Failbetter Games - Wishlist Mandrake on Steam!
@failbettergames.com
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
One last thing from us this year! A cheeky Switch sale on all of our games. It'll last two weeks. Enjoy.
December 22, 2025 at 2:19 PM
One last thing from us this year! A cheeky Switch sale on all of our games. It'll last two weeks. Enjoy.
The winds are wild, the lacre deep.
The snarling stones arise from sleep.
The Fifth's tales may exalt the suns
but never hope to halt what comes.
The snarling stones arise from sleep.
The Fifth's tales may exalt the suns
but never hope to halt what comes.
December 22, 2025 at 11:41 AM
The winds are wild, the lacre deep.
The snarling stones arise from sleep.
The Fifth's tales may exalt the suns
but never hope to halt what comes.
The snarling stones arise from sleep.
The Fifth's tales may exalt the suns
but never hope to halt what comes.
One saga tells of Grettir, who learns of a farm haunted by Glam, a former shepherd. Grettir is an able warrior who already slew one revenant, and he prevails again against Glam. But Glam curses him with its last breath, and from that point on he is plagued with misfortune.
December 19, 2025 at 11:19 AM
One saga tells of Grettir, who learns of a farm haunted by Glam, a former shepherd. Grettir is an able warrior who already slew one revenant, and he prevails again against Glam. But Glam curses him with its last breath, and from that point on he is plagued with misfortune.
(This book is not about Iceland, but also very good, at least if you'd like to know about the strange things bodies can do as they decompose, and how that shows up in folklore.)
December 19, 2025 at 11:19 AM
(This book is not about Iceland, but also very good, at least if you'd like to know about the strange things bodies can do as they decompose, and how that shows up in folklore.)
In video games, the unquiet dead tend to be numerous, anonymous, unrelentingly violent. And in turn, violence is the answer.
Video game mechanics are commonly focused on violence, and they require a large (and often unlimited) number of foes for us to practise violence upon.
Video game mechanics are commonly focused on violence, and they require a large (and often unlimited) number of foes for us to practise violence upon.
December 19, 2025 at 11:19 AM
In video games, the unquiet dead tend to be numerous, anonymous, unrelentingly violent. And in turn, violence is the answer.
Video game mechanics are commonly focused on violence, and they require a large (and often unlimited) number of foes for us to practise violence upon.
Video game mechanics are commonly focused on violence, and they require a large (and often unlimited) number of foes for us to practise violence upon.
Maybe so, maybe so...
December 3, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Maybe so, maybe so...
Her home IS lovely! There's her chair, by the hearth. She lives with her daughter Rosen, Rosen's husband and her grandchildren.
December 3, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Her home IS lovely! There's her chair, by the hearth. She lives with her daughter Rosen, Rosen's husband and her grandchildren.
Look at all the goodness in the Midwinter Spirits festival. Very glad to be cosying up to these games as the nights continue to darken.
(It says Mandrake is in my library because I have Secret Dev Powers. It's not on Steam yet, don't worry - but do wishlist!
(It says Mandrake is in my library because I have Secret Dev Powers. It's not on Steam yet, don't worry - but do wishlist!
December 2, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Look at all the goodness in the Midwinter Spirits festival. Very glad to be cosying up to these games as the nights continue to darken.
(It says Mandrake is in my library because I have Secret Dev Powers. It's not on Steam yet, don't worry - but do wishlist!
(It says Mandrake is in my library because I have Secret Dev Powers. It's not on Steam yet, don't worry - but do wishlist!
A detail about Josselin: her silver hair is growing out. It's not aging – something specific is happening. That's another choice that originated in a constraint. Her black hair would have met a black shirt, so we divided her hair colour in two shades, which ended up fitting her story perfectly.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
A detail about Josselin: her silver hair is growing out. It's not aging – something specific is happening. That's another choice that originated in a constraint. Her black hair would have met a black shirt, so we divided her hair colour in two shades, which ended up fitting her story perfectly.
This is Eseld: matriarch, and seamstress. The roses are an old emblem of her family history: a rival house to the Mandrakes.
The spinning wheel is a big part of her role, so we wanted to feature it here. But it’s a complex shape, it has to be exactly right, and was really hard to get right.
The spinning wheel is a big part of her role, so we wanted to feature it here. But it’s a complex shape, it has to be exactly right, and was really hard to get right.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
This is Eseld: matriarch, and seamstress. The roses are an old emblem of her family history: a rival house to the Mandrakes.
