your purpose, and survival is your only directive.
Fight through waves of hostile machines, collect resources, and upgrade your Core to survive as long as possible.
Every upgrade makes you stronger. Every passing minute makes the wasteland deadlier.
Controls
- WASD - Move
- ESC - Pause the game / Close menus
- 0 - Toggle fullscreen
- 1-8 - Switch weapons
Hope you enjoy GEARBOUND! Thanks for playing and checking out my game.
Play
Play the web version or download on itch.io:
Play / Download
Enjoyed the Game?
If you enjoyed GEARBOUND, please consider leaving a rating! It really helps. Thank you!
Good luck out there!
Comments25
ThanatosIsANoob20 Oct 2026, 00:49
The game is off screen. Like even in fullscreen mode I cannot see that much of it.
BeatQuestGames20 Oct 2026, 00:49
Fantastic music, SFX, graphics and gameplay loop!
I did find the game really hard, but it's very polished. I'll likely come back to play some more later.
I did find the game really hard, but it's very polished. I'll likely come back to play some more later.
OrdiNeu20 Oct 2026, 01:05
Pretty fun! I noticed that the game slows down quite a lot if there's too many enemies on screen. I wasn't sure how to get the fragments to repair the core, but I did end up with one before I stopped. The gear shooting weapon didn't feel worth it, but the rivet shooter upgrades were pretty powerful.
Kiddoo20 Oct 2026, 01:06
Sooooo addictive ! Well done here !
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 09:11
@thanatosisanoob
Thanks for letting me know, and sorry for the inconvenience! The game was designed for a 1920×1080 resolution, so it may appear cropped on some screens.
Could you try pressing Ctrl + - a few times to zoom out your browser? This should make more of the game visible, even in fullscreen mode.
Sorry again for the trouble, and thanks for giving GEARBOUND a try!
Thanks for letting me know, and sorry for the inconvenience! The game was designed for a 1920×1080 resolution, so it may appear cropped on some screens.
Could you try pressing Ctrl + - a few times to zoom out your browser? This should make more of the game visible, even in fullscreen mode.
Sorry again for the trouble, and thanks for giving GEARBOUND a try!
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 09:19
@beatquestgames
Thank you so much! It’s my first time working on music and sound, so I really hope they turned out well!
I’m super happy you enjoyed the game! :D
Thank you so much! It’s my first time working on music and sound, so I really hope they turned out well!
I’m super happy you enjoyed the game! :D
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 09:22
@ordineu
Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, performance in the web version is one of my biggest concerns, so I definitely need to optimize it a bit. The lack of a tutorial and proper explanations can also make some mechanics confusing. I’d love to keep improving the game after the jam!
Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, performance in the web version is one of my biggest concerns, so I definitely need to optimize it a bit. The lack of a tutorial and proper explanations can also make some mechanics confusing. I’d love to keep improving the game after the jam!
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 09:23
@yubs I’m really sorry that happened! It should be fixed now! Thanks for letting me know about the issue, and I’m glad you enjoyed the game despite that! :3
DazyLude20 Oct 2026, 10:21
A pretty nice survivors-like game. The visuals are neat and music and sounds are also well made.
While the game is good, it feels like "core repair" materials are a bit too slow to acquire, in comparison to gears, so you end up with a lot of gears and not-maxed out core thing.
There is also an issue if you let the enemies to REALLY accumulate, the fps drops, and it seems as the lower the fps gets, the faster the player character runs 🤔 This allows you to run straight through the death-blob of enemies you're usually kiting without dying 😅 I played the browser version, so the performance drop is probably connected to that.
Regarding other reported issues, upgrading to the max level works and changing the "terminal exit" from esc to P improved web version experience a lot!
While the game is good, it feels like "core repair" materials are a bit too slow to acquire, in comparison to gears, so you end up with a lot of gears and not-maxed out core thing.
There is also an issue if you let the enemies to REALLY accumulate, the fps drops, and it seems as the lower the fps gets, the faster the player character runs 🤔 This allows you to run straight through the death-blob of enemies you're usually kiting without dying 😅 I played the browser version, so the performance drop is probably connected to that.
