Indie Award: Aeruta Wins

Taiwanese studio FromDawn Games won the 2026 Indie Game Award for Best Visual Art for *Aeruta*, the Taipei Game Show’s official winners list shows. (tgs.tca.org.tw) Taipei Game Show listed *Aeruta* as the Best Visual Art winner and identified FromDawn Games as the developer from Taiwan. The same winners page named Japan’s *and Roger* as Grand Prix winner and Best Audio winner. (tgs.tca.org.tw) *Aeruta* is a side-scrolling action role-playing game with shop management layered on top: players fight monsters for ingredients, bake bread, and try to revive a deserted town. Taipei Game Show used that description in its award listing for the game. (tgs.tca.org.tw) The award landed after a long development cycle. FromDawn Games said *Aeruta* started as a student graduation project and reached full release after nearly five years of work. (enduins.com) That timeline includes a commercial launch milestone in late 2025. *Aeruta* left Steam Early Access and officially released on November 5, 2025, after about a year and a half in early access, according to the game’s Steam announcement. (steamcommunity.com) FromDawn Games said the studio now has five members. Team member Angela said the project changed shape over time, starting as a darker Metroidvania-style game before evolving as the team folded in cooking-themed anime influences, anthropomorphic character design, and details drawn from everyday life in Taiwan. (enduins.com) The team also tied the game’s look to its structure. FromDawn said it spent significant time balancing combat and bakery management, eventually using a calendar-style system so players could plan a week of in-game activity without managing every day one by one. (enduins.com) Publisher Gravity Game Arise said in January that judges praised *Aeruta*’s art style and character designs, and the publisher paired the award news with plans for a Version 1.2.0 update on February 12, 2026. (haveagood-holiday.com) FromDawn said the award followed years of watching the Indie Game Award from the sidelines and feeling the game was not ready to enter. The team said it submitted this time “on a whim” and was surprised to win Best Visual Art. (animationxpress.com) The studio said the prize also arrived as its audience widened beyond Taiwan. FromDawn said more overseas players had begun joining its Discord discussions in Mandarin and sharing feedback as the game moved from student project to finished release. (enduins.com)