Failbetter Games is a British independent studio that’s commonly known for developing interactive games. One franchise this studio is known for is the Fallen London series, which is an interactive browser-based game that’s set in an alternate Victorian London called the “Fallen London.”
The developer later added two new games to the franchise, Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies. In recent news, Failbetter Games announced that it’s currently working on a brand-new game called Mask of the Rose.
Mask of the Rose, just like its other titles, will also take place in the Fallen London universe. However, the catch is that this upcoming game is going to be a romantic visual novel instead of being an action-adventure title like the others.
Failbetter Games considers Mask of the Rose to be a prequel to the original title, as the story will take place only a few months after London was stolen by bats, plunging the city into what is called the “Neath.”
For context, the Neath is basically this massive underground cavern that’s situated underneath the surface of the Earth. As you can imagine, the Neath doesn’t follow the same rules and processes as on the surface. As such, people have a lot of adjusting to do. It’s very similar to Lovecraftian horror, that is if the genre wasn’t always so horrifying.
In Mask of the Rose, you’ll be playing a character who is living in a boarding house with other interesting people, including a local constable, a medical student, and a landlady. Each character in this visual novel has their own backstories, and if you want, you can also meddle in their personal drama.
According to Failbetter Games’ announcement, Mask of the Rose is going to have multiple plots that you can choose to be a part of, immersing yourself in each storyline. For instance, one plot has you “intervening in a murder trial where the victim is a witness.” Another option has you “steering a hooded, vocabularious Master through the subtleties of a London courtship.”
By the way, this new, fallen version of London is ruled by the Masters of the Bazaar. Although technically, a parliament and a ruling monarch are still present.
The art style of Mask of the Rose is pretty similar to the previous games in Failbetter Games’ repertoire. The only visible difference is that this one now has a more Film Noir effect to it. It’s nice, though.
The game doesn’t have a release date just yet, or at least the developer hasn’t revealed their estimated goal, but it’s going to be up on Kickstarter in February 2021.
Fans of Failbetter Games will be happy to know that the developer plans to release three new projects, the first of which will be Mask of the Rose. In other news, Sunless Skies Sovereign Edition has already been sent to Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo for certification.
With this edition, console users will be able to play Failbetter Games’ latest title, Sunless Skies, for the first time. It will definitely bring a whole new experience to this title, as fans will be able to play the game with a controller this time around.
