Romantic Fallen London spin-off Mask Of The Rose has been crowdfunded

Fallen London, and by association Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies, are full of all manner of strange characters both human and otherworldly. So, naturally, it's about time a game came along that explores the love lives of the Unterzee's hottest (and slimiest) bachelors. 

Enter Mask Of The Rose, a new story in the Fallen London setting that Failbetter Games successfully crowdfunded earlier this week. Less dating sim and more "romantic visual novel", the developer's latest is self-described as an adventure concerning love, mystery, the restructuring of society after profound change, and bats. 

While pitched as a visual novel, the gameplay also seems to extend far beyond conversations. There are locations to visit, jobs to pick up, disguises and outfits to collect and a good dose of resource management to boot. Failbetter also promise a variety of endings, and it sounds like playthroughs may wildly branch in unexpected directions.

"In one playthrough of Mask of the Rose you might romance a partner, or help your friends find love; untangle a poisoner's motives, or uncover the fate of poor, drowned Parliament; house some of London's new, not-so-human inhabitants, or help establish the new Feast of the Rose, a festival that will be celebrated in London for decades to come!"

Achieving its £90,000 goal in just two days, Mask Of The Rose is now reaching for two new story beats as stretch goals. The first, a new origin story called the Housebreaker’s Heir, has already been passed, while an enigmatic "Clay Man" will be added at the £120,000 mark.