Mask of the Rose

It breaks my heart to disrecommend this, but it's just not the sort of experience I was looking for from a Fallen London IP title. Instead of unspeakable maddening horrors you get Mr. Pages as a sort of comedic boss and the game asking you for each character you meet if you want to try to hump them. A bit off putting.

I bought and am playing this in 2025 after it seems all the patches. This is not a $20 game. I got it on sale for about $10 and that’s a bit more reasonable but still feels a bit overpriced. It's not a terrible game, but it feels almost unfinished, like a first or second draft of a game. It’s really hard to properly review this because it makes me feel frustrated and stuck and there’s just so much wrong or poorly executed. My main issues are pacing and mechanics. This game feels stifling and like you have no time from the get-go. Even having more days to play, it feels like you need to be laser-focused on one playstyle and there’s no room to explore. My first playthrough I made what felt like zero progress when it came to solving the murder mystery because I was sidetracked trying to befriend other characters, building a romance, and do some side quests. I understand you can’t do it all in a single game- and that’s fine- but it’s so easy to do nothing. My second playthrough went a bit better (until it didn’t- I’ll get to that) but that’s because I got intimate with someone the second or third time I met them and when the murder happened focused almost exclusively on that but ended up not solving it anyway. Related to solving the murder, The storycrafting mechanic is an interesting idea but not done well. During my first playthrough I didn’t really get it but did use it much more during my second play. In my first game it didn’t matter. I came up with some BS theory and implicated someone but it didn’t matter. I paid off the prosecutor to save the person on trial (which itself was done dumbly) and that’s it. The second time I went about the trial a different way, also bypassing the need for storycrafting. For what it’s worth- after my game I spoiled myself with how the murder happened and by who and for why. I was right about the who and why but couldn’t get the information for the how which was annoying. Storycrafting for Rachel to help her make stories is also easy. She just accepted everything I offered her. One time she seemed to doubt me but I convinced her with a single conversation choice (I guess because we were friendly?) so no issues. Overall, the relationship mechanics seem pretty weak. It seems like there’s hardly any difference between being romantic, friendly, or neutral. I guess being disliked makes things harder but it’s easy to just not get to that state since it’s mostly just a matter of picking obvious choices and choosing the option that will guide your relationship. The changing clothing mechanic to change how to interact with people is interesting, but eventually it just feels like another barrier to progress because you get questioned every time you talk to someone and it stops the game in its tracks. I also didn’t notice much of a difference between items. It would have been better to have an icon to change to change clothes that you could initiative before talking to characters. It feels like over half of the game is spent in transition (being asked to change clothes, reading the morning headline, going to dinner before bed, being back at your bedroom…). And why are you constantly asked if your mind is changing? I understand people might want relationships to change but asking nearly every interaction ‘are you sure?’ is annoying and breaks the immersion. The characters do look and feel distinct but, frankly, I don’t care much about most of them. This is probably because I didn't really have a chance to deeply get to know that many characters because of the pressing time constraints and getting sidetracked not really knowing what the most useful thing would be to do. I don’t have as big of an issue with every character wanting to jump your bones two seconds into meeting as much as other players have had. Yes, it’s a weak start to a romance (and the romance does feel extremely weak), but with such a short game you don’t really have the luxury of getting to know people. It feels like you barely have time to really get to know anyone before your attention is intended to be turned towards the looming execution. An issue I had, that’s related to the characters in my second playthrough, is that despite forming a major romance and picking options that should have ended with the romance I ended up in this unwanted declaration of friendship with Griz despite not trying to be close to her (I’m being vague for the sake of not spoiling too much, but it was handled so poorly. Imagine doing a bunch of romance options and then having that taken away because you answered ‘yes, I’m your friend’ to another character once). It felt completely antithesis to my other choices. It also feels like this game is trying to be for everyone when it probably shouldn’t be. I appreciate splitting up romance and lust and giving people the option to focus on platonic relationships and the storycrafting but then why play a romance-themed game if you are wholly uninteresting in any of the emotional or physical intimacy? If you want a game that’s oriented toward the aromantic or asexual crowd, make that a separate game where romance is either not included or a very minor, optional part of the story. It’s weird to label your game as a romance first, murder mystery second but then make it try to appeal to people who aren’t into the main element. I would not suggest this. A lot of good ideas in a great world are done very poorly.

I would like this game a lot more if not for the time management aspect. The limited number of actions per day means that you don't have time to explore all the possibilities thoroughly, but it's not fun to replay, just feels repetitive. If I could mod it to increase the number of actions per day, it would be much more enjoyable.

Mask of the Rose is a role-playing game that resembles a visual novel. I respect it. However, its visual novel format can be misleading, as it sets an expectation of easily falling into an engaging storyline, like most visual novels do. Instead, this game requires active nosiness. It is highly replayable, with many storylines you won’t encounter in a single playthrough. The story is told in a deliberately confusing way, blending the unfathomable with the mundane in a poetic manner. Events often make little sense, with only glimpses of what’s happening provided. I find this enjoyable, but it might not appeal to those who prefer comprehensible stories and solvable puzzles. The gameplay revolves around visiting people in Fallen London, building relationships with them, and uncovering information about various mysteries. The most interactive element is a unique storytelling mini-game where you craft a theory about a specific mystery and discuss it with a character. This can involve crafting a false theory to elicit information that leads to the correct one, which can be slightly confusing, but I find it enjoyable. You shape your character through varied reactions, which feels natural and leads to a well-developed protagonist, despite the story’s complex character interactions. It looks and sounds good, if minimalist. It includes optional romance, but this isn’t the main focus and can be easily avoided. Its short length makes replays manageable, and I enjoyed my two playthroughs. I’m unsure if I’ll return to it, despite knowing there are many unresolved or undiscovered story threads. I recommend everyone give it a try.

