Sting Entertainment's Baroque attached sci-fi horror aesthetics to a Mystery Dungeon-ian roguelike, with an evil twist. On the gameplay side, two of its most noteworthy characteristics surround the items: Their risk factor (most items must be 'identified' by using them, and plenty of which could backfire and harm the player instead) and their dual-functionality. The former refines the concept of oppressive, high-stakes dungeon-crawling, and adds even more unpredictability to an already RNG-laden genre, but it's the latter that propels this above typical roguelikes: Obsolete equipment and unnecessary pickups can be thrown at enemies for considerable damage, with different properties depending on their type (e.g. elemental weapons deal damage of their respective element when thrown). Sting addressed the hassle of inventory management by simply turning clutter into useful ranged weapons.

They also stand apart for their anomalous areas, transporting players to grotesque, industrial spaces complete with limited visibility and creepy enemies. The effect is at times scary and surreal, like being cast into a nightmare with no end in sight, just floor after floor of desperate struggling against progressively otherworldly monsters. In this sense, Baroque took the original MegaTen equation to the extreme, accentuating both its heavy atmosphere and its mischievous, unforgiving nature.