Failbetter Games has announced Mandrake, a fantasy life simulation RPG heading to PC via Steam. No release date is set, but what we’ve seen so far promises a moody, magical experience rooted in gardening, mystery, and quiet discovery.
You play as the last of the Mandrakes, a long-lost line of gardening sorcerers, returning to your family’s abandoned estate. From cursed seeds to strange spirits, your legacy unfolds as you restore the overgrown grounds and uncover the truth behind your family’s vanishing.
About Mandrake
Mandrake blends classic life-sim elements with British folklore. Gardening is magic here, literally. You’ll plant enchanted crops like thunder-taran and rhewyn, decorate your home, and gradually push back the wild. But beyond the soil lies a world full of secrets.
The nearby village of Chandley is small, strange, and steeped in old magic. Its residents, like the rook-speaking Rosen or the smith Nessa, carry stories and scars, and getting to know them will shape your path.
And then there’s the night. Ever since the Covenant of the Hearth, the world belongs to humanity by day, but once the sun sets, the Mara ride the winds. Light a fire. Stay indoors. Or don’t.
A quiet kind of sorcery
Magic in Mandrake isn’t loud or flashy, it’s in the details. Grow your staff from a cherry tree. Eavesdrop on spirits. Fish in cursed waters. Read old books by firelight. Even have tea with a god who lives in your chimney.
It’s gentle, patient storytelling with a haunting edge, where every plant, person, and place has a hidden thread.
If you’re into games like Stardew Valley or Spirittea but want something stranger and slower, Mandrake might be one to watch.
You can wishlist Mandrake on Steam now.
For more updates like this, check out the gaming news section!
