This weekend at the PC Gaming Show, Failbetter Studios, the team behind Fallen London, released the trailer for their next project: Mandrake, a rural life sim based on English Folklore. Mandrake will be their fourth release on Steam, after Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies and Mask of the Rose,Â
You play the last of the Mandrakes, a sorcerous line of gardeners. Horticulture is a cursed and forbidden practice… except to you. Your family line is steeped in the green and growing arts, so you’re able to grow such marvels as: runner beans! Cherry trees! The humble turnip!
The Mandrake setting takes inspiration from British history and folklore. It’s a world of old, wild powers, of uncanny spirits that reside in those places mortals dare not go; of deep histories, and deeper mysteries.Â
In a break from studio tradition, this is a game where you can’t eat people, but we can’t resist a little threat. Yes, you’ll be making friends, tending your gardens, decorating your home, fishing, foraging and otherwise coming to inhabit the world. But there’s a certain darkness around the edges, too, of a flavor that Failbetter calls ‘fireside menace’ – the feeling you might have on a rainy night inside by the fire, while the wind beats branches against the window.Â
Failbetter plans to use Steam playtesting and Early Access to polish Mandrake before final release, and to keep up with development you can sign up to their newsletter or wishlist Mandrake on Steam.
Images via Failbetter Games
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