The spinning wheel is a big part of her role, so we wanted to feature it here. But it’s a complex shape, it has to be exactly right, and was really hard to get right.
The spinning wheel is a big part of her role, so we wanted to feature it here. But it’s a complex shape, it has to be exactly right, and was really hard to get right.
Nessa’s our smith, and the first person you meet.
Her hammer is old, made of the same materials that our fallen civilisation, the Sophoi, used.
Her anvil is mounted on a root, suggesting there’s more at play here than mundane smithing — a sense that her work is somehow rooted to the earth.
Her hammer is old, made of the same materials that our fallen civilisation, the Sophoi, used.
Her anvil is mounted on a root, suggesting there’s more at play here than mundane smithing — a sense that her work is somehow rooted to the earth.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Nessa’s our smith, and the first person you meet.
Her hammer is old, made of the same materials that our fallen civilisation, the Sophoi, used.
Her anvil is mounted on a root, suggesting there’s more at play here than mundane smithing — a sense that her work is somehow rooted to the earth.
Her hammer is old, made of the same materials that our fallen civilisation, the Sophoi, used.
Her anvil is mounted on a root, suggesting there’s more at play here than mundane smithing — a sense that her work is somehow rooted to the earth.
Some more examples:
Thackery belongs to an order called the Voicers, who maintain a technology called chorophony, which is like radio.
The machinery in the background is his chorophon. Because it’s not something you might expect in a fantasy setting, we wanted to make it a prominent feature.
Thackery belongs to an order called the Voicers, who maintain a technology called chorophony, which is like radio.
The machinery in the background is his chorophon. Because it’s not something you might expect in a fantasy setting, we wanted to make it a prominent feature.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Some more examples:
Thackery belongs to an order called the Voicers, who maintain a technology called chorophony, which is like radio.
The machinery in the background is his chorophon. Because it’s not something you might expect in a fantasy setting, we wanted to make it a prominent feature.
Thackery belongs to an order called the Voicers, who maintain a technology called chorophony, which is like radio.
The machinery in the background is his chorophon. Because it’s not something you might expect in a fantasy setting, we wanted to make it a prominent feature.
After a pose is agreed, we talk about the symbolism we might use in the image, and then Erion moves to the full illustration.
Chris has said that seeing the final illustration makes easier to write the character. It’s like meeting them for the first time.
Chris has said that seeing the final illustration makes easier to write the character. It’s like meeting them for the first time.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
After a pose is agreed, we talk about the symbolism we might use in the image, and then Erion moves to the full illustration.
Chris has said that seeing the final illustration makes easier to write the character. It’s like meeting them for the first time.
Chris has said that seeing the final illustration makes easier to write the character. It’s like meeting them for the first time.
We discuss which clothes work best for the character, and how they fit with the game’s setting.
After that, Erion works up a couple of sketches for the character’s pose in the illustration. Poses show what the character does all day – like working at a spinning wheel, or walking the moors.
After that, Erion works up a couple of sketches for the character’s pose in the illustration. Poses show what the character does all day – like working at a spinning wheel, or walking the moors.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
We discuss which clothes work best for the character, and how they fit with the game’s setting.
After that, Erion works up a couple of sketches for the character’s pose in the illustration. Poses show what the character does all day – like working at a spinning wheel, or walking the moors.
After that, Erion works up a couple of sketches for the character’s pose in the illustration. Poses show what the character does all day – like working at a spinning wheel, or walking the moors.
Next comes concepting: putting the character in a simple pose, then dressing them up in different ways. Their clothes say a lot about what they do in the village, their social station, how they live, and who they are.
Let's start by looking at Metheven Ivey, the mother of the village leader, Rosen.
Let's start by looking at Metheven Ivey, the mother of the village leader, Rosen.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Next comes concepting: putting the character in a simple pose, then dressing them up in different ways. Their clothes say a lot about what they do in the village, their social station, how they live, and who they are.
Let's start by looking at Metheven Ivey, the mother of the village leader, Rosen.
Let's start by looking at Metheven Ivey, the mother of the village leader, Rosen.
Sometimes those details are prompted by the constraints of the illustration – the way colours might work together, or the space we need to fill. But they always try to say something about the character.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Sometimes those details are prompted by the constraints of the illustration – the way colours might work together, or the space we need to fill. But they always try to say something about the character.
We can only describe our character designs as preposterously luscious!
