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UnderKnight takes the crown at May's digital Big Indie Pitch

We reveal our winner and joint runners-up from our May edition of the digital Big Indie Pitch

UnderKnight takes the crown at May's digital Big Indie Pitch

Have we ever had a year like 2020 in the gaming industry? From multiple conference cancellations to consistent delays, this year really has been like nothing we've ever seen before. So, with such a high amount of instability right now, we felt it was important to continue to highlight all of the indie talent in any way we can.

Now, of course, we can't take The Big Indie Pitch on the road right now as we usually do, so instead we've taken it into the digital web space, with our digital Big Indie Pitches launching last month as a part of the first-ever Pocket Gamer Connects Digital.

However, to our great surprise, the demand was so high for these pitches that we just couldn't fit everyone in, and not wanting to miss out on all the amazing talent waiting in the wings, we decided to announce even more pitches to bridge the gap between these conferences - the first of which took place this week.

All in all, this meant that we were still able to bring together 15 of the most exciting mobile developers from all over the world in order to showcase their latest works to some of our most established judges and journalists.

Given the amazing talent we had just waiting for an opportunity, this meant that there was lots of amazing feedback from the judges, and an equal amount of positivity in the voting. So much so that two games were not only tied at the end of round one but also at the end of a deadlock stage of voting, meaning that the only fair thing to do was to award both games a joint second prize.

Of course, this was alongside our unanimous winner in the form of TruePlayers' UnderKnight - an achievement that is rarely seen in the pitch.

For those not in the know, The Big Indie Pitch is a regular event run by the makers of PocketGamer.biz. It gives indie developers the chance to pitch their games to industry experts and journalists in a speed-dating-style format. Teams get the opportunity to get valuable feedback on their games, as well as win great prizes such as promotional packages and, more importantly, the coveted Big Indie Pitch bat.

Of course, UnderKnight, as you already know, was the winner, but we always award prizes for the top three. So read on to not only find out more about UnderKnight but also our joint runners up too.

1st Place - UnderKnight by TruePlayers

UnderKnight is a unique RPG Roguelike crossover developed specifically for mobile. What does that mean though? Well, for one, it means a control scheme and presentation that's been developed specifically with landscape and one-touch gaming in mind.

Beyond this, there are also procedurally generated magical worlds in order to ensure each playthrough is unique. Gameplay takes the form of combo-focused battles in which players are rewarded for battle flow. Of course, there are power-ups and abilities to assist you in this, but the developer has focused on easy to grasp, hard to master mechanics in order to appeal to a wide range of gamers.

Finally, the game looks stunning from top to bottom with appealing and vibrant worlds meaning that there is no reason for this game not to have the potential to be an engaging and encapsulating mobile title that players definitely should keep their eyes peeled for.

Joint 2nd Place - Hexicon: Strategy Word Game by Scatterbrain Studio 

Hexicon is a deep strategy filled multiplayer word game in which players must create words and control territory within a hexagonal grid. Within the game, two players take it in turns to connect paths of adjacent tiles and in turn capture territory in the form of the lettered tiles. Once these tiles are locked they are removed from play, and the first player to capture 16 tiles wins!

Understandably this takes a simple and popular premise but gives it a new twist my loading it full of strategy. What's more, the game also features online multiplayer, challenging AI opponents, and daily challenges in order to compliment the accessible and deep gameplay. Finally, it looks gorgeous too thanks to its minimal and bright aesthetic.

Joint 2nd Place - WordPath by Puzzles & Games

WordPath is a game that encapsulates everything that is appealing and well-loved about the wordplay genre. First up it looks absolutely gorgeous with a clean UI and visually strong presentation. Of course though, much like with our finalists, presentation is only one part of a winning puzzle.

Unsurprisingly though, WordPath also has easy to grasp and addictive gameplay. One in which players are tasked with selecting specific letters in order to create a path that represents the correct word. While it may be simple in premise, it offers an extraordinary amount of challenge and will test your puzzle-solving skills.

Want to show off your exciting new game? We host Big Indie Pitch events throughout the year, so be sure to keep an eye on our events page for an event near you.

Upcoming BIPs include:

  • Plus More To Be Announced Soon

More coming soon so make sure to regularly check our upcoming events page here and over on BigIndiePitch.com.

Developer Evangelist & Big Indie Pitch Manager / Special Features Writer

Queen of all things Indie. Sophia is Steel Media’s Big Indie Pitch Manager and Developer Evangelist. She’s also a global speaker and lifelong gamer with a fanatical love of all things Nintendo and Japan. So much so that she’s written a thesis on one and lived in the other.