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All 27 entrants from the Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki

Stiff competition

All 27 entrants from the Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
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There was some seriously stiff competition at this year's Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki.

Out of 27 total entrants, only five made it into the final round. We then selected the winners and runners, with assistance from the audience.

All of the finalists have already received coverage on Pocket Gamer, but there was some serious talent on display across the entire competition.

That's why we've decided to highlight the lot of them in a big list including every single game that featured in the competition.

First place: Ocmo

Ocmo deservedly won first place, thanks to a combination of gorgeous visuals, impressive physics and animation, and some terrific attention to detail.

It's basically a physics platformer that borrows from Super Meat Boy, Badland, and Mikey Hooks. We can't wait to see more.

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Second place: Zwar 1: The Great War of the Dead 1918 - 1927

Aside from the ridiculous name, Zwar 1 is an excellent survival shooter. You play as a soldier in World War One and have to defend your trench from soldiers and horrific entities.

You'll do so with a variety of weaponry, including machine guns, air strikes, and barbed wire. All of it is upgradeable, and you'll need to do so when you start facing monstrosities like Cthulhu itself.

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Third place: Zombie Fall!

Zombie Fall is a high score chaser by Zaibatsu Interactive. You have to swipe to help guide a zombie down an endless mall.

There are obstacles to avoid, and you can't touch the edges of the screen or you'll die - for real this time. Oh, and you can infect passers by to increase your score multiplier. It's highly infectious stuff.

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Fourth place: Flora and the Darkness

Flora and the Darkness is a gorgeous autorunner by 1DER Entertainment. You play as Flora, the little light girl, who is the only one left who can save the world from impending darkness.

So expect to jump over a bunch of stuff as you traverse a gorgeous world on your quest to save it. You can also harness the power of plants to help you. It's pretty.

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Fifth place: Protostrike

Protostrike takes MOBA mechanics and inserts them into a multiplayer arena shooter. You run around, shooting enemies and using skills to gain the upper hand.

Elevation plays a huge part, so be prepared to jump over, and on top of, a variety of platforms as you speed around the map destroying everything.

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Super Tower

Super Tower is a cutesy roguelike that takes inspiration from pool. You flick your character around a level, destroying anything you come into contact with. Just be careful you don't accidentally hit an obstacle instead.

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Follower Z

Follower Z is basically a .io game in which you gather the biggest horde of zombies possible to destroy all other hordes. You lead them as a human hero, who has his own weapons to use against opposing players.

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Mechastorm

Mechastorm is an ambitious multiplayer shooter that challenges you to build your own mech, fly around in space, and battle enemy players. It's gorgeous.

GunTruck

Micro Machines meets Mad Max in this zany truck battler by Headnought. You'll drift, crash, and shoot your enemies in a variety of trucks - all of which are fully upgradeable using scrap you earn each battle. There's even local multiplayer for those who like that sort of thing.

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Medical Force: Overdrive!

Medical Force: Overdrive! Takes Theme Hospital and makes it even weirder. You'll build a hospital and make it look nice, just like in its inspiration.

Rather than let your patients make their own way to the ward, you pick them up and throw them through the door. Pretty sure that isn't regulation.

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Bacon May Die

Bacon May Die clearly takes inspiration from Super Smash Bros. It's a super slick hack and slasher in which you play as a fully customisable pig and beat up a bunch of hapless enemies in style.

You can use a variety of different weapons, including a melee and a ranged, and customise your pig's appearance. All it needs now is multiplayer. Make it happen, SnoutUp.

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Fast Soccer

Fast Soccer is like Soccer Physics meets jousting. You have to swipe your footballer into a ball to try and stick it in the back of the net. It's a lot harder than it sounds - especially when you add another player into the equation.

If you like silly sports games like Soccer Physics or Wrassling, you'll love this.

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Selfie Poker

Selfie Poker has nothing to do with selfies. Rather, it's a Poker game that you play by yourself. Each round, you have to create three Poker hands, with the strongest on the bottom and the weakest on the top. The aim is to get a high score, and beat your previous.

If you like Poker and want to practice by yourself, this might be worth your time.

Odium: To the Core

Odium: To the Core is a super tough adventure that borrows from Badland. Rather than use Flappy Bird mechanics, you instead have to touch and hold to have your character to float up. Release, and he'll fall.

Using that simple mechanic, you'll traverse an incredibly unfriendly world full of traps and obstacles. It's super tough, so be aware of what you're getting yourself into before you dive in.

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Fhacktions

Fhacktions is a location-based multiplayer battler that plays a lot like a MOBA. You'll take real world locations and then defend them from attackers. It's kind of like DOTA 2 meets Pokemon GO.

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Psyche

Psyche is a detective adventure that aims to get detective games right. It emulates a computer screen on your phone and challenges you to use the variety of the software to solve murders.

If you like stuff like Her Story, you'll be right at home here.

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No Monkey Business

No Monkey Business is an educational adventure that aims to raise children's environmental awareness. Each level challenges kids to solve an environmental problem, and it will differ in each of the game's 25 levels.

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Looney Invaders

Looney Invaders is a satirical spin off of Space Invaders. You have to shoot the floating heads of a variety of dictators and world leaders. If you're politically minded and want something to kill a few minutes with, this might be the one for you.

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Rooster Booster

Rooster Booster is a clicker in which you run a chicken factory. You'll harvest a bunch of eggs, sell them on for profit, and buy better eggs to hatch better chickens. As with any clicker, the goal here is to make an enormous profit - just at your chicken's expense.

Push your chickens too far, and they'll die. But don't worry, you can sell their corpses for a profit too. This is not one for the veggies and vegans amongst you.

Detective Trapu - Episode 1

Detective Trapu is an upcoming point and click adventure in which you play a sarcastic detective who has to solve a variety of crimes. The visuals are hand drawn and inspired by anime and graphic novels. This is one for the point and click fans amongst you.

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Guru Gloo

Guru Gloo is a tough little platformer in which you flick a weird little gooey creature around the screen, with the goal to reach the top of the level. There's a momentum system involved, as your gooey dude can grab onto poles and swing from them to reach previously inaccessible points.

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R.O.B. (working title)

R.O.B. is an upcoming autorunner RPG in which you battle a bunch of enemies and traps to reach the treasure at the end of a level.

It's designed for multiplayer, with you creating your own base full of enemies and obstacles that opposing players will have to battle through to steal your treasure. If you like heist games, this is one for you!

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Spin Rider

Spin Rider is a tough platformer in which you help a unicycle rider escape a scary giant claw chasing it. If you've played a mobile platformer before, you'll know what to expect. You'll automatically move, perform outrageous stunts to collect items, and avoid enemies and various other obstacles.

Battle Choppas

Battle Choppas is a single device multiplayer game in which you and a friend battle each other to rescue a stranded citizen. You can use a variety of weapons to battle the other helicopter with, some of which even make it easier to pick up the poor hapless citizen.

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Bubblegum Hero

Bubblegum Hero is a highly addictive score chaser in which you have to blow massive bubbles to increase your high score. You have to be careful to make sure the bubble isn't too big or too small though, as it will explode and end your game.

Super Grumz

Super Grumz is a gorgeous and minimal survival game in which you have to tap and hold to stop a ball from moving, using this simple mechanic to avoid a bunch of obstacles.

Occasionally, this mechanic will get turned on its head, and you'll have to hold to make the ball move. It's tough, and reminiscent of patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time.


Sophia Aubrey Drake
Sophia Aubrey Drake
A 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. She's also currently on a quest to catch every last Pokemon.