Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

@failbettergames.com

8.3K followers 880 following 820 posts

Posts by @itshannahflynn.bluesky.com, communications director. Mandrake is a narrative rural life sim, coming to Steam Early Access. Also Fallen London, Sunless Sea, etc. Press: press at failbettergames.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 14d

We're making Mandrake, a rural life sim set in a beguiling new world inspired by British history and folklore.

Now we're not in the Fallen London universe (Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies), we had the opportunity to add sunshine! And trees! 😮 🧵

#wishlistwednesday

An illustration from Mandrake. A ruined red brick archway in a lush green open space, with a river, brick bridge, simple wooden fence and dirt path.

14 130 720

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 4h

Pre-order the arcana here, along with our prints, playing cards and re-designed Mysterious and Indistinct Gender shirt: gametee.co.uk/collections/...

Failbetter

The Best Gaming T-Shirts, Most Beautiful Gaming Goods, Stylish Gaming Apparel, Luxury Roleplaying Accessories, Leather Gaming Journals, Gemstone Dice, best Gaming Artwork and Luxury Gifts for Gamers.

gametee.co.uk

3 10

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 4h

Huge props to AJ Hateley from Gametee who lovingly depicted neathy characters and concepts for our new Fallen London Arcana, all drawn by hand - and hand-painted! - with the utmost care and attention to detail.

1 6 34

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 4h

🎴 New and returning Fallen London merchandise pre-order, live now! 🎴

Our lovingly-rendered Fallen London Arcana joins the re-designed Individual of Mysterious and Indistinct Gender shirt, available in sizes up to 5X!

Presale for pre-Christmas delivery: gametee.co.uk/collections/...

A heather black t-shirt bearing an ornately-lettered phrase: "An Individual of Mysterious and Indistinct Gender"

Five tarot cards, illustrated in the Ryder-Waite style: The Hierophant, The Star, The Moon, Justice and The World. Bold, vintage colours and black linework. The Hierophant is a priest, tangled in branches. The Star is a half crustacean, half baby. The Moon is a man in a brass-buttoned jacket, welcoming you to a hotel. Justice is a police constable, illuminating the crumbling pillars of justice. The World is a mountain.

14 44

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 6h

The Fallen London Arcana.

(Very) Soon.

A tarot card entitled The Chariot, depicting a large bat in silhouette, flying over a London skyline against teal water and a teal sky. It is balanced against a leatherbound book.

6 16 100

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

Luke Beeman @lukebee.bsky.social · 1d

Finished one of the big Fallen London grinds I’ve been working on and got myself knighted. Only the 215th player so far to ever do it!

You have a new Accomplishment... A Knight of the Order of the Golden Carapace!
You are the two-hundred-and-fifteenth Knight of the Golden Carapace. Burgundy sings your name.
You've lost 1,000,000 x Stuiver (new total 288).

2 3 54

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 1d

well that's a new one on me, how interesting

1 1

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

Here are some real and actual facts about Mandrakes:

- Their smell could drive away demons
- It was a popular component of fertility spells
- Witches used it in the unguents which gave them the power of flight

So: the perfect plant to name our new game and its protagonist after.

#indiedev

A public domain black and white botanical illustration of a mandrake with root and leaf, entitled Mandragoras.

2 14 83

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

Bad Viking Games (Rob & John). Strange Antiquities OUT NOW! @badvikinggames.bsky.social · 2d

>1000 reviews!

Overwhelmingly Positive!

Overwhelmingly grateful to everyone who has played and taken the time and effort to review the game.

Keep playing and reviewing indie games!

An image showing the latest number of steam reviews for Strange Antiquities (1069 Overwhelmingly Positive)

8 23 140

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

London Games Festival @londongamesfest.bsky.social · 15d

🌟 SAVE THE DATE🌟

London Games Festival returns Monday 13 - Sunday 19 April 2026

Applications NOW OPEN

🕹️Official Selection submissions
💸Games Finance Market submissions
🎉Ensemble nominations
🏙️Side Events

👉 Apply here: festival.games.london

#LGF26

10 11

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

Read more about Mandrakes, the naming of things, and how to introduce a new world to a player without going too weird, too fast in our recent blog post by @chrisgardiner.bsky.social.

And if you, too, are enthralled by the magic of the Mandrakes then please drop us a wishlist; it's a great help!

Mandrake - A Mandrake by Any Other Name - Steam News

Narrative Director Chris is here with the history of Mandrakes in the real world, and insight into how the people of Chandley feel about Mandrakes.

store.steampowered.com

5 21

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

Your new neighbours can't help but have an opinion, too. Some were happy to see the back of the Mandrakes. Some fear your magic; others are enthralled by it.

So, Mandrake begins with a mysterious newcomer, the stirring of an ancient legacy, and a wary community. Best of luck!

