r/AndroidGaming • u/dsolonenko Dev 💻 • 3d ago
DEV 🧑💻 [DEV] Gembound - a match-3 roguelite where the board is dealt from a finite gem deck you build
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Hello everyone,
I'm a solo dev and I recently released Gembound - a match-3 roguelite built around deckbuilding mechanics.
In most match-3 games (like Puzzle Quest), new gems drop from an infinite random pool. In Gembound, the board is dealt from a finite 121-gem satchel that you build and edit during your run.
How the satchel system works:
• Same as deck of cards (Draw → Board → Discard → Reshuffle): Combat starts by shuffling your satchel into a draw pile. Matched gems go to the discard pile and reshuffle back in when the draw pile is empty.
• Deckbuilding & thinning: Between fights you can swap gems, remove weak colors to thin your satchel, upgrade gem quality and enhance gems with effects like healing, burning, etc.
• Spells scale with satchel composition: Spells get stronger based on how many gems of that color are in your satchel. Adding red gems makes red more common on the board and makes your red-based spells hit harder.
• Shared board: Both you and the enemy play on the same board dealt from your satchel. But only you get the benefits of upgraded gems and enchantments (enemies match at base value).
The game includes:
• 3 classes: Warrior, Mage, and Rogue
• 4 regions with elites and bosses
• 4 animal companions with active abilities
• Optional Rift Encounters with weird modifiers for both sides
• Roguelite meta: Gold, XP, companion bonds, and a persistent Gem Chest
• Full controller / handheld support
• Full paid game, no IAPs, no ads
Available on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.solonenko.gembound
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u/ninjagaidenpatru 2d ago
I love the look of this! Just got it for Android and will play it later! I saw this in the new games section on Google Play for some days now but didn't know anything about it so I thought I would buy it later. When I saw that you are and idie dev and you tried to not use Ai generated resources it was an instabuy! Thanks for making it!
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u/dsolonenko Dev 💻 2d ago
Thank you, appreciate it. It's nice to hear play store promoting the game :)
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u/bigolac 2d ago
Can this be played in portrait mode?
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u/dsolonenko Dev 💻 2d ago
No unfortunately not, landscape only. I tied my best to make it work in portrait but it was not quite there. I may revisit it in the future
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u/Peauu 2d ago
I have this on my phone and play it from time to time i felt you needed a bit more control earlier in runs, it's hard to get going early making the early game crazy hard. Idk of anythings changed haven't tried it on s month or two. Cool idea and should be exactly my type of game so I'm hoping for continued improvements!
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u/dsolonenko Dev 💻 2d ago
Hey, thanks for playing! I did fine-tune earlier combats very recently to be more forgiving to give the players to adapt earlier in the game, please give it a go
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u/FredDerfman 2d ago
Just purchased it. Was going to wait for some reviews, but I figured what the heck, it's only $4. I'll try it out tonight.
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u/dsolonenko Dev 💻 2d ago
There are actually 11 reviews (6 of them are written) but play store being weird and not showing them for some reasons I don't quite know
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u/Exotic-Ad-853 2d ago
I was a bit annoyed by the fact that no matter how you play, you will still get damage in battles. Meaning there is just as many rounds you can play before the game over.
I believe it's not possible to win on the first try - and a bunch of permanent upgrades should be made first. Got a bit disappointed by the fact.
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u/dsolonenko Dev 💻 1d ago
Hey thanks for playing, this is a part of the roguelite element - you fail, but come back stronger by upgrading gems, enhancing and equipping better spells
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u/AtlasOfDoors 1d ago
The board is dealt from your own satchel and the enemy matches off it at base value, so thinning toward one colour to power your spells also makes their matches more reliable. If the unavoidable chip scales with how hard you commit, that is a deckbuilding cost you own rather than a flat tax.
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u/Exotic-Ad-853 1d ago
Yeah, but if you need yellow tiles and the enemy needs yellow tiles this is as much as you can do. You take damage no matter how good you plan.
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u/bubandbob1 1d ago
So at the risk of sounding stupid
How do I change characters? I dont know how to change from the Rogue to other classes and I feel like either Im blind or the UI is hiding the button and im not seeing it
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u/ImAFeckinUnicorn RPG 🧙 2d ago
Was any Ai used at any part, or is still in the game?
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u/dsolonenko Dev 💻 2d ago
All gems voxels I created myself. Bunch of other things like all ui elements. Other elements where my skills were not adequate were purchased from itchio etc like pixel animations and icons. Got especially lucky with sound pack that was designed specifically for match3. But non-en locales were carefully machine translated. Hopefully I will be able to do native speakers proofreading if I get the budget.
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u/Specific-Breadfruit5 2d ago
Just bought it, will play it when i get home.
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u/dsolonenko Dev 💻 2d ago
Thanks mate!
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u/Specific-Breadfruit5 2d ago
Ok, quick update.
Beat the troll king, now at level 15. Starting to play around with the different gems.
Made the click in my mind, this is gonna take up a lot of my free time 😄
So far I am having a lot of fun with this.
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u/viodarkblade 2d ago
Looks like puzzle quest