Upcoming local indie game Masquerada: Songs And Shadows has been recognised by established Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation as the Best Indie Game at this year's Tokyo Game Show.
The video game expo was held in Tokyo from Sept 17 to 20 this year, and featured over 80 indie games.
The tactical action role-playing game (RPG), by home-grown Witching Hour Studios, is set in a Venetian city that is embroiled in a civil war.
After a kidnapping takes place, players take on the role of Inspector Cicero Gavar to unravel the mystery.
The gameplay is primarily spell-based, with a pause mechanic akin to that used in games such as Baldur's Gate, where players can pause the game to queue their next move.
The game, which is slated for release on desktops and consoles by next spring, also boasts some famous voice actors from the television and video game industry, including Jennifer Hale (Commander Shepard, Mass Effect), Matthew Mercer (Chrom, Fire Emblem: Awakening), Dave Fennoy (Lee, The Walking Dead), Michelle Lukes (Kelly-087, Halo 5), Rick Wasserman (Imperius - Archangel of Valor, Diablo 3 and Arishok, Dragon Age 2), Robbie Daymond (Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon) and Cat Taber (Padmé Amidala, Star Wars: Clone Wars and Mission Vao, Knights Of The Old Republic).
Ian Gregory, creative director at Witching Hour Studios, said the team was "incredibly excited and honoured for Masquerada to be selected" for the award.
"As a small Singaporean studio, we're incredibly proud to be recognised by one of Japan's leading publications and the great audience response at TGS. We hope this is a good step forward at showing the world what we're capable of here."
Witching Hour Studios broke into the market in 2010 with its turn-based tactical RPG, Ravenmark: Scourge Of Estellion for mobile devices. They followed it up with the well-regarded Romans In My Carpet! for mobile devices.