Regarding other reported issues, upgrading to the max level works and changing the "terminal exit" from esc to P improved web version experience a lot!
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 12:45
@dazylude
You're right about the upgrades! I might need to increase the cost of permanent upgrades to make them more balanced with the core, and maybe reduce the amount of fragments needed for it a bit.
As for performance, I've been doing loooots of testing! I've tried limiting the number of enemies in the web version and making the world smaller with fewer obstacles, but it takes away too much of the game's feel. I'll probably have to dig into the enemy code itself and optimize it directly!
I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, and I really appreciate all the detailed feedback! :D
You're right about the upgrades! I might need to increase the cost of permanent upgrades to make them more balanced with the core, and maybe reduce the amount of fragments needed for it a bit.
As for performance, I've been doing loooots of testing! I've tried limiting the number of enemies in the web version and making the world smaller with fewer obstacles, but it takes away too much of the game's feel. I'll probably have to dig into the enemy code itself and optimize it directly!
I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, and I really appreciate all the detailed feedback! :D
Fassenberg20 Oct 2026, 18:13
I liked upgrading the stats, and that the progress saves. It’s a bit hard at the start, though. Otherwise really cool! Nice animations too.
P.S. Fullscreen mode is broken: I can only see a bit more than half of the screen.
P.S. Fullscreen mode is broken: I can only see a bit more than half of the screen.
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 18:32
@fassenberg
I'm glad you enjoyed the game, thank you so much!! :D
About the fullscreen issue, the quickest workaround is to press Ctrl + - to zoom out a bit. That should fix it! It's a pretty hacky fix, I know, but it only seems to happen on certain screen setups, so I'll try to find a better solution.
I hope you still had fun playing it! And since the game saves your progress, you can always come back and play a little more :D
I'm glad you enjoyed the game, thank you so much!! :D
About the fullscreen issue, the quickest workaround is to press Ctrl + - to zoom out a bit. That should fix it! It's a pretty hacky fix, I know, but it only seems to happen on certain screen setups, so I'll try to find a better solution.
I hope you still had fun playing it! And since the game saves your progress, you can always come back and play a little more :D
Gary Napper20 Oct 2026, 18:45
I abandoned the web version as no amount of resizing was allowing me to play BUT I downloaded and had a much better time of it all. Played WAY longer than I should have as it has that xBallpitx "one more go" feel to it. However, I did get a crash when upgrading?
Great entry though. Nice work
Great entry though. Nice work
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 19:06
@designernap
Sorry about that! I fixed the bug in the web version but forgot to include the fix in the downloadable version. I'll upload the corrected build right now!
I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, and I'm happy it gave you that "one more go" feeling! Thanks for playing, and I hope you still had a good time despite the crash! :D
Sorry about that! I fixed the bug in the web version but forgot to include the fix in the downloadable version. I'll upload the corrected build right now!
I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, and I'm happy it gave you that "one more go" feeling! Thanks for playing, and I hope you still had a good time despite the crash! :D
Parxer20 Oct 2026, 19:25
So, I had a lot of fun playing, up to a point. The game could use a lot of balancing - as it were, I simply wasn't able to finish the game.
I had a lucky run with the Spark Coil (around 10min) and managed to get halfway through the core repair, which made the game significantly harder from the start, and from then on, if my first upgrade wasn't a Spark Coil, I was basically screwed. The Rivet thingy can't keep up and Gear launcher was practically useless... Also the thing with core repair materials, as was mentioned.
But, especially considering how much time I spent on this, I'd say good job overall!
I had a lucky run with the Spark Coil (around 10min) and managed to get halfway through the core repair, which made the game significantly harder from the start, and from then on, if my first upgrade wasn't a Spark Coil, I was basically screwed. The Rivet thingy can't keep up and Gear launcher was practically useless... Also the thing with core repair materials, as was mentioned.
But, especially considering how much time I spent on this, I'd say good job overall!
Orange kiwi20 Oct 2026, 19:27
I didn’t want to stop playing. Even after the red-eyed robots caught the blue-eyed one, I wanted to keep trying, and sometimes buy something in the shop. The bonuses after leveling up were good motivation. I'll definitely keep playing, thank you for your hard work!
