Mask of the Rose Reviews

Loved it :)

Finally, after 15 long years I can date Mr. Pages.

Sadder and deeper than what I expected from Fallen London, in a good way, while still seeming to be part of the setting. A great look at an overlooked part of the setting (early after the Fall) and overall a fun game.

The Fallen London world is unmatched, and Mask of the Rose offers a captivating tale of its early days in procedural fashion.

I really loved this! a great mystery in the setting of Fallen London.

“In February 1862, with no warning at all, London fell through the surface of the Earth.” – That is the beginning of the story that that contains Mask of the Rose. It takes place about a year after that historic event, when the Londoners were still trying to understand what was going on, why the dead didn’t stay dead, why the rats were talking, what the devils were doing, and what all the tentacles were about. It can be seen as a bit of a prequel to Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies, taking place many years later in the same universe. The game itself is a visual novel, with a bit of dating simulator which also turns into a bit of a murder mystery. This means that Mask of the Rose suffers a bit from an identity problem: it is not really a solid game. The writing is delicious, the characters are deeply interesting, and the way the murder investigation is performed is creative but the qualities as a game is rather lacking. It is ambitious and I certainly recommend it for the atmosphere and the imagination, but not everyone will like it as the game it actually is.

Even after all the patches and updates, it's still a really baffling game. The mystery is thin, the suspects aren't adequately set up, and the solution feels random ("Oh...it's them? Like that? Uh...sure, I guess it COULD be..."). The romance is even thinner; all of the romance content feels very superficial and superfluous, none of the romances actually reveal anything new about the characters. Half of the cast I can't even fathom why anyone would WANT to romance them (gee, do I want to kiss the charmless harridan devil woman, the zero-personality murder victim, the irrational and aggressive translator, the awkward dirty little rat catcher, the motherly landlady, or the Ministry bootlicker??) and the other half will REFUSE to romance you in one way or another: the devil and the rubbery man only want a one night stand, the writer is in love with someone else, the political agitator doesn't intend to stay in the Neath and can't offer you a long term relationship, the constable is pining for his lost lover in a way that makes it feel extremely weird to hit on him, the clay man won't sleep with you at all, and Mr. Pages is a joke option. I'm left just feeling perplexed about what the intended purpose of the game was, aside from "make something as Inclusive(TM) as possible." And I think inclusivity is a good thing! But Failbetter have created a game where everyone is included in a game that nobody would actually want to play. It's not sexy, it's not romantic, it's not thrilling, the murder mystery is a tedious chore. The whole experience is just boring and frustrating. This game was such a good IDEA, but it doesn't deliver on any of its promises.