London-based Failbetter Games is making a new game, and like all their previous titles, it's set in the same Fallen London universe. But this time, instead of action, adventure, or survival, Mark of the Rose will have the player search for love in a Lovecraftian world.
But first, let's set the stage. Mark of the Rose takes place months after the cataclysmic events that plunged London into the "Neath." Which is basically a giant underground cavern that lies just beneath (get it?) the Earth's surface. In the Neath, things don't work the same way they do on the surface. Think Lovecraftian horror if it wasn't always quite so horrible.
Failbetter Games called Mark of the Rose a "romantic visual novel and prequel" to Fallen London. You'll play as a character sharing a boarding house with several characters, including a medical student, landlady, and a local constable. All of them have their own backstories and personal dramas that you can get involved in. Or not--it's your story as much as it is theirs.
The press release mentions several alternate plots that the player can get lost in, such as "intervening in a murder trial where the victim is a witness; or steering a hooded, vocabularious Master through the subtleties of a London courtship." Oh, the Masters of the Bazaar are the new rulers of London after it fell into the Neath, even though London still technically has a parliament and ruling monarch.
Much of the art style from Failbetter's previous games has been retained with a slight update to give it a bit of a Film Noir effect. Failbetter will Kickstart the game beginning in February 2021, but no release date has been set.
Besides their latest title (which is apparently the first of three new projects from Failbetter), Sunless Skies Sovereign Edition has been sent to certification with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Sovereign Edition will bring Failbetter's most recent game out of PC and onto console for the first time, letting players scour the stars in a space train using a controller rather than mouse and keyboard.
Source: Failbetter Games