Here's a detailed look at how we created the neighbours you'll be meeting in our upcoming game, Mandrake.
#indiedev #indiegames (Please do share!)
Here's a detailed look at how we created the neighbours you'll be meeting in our upcoming game, Mandrake.
#indiedev #indiegames (Please do share!)
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
We can only describe our character designs as preposterously luscious!
Here's a detailed look at how we created the neighbours you'll be meeting in our upcoming game, Mandrake.
#indiedev #indiegames (Please do share!)
Here's a detailed look at how we created the neighbours you'll be meeting in our upcoming game, Mandrake.
#indiedev #indiegames (Please do share!)
HO. HO. HO.
Christmas comes to Fallen London, and at her Enduring Majesty's whim, unusually, an actual honest-to-goodness tree in Hastings Place.
Will it wilt horribly before she deigns to visit it, on the 8th?
www.fallenlondon.com
Christmas comes to Fallen London, and at her Enduring Majesty's whim, unusually, an actual honest-to-goodness tree in Hastings Place.
Will it wilt horribly before she deigns to visit it, on the 8th?
www.fallenlondon.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:04 PM
HO. HO. HO.
Christmas comes to Fallen London, and at her Enduring Majesty's whim, unusually, an actual honest-to-goodness tree in Hastings Place.
Will it wilt horribly before she deigns to visit it, on the 8th?
www.fallenlondon.com
Christmas comes to Fallen London, and at her Enduring Majesty's whim, unusually, an actual honest-to-goodness tree in Hastings Place.
Will it wilt horribly before she deigns to visit it, on the 8th?
www.fallenlondon.com
Looking upon one's likeness is always a little uncanny. But there is some awful radiance to those eyes. As if some creature had taken your shape upon the canvas.
The Exceptional Story in Fallen London for December is Father's Oils, by @rossignol.bsky.social.
The Exceptional Story in Fallen London for December is Father's Oils, by @rossignol.bsky.social.
November 27, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Looking upon one's likeness is always a little uncanny. But there is some awful radiance to those eyes. As if some creature had taken your shape upon the canvas.
The Exceptional Story in Fallen London for December is Father's Oils, by @rossignol.bsky.social.
The Exceptional Story in Fallen London for December is Father's Oils, by @rossignol.bsky.social.
"The industry's finest sustainable storyteller" is an appellation that we'll wear with pride. Thank you, @jeremypeel.bsky.social and the Edge team, for this wonderful profile in January's issue.
November 26, 2025 at 3:14 PM
"The industry's finest sustainable storyteller" is an appellation that we'll wear with pride. Thank you, @jeremypeel.bsky.social and the Edge team, for this wonderful profile in January's issue.
As a result of the Fallen London 24/25 player survey feedback, this year we have (deep breath):
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM
As a result of the Fallen London 24/25 player survey feedback, this year we have (deep breath):
Candlefinder Society stories continue to be a hit, offering a way to keep feet on cobbles in an age of rail and dirigible. We appreciate all the love for them, and in 2026 we want to play with format a bit more.
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Candlefinder Society stories continue to be a hit, offering a way to keep feet on cobbles in an age of rail and dirigible. We appreciate all the love for them, and in 2026 we want to play with format a bit more.
Firmament is Fallen London’s ongoing major story, free to all players.
This year we released three chapters, and in 2026 we'll guide the story to its conclusion.
In January, chapter 7: follow dreams of fire and thunder to Queeneater's Castle, a red redoubt buried in the wilds of the Antipelago.
This year we released three chapters, and in 2026 we'll guide the story to its conclusion.
In January, chapter 7: follow dreams of fire and thunder to Queeneater's Castle, a red redoubt buried in the wilds of the Antipelago.
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Firmament is Fallen London’s ongoing major story, free to all players.
This year we released three chapters, and in 2026 we'll guide the story to its conclusion.
In January, chapter 7: follow dreams of fire and thunder to Queeneater's Castle, a red redoubt buried in the wilds of the Antipelago.
This year we released three chapters, and in 2026 we'll guide the story to its conclusion.
In January, chapter 7: follow dreams of fire and thunder to Queeneater's Castle, a red redoubt buried in the wilds of the Antipelago.
In the popular end-of-year tradition, here's a thread of what you might have missed in Fallen London in 2025, and some plans for what we'll be doing in 2026.
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM
In the popular end-of-year tradition, here's a thread of what you might have missed in Fallen London in 2025, and some plans for what we'll be doing in 2026.