1 21

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

How you respond to this legacy is up to you. Perhaps you’ll embrace your heritage; perhaps you’ll reject it, or ignore it. Perhaps you’ll try to take responsibility for it.

A screenshot from the game Mandrake, featuring a stern older woman sitting at a spinning wheel. The text reads:

As you approach, she dips into a formal curtsy.

Elderly Matron: "Thane. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Eseld Isble, as your service.

Magnate (an inner voice): "Thane" - a term of address used in old Penhalion, to denote a member of a noble house.

"Hello, Eseld. I'm Morgan."

Eseld: "Morgan Mandrake, I gather. And if I may say so, it is a relief to have a proper class of person take up residence in the old lodge."

The player can then respond:

1. "Oh, please - call me Morgan. There's no need for formalities."
2. "The Mandrake castle is in ruins and I live in an old lodge. I hardly think I qualify as a thane."
3. "I'm not used to the old forms of address."
4. "'Thane'... I like the sound of that."

1 11

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

At the beginning of the game, you've been summoned to Chandley from a distant land. You've just learned you are the last of the Mandrakes, and only by uncovering their legacy and secrets will you be able to advance your understanding of the horticultural arts.

1 11

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

Then, horticulture was forbidden. In a single day, the power of the Mandrakes was broken. Many died. Some fled. And the lands of Chandley have been without them since.

Until you come home.

The inside of the Mandrake lodge, the player accommodation in the game Mandrake. A large, open area of warm wooden floorboards, sunlight casting shapes across it. An open, round kitchen area and hearth, with herbs and flowers drying above it. A bed with green covers and a mural above. A dining table and a drafting table. A clock. Stairs disappear upwards.

1 10

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

As rulers of the local lands, the Mandrakes had a profound effect on the landscape and society. They built a grand castle on the hill, and grew spell-gardens within its walls. They hunted in the woods, and dug mines into the cliffs and the mountains.

A painterly illustration of a mine entrance, butressed with red brick and wood, looking a bit the worse for wear.

1 12

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

In our world, the Mandrakes were a human family. A house of old aristocracy, thought to have long since died out: magnates, gardeners and sorcerers.

A screengrab from Mandrake where the player character is talking to a stonefaced character called Gideon. It reads:

He does not speak. It looks like it's up to you to break the ice.

"Greetings," you say. I've just moved to the village. I'm Morgan. Morgan Mandrake."

He grunts.

Whire-haired man: "There's a lot of stories about the Mandrakes. That their sorcery bent the world in half, and it's never been the same again. That their follies sank Oleas beneath the waves."

The player has the choice to say:

1. "That was a long time ago."
2. "Well, I'll try not to do that."
3. "Old tales can't be trusted. They are a bed of exaggeration, mistakes, and falsehood. Any truth is buried deep."
4. "I'm not going to repeat my family's mistakes."

1 11

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

2 14 83

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 2d

thanks to everyone who sent bird games to me in response to the email newsletter last month, i'm fully feathered and having a great time

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

ValiantAMM @valiantamm.blackskycomra.de · 3d

Fallen London emails are so funny out of context

Inbox
Sender: messages, at 8:29 PM
Topic: You're calmer now.
You're calmer now. Your Moods have dissipa...

8 61

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

Jack-o-lantern @redwiddershins.com · 2d

Coloured this a little differently than how I usually do it, had fun! For the "lantern" prompt in #ArtFright2025! #FallenLondon #FallenLondonOC #ocsky #art

Begin image ID. A digital illustration of my Fallen London OC, Winnie Appleyard. She's a light-skinned woman of Chinese descent, wearing a wine red bustle dress and her hair styled in black ringlets. She's holding a glowing green lantern. The whole piece is given a greenish hue, with deep shadows reminiscent of the chiaroscuro technique. End image ID.

5 50

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

chris balser 🖤 @doomfunk.bsky.social · 5d

@hthrflwrs.bsky.social gave us all an excellent Very Bad Idea in the exceptional story for the month in Fallen London. I always take these options and it's always worth it.

a snippet from a Fallen London story reading "This is a very bad idea."

1 2 30

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

kysh! @emberpaws.bsky.social · 4d

thank you fallen london for ripping my heart open yet again

3 20 100

Reposted by Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 6d

Today we're delighted to reveal improvements to the Journal in Fallen London.

These changes come as part of our ongoing efforts to improve your experience of playing Fallen London in response to the most recent player survey.

A new screenshot from Fallen London which shows the user is trying to create a journal tag called 'bad decisions'

5 11 91

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 6d

It looks like Fallen London's payment processor is having some technical trouble. We're looking into it!

1 19

Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam! @failbettergames.com · 6d

Not that I can see - you mean the Help page? :)