ThanatosIsANoob20 Oct 2026, 20:11
@ethernal-tech thanks for the suggestion, pressing ctrl - made it work fine. I liked the progression it was pretty satisfying.
The one feedback I have is have more varied AI types if you have time. Games where it's simply enemy follow player tend to devolve to run in circles and shoot a horde. It makes it difficult to pick up the upgrades too. The varied AI don't need to be complex, like enemies that move to an area in the players direction, or try and flank the player, it makes the game a lot more engaging.
I still enjoyed the game a lot! good luck :)
The one feedback I have is have more varied AI types if you have time. Games where it's simply enemy follow player tend to devolve to run in circles and shoot a horde. It makes it difficult to pick up the upgrades too. The varied AI don't need to be complex, like enemies that move to an area in the players direction, or try and flank the player, it makes the game a lot more engaging.
I still enjoyed the game a lot! good luck :)
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 22:20
@thanatosisanoob
I finally managed to fix the resolution issues in the web version, and it now scales correctly automatically! So no more need to press Ctrl- ! :D
You're absolutely right about the enemy AI. With a bit more time, I could have designed more varied behaviors instead of having enemies simply chase the player and attack when they're in range. I'll definitely keep that in mind for future updates after the jam!
I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, and thanks a lot for the feedback! :D
I finally managed to fix the resolution issues in the web version, and it now scales correctly automatically! So no more need to press Ctrl- ! :D
You're absolutely right about the enemy AI. With a bit more time, I could have designed more varied behaviors instead of having enemies simply chase the player and attack when they're in range. I'll definitely keep that in mind for future updates after the jam!
I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, and thanks a lot for the feedback! :D
Ethernal Tech20 Oct 2026, 22:23
@parxer
You're absolutely right, there's still a lot of balancing to do! With the limited time during the jam, you end up juggling a thousand things at once and some stuff slips through the cracks haha.
I'll be gradually tweaking the balance and fixing bugs in the web version over the next few days. The Windows build will stay as the original Day 1 version, though.
Thanks so much for playing, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it despite the balancing issues! :D
You're absolutely right, there's still a lot of balancing to do! With the limited time during the jam, you end up juggling a thousand things at once and some stuff slips through the cracks haha.
I'll be gradually tweaking the balance and fixing bugs in the web version over the next few days. The Windows build will stay as the original Day 1 version, though.
Thanks so much for playing, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it despite the balancing issues! :D
Eugenik21 Oct 2026, 01:00
The concept of being a discarded machine in this hostile wasteland is really gripping. I especially appreciate the scavenging loop; trying to balance which upgrades help your core survive feels challenging and addictive.
mushlord21 Oct 2026, 15:06
A good vampire-like game; the gameplay really drew me in. There are some minor balance issues, but that’s not a big deal, as balancing is a very complex task. I thoroughly enjoyed the game.
perrarancino21 Oct 2026, 16:28
a robot rebuilding itself from scrap in a wasteland full of obsolete machines is such a fitting take on old tech, and the upgrade loop gives every run a reason to go a bit further. the music and the visuals do a lot of the heavy lifting too, the whole thing feels properly moody. how did you approach the upgrade curve so each run feels a little different? nice work.
Nesmon21 Oct 2026, 16:34
Maaan! That's game is cool. I mean it's aweasome that you put meta progression on the other scene! It's like some kind of the next step of game design
Ethernal Tech21 Oct 2026, 18:36
@perrarancino
Thank you so much!! :3 The game still needs quite a bit of balancing, but the idea is that enemies get slightly stronger as you upgrade the Core. That way, each new run still offers a bit of a challenge, and enemies also get stronger as the run progresses! I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, and I really appreciate the kind words and the question! :D
Thank you so much!! :3 The game still needs quite a bit of balancing, but the idea is that enemies get slightly stronger as you upgrade the Core. That way, each new run still offers a bit of a challenge, and enemies also get stronger as the run progresses! I'm really glad you enjoyed the game, and I really appreciate the kind words and the question! :D
Really fun though!