“Pitch Ya Game” is a new initiative on Twitter aimed at indie game developers. It’s an opportunity to share their “elevator pitch” and consult with industry veterans on how to improve it, their game, and its marketing.
For us, it’s a chance to discover exciting, promising, or just plain kooky indie games. We combed through the #PitchYaGame hashtag on Twitter to bring you the 10 best indie game pitches we could find (in no particular order).
Tobin’s Tale
Tobin’s Tale is a new twist on classic point-and-click games. Instead of clicking on things with your mouse, you throw verbs at objects to see what happens. As developer Pete Brisbourne, aka Temmy, puts it: “Monkey Island but in first person 3D, and you throw your verbs to interact.”
It’s a cool concept, one that’s sure to resonate with adventure game fans. The short gameplay video accompanying the pitch shows the kind of adorable graphics and tongue-in-cheek humor we can expect.
As for the story, we currently don’t know much beyond that the main character is a fox named Tobin, and the game will presumably tell their tale. Oh, and apparently you can pet the dog (among other things).
Eldritch House
Eldritch House is a “supernatural first-person mystery” inspired by the works of one H.P. Lovecraft. You play as detective Ward and explore a creepy mansion full of creepier people. Developer Paul Conway pitches the game as “Agatha Christie meets Hellboy” and it sounds just perfect.
While Agatha Christie’s mysteries influence the story, the art is clearly inspired by Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comics. Eldritch House looks like the sort of place you really don’t want to be stuck in, alone in the dark.
As the head of Spooky Doorway, Conway also worked on The Darkside Detective which is a fantastic game you should definitely play.
Calorie Defenders
Calorie Defenders combines tower defense and action platforming with a healthy message: eat your veggies. You play one of the vegetable defenders: Broccoli Knight, Carrot Ranger, or Tomato Mage, in your quest to protect the Hunger from empty calories. You set defenses in the shape of other vegetables, and hold back the horde of adorable candy.
Developer Barret Vasilchik mentions the game has touches of Metroidvania exploration, though it’s unclear how it plays out at the moment.
What is very clear, however, is just how delightful the pixel art graphics and soundtrack of Calorie Defenders are.
The Otterman Empire
The Otterman Empire is on this list for three reasons: adorable otters, its killer soundtrack, and the amazing pun in the title. This is a frantic party shooter “where otters go airborne.” Basically it’s a bunch of otters with jetpacks shooting at each other, and I don’t really know what more you want out of a video game.
Since it’s a party game, The Otterman Empire supports split-screen competitive and cooperative modes for up to 4 players. There’s no online multiplayer, so you’ll actually have to get together to play this one. Hopefully, by the time the game comes out, we’ll be able to do that again…
In the meantime, you can wishlist the game on Steam, or wait for it to come out on the Nintendo Switch.
Chasing Static
Chasing Static is pitched as a “psychological horror short story” where you explore an abandoned government facility where time stands still. The game is inspired by the sci-fi and horror movies of the 1980s and PlayStation-era graphics.
The main gameplay mechanic is what developer Sick Chicken Studios calls “Sonic Exploration.” You listen to your environment and follow sound anomalies in a non-linear fashion.
You can already wishlist Chasing Static on Steam, or play the developer’s previous game – a classic point-and-click adventure called Guard Duty.
Lancelot’s Hangover
I absolutely love the premise of Lancelot’s Hangover. In this comedy point-and-click adventure game, your quest is to find the Holy Grail and use it to drink lots and lots of beer, which seems fitting somehow.
The game is described as “Monkey Island meets Monty Python’s Holy Grail” where you play a semi-nude and very drunk Lancelot. As you might have guessed, there’s plenty of silly (and potentially slightly offensive at times) humor. There are drunk minigames to win, meaningful choices to make, and one very boring maze. It also claims to make the impossible happen – make your mother proud of you.
Lancelot’s Hangover: The Quest for the Holy Booze saw success on Kickstarter four years ago, and is now just about ready to launch later this year on Steam.
Röki
Röki is a cute and atmospheric “explore-o-puzzle” inspired by Scandinavian folklore and *checks notes* bobble hats. The game follows young Tove on a journey to save her family from dark forces. Along the way, there are secrets to uncover, wintery vistas to marvel at, and monsters to help.
Developer Polygon Treehouse emphasizes the game’s non-violent, accessible, yet challenging gameplay. Frankly, everything we know about Röki just seems like a good time.
This isn’t the first time we see Röki. We played a short demo in Gamescom 2019, back when Gamescom wasn’t a digital-only convention. Good times. We are impressed with the smooth animation and attention to detail and concluded it’s more than worth keeping an eye on.
Venba
Venda is a cooking puzzle game from a small indie team. But at its heart, it is a narrative about family, home, and of course – cooking. It tells the story of Venda, an Indian immigrant who tries to recreate a damaged cookbook left to her by her mother. You’ll help her figure out the recipes by deciphering the missing parts by using logic and a little trial-and-error.
The best part about this game pitch is the video(s) that came with it. The art is beautiful and everything looks so incredibly delicious. Don’t watch them on an empty stomach.
The developers are currently working on a vertical slice of the game, which frankly I can’t wait to see.
Roadwarden
No grinding, no pointless violence – only unique interactions, role-playing, story choices, puzzles, and complex NPCs. What a fantastic pitch for a classic cRPG. Roadwarden is a text-based RPG that combines elements of visual novels, adventure games, and interactive fiction. It also sports some great pixel art illustration to look at while you read.
You play as a Roadwarden, a brave warrior in a grim world. It is your sworn duty to escort travelers, defend isolated villages, and keep the forces of darkness at bay – anything you can do to make this world a slightly better place. You will shape your character based on their background, abilities, and beliefs, and explore a mysterious peninsula full of secrets.
If you like the sound of that, you can download and play the Roadwarden demo on Steam or itch.io.
Hellscreen
Hellscreen is simply gorgeous. The Giger-inspired art style looks phenomenal with the red and blue color scheme, like some sort of alien hell. The action is fast, the person is first, and the rearview mirror seems kinda useful. Yes, this is maybe the first non-driving game that features a rearview mirror.
Fans of retro shooters will want to follow this game closely. It really reminds me of Doom, Quake, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and other FPSs I used to play in the ’90s.
Hellscreen has been in development for some time now, and we still don’t know if its ever going to see the light of day. It tried to go the Kickstarter way in 2018 but never met its goal of £25,000. Maybe this pitch will catch the eye of enough people or warrant another go.
Bonus: Secret Wombat
Stuffed Wombat always shows the coolest and most innovative stuff on Twitter, so whenever he shows something, you know it’s going to be interesting. Right now, he is working on a Secret Project.
We know that thanks to his amazing elevator pitch: “[Secret Project] is a game about [Secret Stuff], featuring [Secret Things] and even some [Secret Surprises]!” He’s a very secretive wombat.
While you wait to see what’s next for this indie dev, you can try out his latest game Gutwhale. It’s roguelite where to shoot your way out of a whales digestive system. Yep.