Pick lane and stay in it or allow more than two actions per day. I cannot recommend this to anyone as it currently stands. Players of the other games in the the Fallen London universe will be familiar with how obtuse things can be, but this one takes things to another level. This game is torn between being a dating sim (as advertised initially) and a murder mystery and as such, does neither well. Time management is the BBEG in this one. You basically only get two actions/interactions per day which makes for a frustrating play when people are harping on you to solve a mystery and make that seem like the only thing you should be doing. You are also trying to do your census "job" and finding romance. You essentially need to pick one thing for a somewhat satisfying playthrough. Story telling/building is pretty broken (STILL!), you aren't allowed to choose which version you tell someone. I could only get the Rachel and rat stories to somewhat progress, but you can really only choose one thing, or nothing is complete and it feels like a huge waste of time. Now on to the very broken murder mystery plot, I put together so many different combinations but never had any option to question anyone or bring my theories to anyone. I wasted so many precious actions attempting to talk to a character about the murder, only for the conversation to never get around to the murder which was a frustrating waste of time. The price on this one is not worth it, it only seems to go down to 30% off for sale. It is a messy short game that is not worth a penny. Save your time and money, or go play Sunless Sea/Skies. I just want my wasted time back.

look motr isn't perfect but the browser game refuses to let me kiss the giant space bats so i bought this solely to have my mc make out with mr pages i would fr give failbetter 40 more dollars just to make out with mr veils specifically i'm a very simple lady

This game is such a slow burn. I had hopes but I struggled to finish it - or to find anything to keep me going. The romance is a drag, the whole detective thing is boring, there's too little time window for too many things. I think the game struggled to focus on what it's trying to become.

FIRST: There was a learning curve for this game (for me!) that I'll share incase anyone else is doing the same thing; it will improve your game play dramatically. The game requires an element of 'storycrafting' that ultimately gives you potential dialogue within the game. For my first 1.5 playthroughs I was under the impression you chose/discovered a singular crafted story and ran the day cycle with that info. It did take me until hour 8 IRL to realize that's NOT how the game is meant to be played. Rather, you should craft every possible outcome for every possible dialogue choice so that during interactions you have very thought out materials for quests solutions and the direction you want to proceed in the game. In retrospect that OBVIOUSLY makes the most sense, but that wasn't how I interpreted the original game instructions during the tutorial. I don't know WHY it took me that long to put it together but it's making the game significantly more interesting. I do feel like I'll have to play it a 3rd time just to get the original intended experience, but I can see how knowing this moving forward gives the looping playthrough aspect more direction for quests in the future. Otherwise, the game is slow with no direction and it will discourage you from playing again. NOW, however, I see the intrigue. So, if you did the same stupid mistake as I did, I'd at least say give this game another chance. SECOND: I would echo other sentiments that 2 AP per day with multiple paths means choosing early what direction you want to take the game. The first play through is entirely experimental and very seat of your pants. I would like to discover the stories, but I'm also torn on how much I want to replay the same scenes over and over. YES, there is a fast forward, but I'm not 100% convinced I'll discover all this game has to offer. Especially after floundering for the first 8 hours just trying to grasp what was going on. I do wish it had some type of save slot or after completing an ending they allowed you to rewind to a decision and play other options forward instead of having to replay in full and rediscover everything on every successive loop. THAT IS FRUSTRATING. Loading up a game just to press fast forward 30 times can be a bit dull with very slow pay off. I don't usually want to grind a visual novel. That's not a combo I'll look for in the future. That all being said, I do like the world building. The characters. The story crafting. Choosing the right items to convince the characters of your intentions. I just wish there was a more enjoyable way to experience them.

It is a narrative exploration game that you need to start over and over. It is interesting, but the amount of reading and the lack of voice acting make me uninterested in finishing it. It is not my type of game, but it is one of the better visual novels that I have played so far.

I ended up really liking Mask of the Rose. I think there are caveats, and for someone who doesn't know any of failbetter's other games, it might not be for you. But I really liked it! It grew on me kind of suddenly, and got me back into the browser game. I wanted to write this review after digging around the community and looking at general impressions and complaints that came about from the early onset of the game. I doubt there will be a lot of readers and I'm not sure I'm going to convince anyone this far out from release lmao but. Failbetter is also releasing some new game information soon so I wanted to get back into their stuff and share my experience. I think there are still some problems that people disliked in the beginning: mainly the saving system. I had to dig around for how to copy and return saves on the forums. This is pretty easy to do, but I think it would be better if it was in the game naturally. The romance can be a little jarring with the regular requests to update your relationship with someone, but I think there are some good experiences to be had. I came to enjoy trying different options and matchmaking some of the characters together. I love the characters and the stories around them. I love the art style, the writing, and the music. The romance is nice, though I used the wiki extensively to get the options I wanted ngl. Storycrafting can be a little confusing but it's something I think you get used to eventually. Overall, if you've played failbetter games before (especially Fallen London,) I think there's probably something to enjoy in it for you. It's worth giving a shot, in my opinion. This last bit is kind of unnecessary but like. Idk if the devs would still read the reviews at this point. but I wanted to say thank you, cause I'm sure you worked hard on this game, regardless of how it was ultimately received. I like it. And thank you, specifically, for Milton. I know I am some nerd on the internet you will never meet, but you made him just for me