A peculiar roguelike game about a young boy sent out to purify a crazed god in a distorted, post-apocalyptic world. This is a remake of a Japanese Sega Saturn title of the same name released in 1998 ...and that's probably explanation enough for the odd nature of the game.
It's interesting visiting a late 2000's roguelike after playing more recent, critically acclaimed takes on the genre like Hades and Slay the Spire. Baroque leans more into the harsh roots of the genre with its core structure but story progression and some item-related features fortunately do carry over between runs. There's also a huge database that tracks every enemy you encounter, item that you log etc. that can be useful.
Baroque's gameplay mostly consists of exploring randomly generated floors, sluggishly swinging your sword and picking up strange items that may explode once used. There's a fun aura of mystery and sense of discovery to the first half-dozen runs or so but sadly the archaic game mechanics and bafflingly repetitive first floors start to test any sane player's patience after a while. There are clear game logic rules set in place for sure but a lot of times you'll feel cheated by those very rules when later enemies are e.g. considerably faster than you or are able to do continuous, paralyzing attacks.
The plot of Baroque is quite unique and somber and the religious themes do actually serve a purpose beyond aesthetics which is nice. The story can be very obscure, however, and that's why every mid-run cutscene, unique NPC encounter or the tiniest bit of plot exposition feels like a small victory every time. It's a shame that the game eventually starts to feel like a chore to play instead of mixing things up to maintain a healthy sense of intrigue towards the overaching narrative mystery. Quite a bit of the story stuff, as well as the character design, felt very FromSoftware-esque, a lot of strange troubled people and eerie creatures to be found throughout the floors.
Not entirely sure what to make of this game... my thoughts on it are just as clouded as its plot. It is undeniably a fascinating game with an identity of its own which is more than you can say for a lot of other games but there's an abundance of frustrating flaws as well. If you're looking for a weird RPG-adjacent title on the PS2/Wii then check this out I guess, just be aware of those aforementioned caveats. Let's at least end the review on a positive note: the music is dope and the intro video is sublime.
It's interesting visiting a late 2000's roguelike after playing more recent, critically acclaimed takes on the genre like Hades and Slay the Spire. Baroque leans more into the harsh roots of the genre with its core structure but story progression and some item-related features fortunately do carry over between runs. There's also a huge database that tracks every enemy you encounter, item that you log etc. that can be useful.
Baroque's gameplay mostly consists of exploring randomly generated floors, sluggishly swinging your sword and picking up strange items that may explode once used. There's a fun aura of mystery and sense of discovery to the first half-dozen runs or so but sadly the archaic game mechanics and bafflingly repetitive first floors start to test any sane player's patience after a while. There are clear game logic rules set in place for sure but a lot of times you'll feel cheated by those very rules when later enemies are e.g. considerably faster than you or are able to do continuous, paralyzing attacks.
The plot of Baroque is quite unique and somber and the religious themes do actually serve a purpose beyond aesthetics which is nice. The story can be very obscure, however, and that's why every mid-run cutscene, unique NPC encounter or the tiniest bit of plot exposition feels like a small victory every time. It's a shame that the game eventually starts to feel like a chore to play instead of mixing things up to maintain a healthy sense of intrigue towards the overaching narrative mystery. Quite a bit of the story stuff, as well as the character design, felt very FromSoftware-esque, a lot of strange troubled people and eerie creatures to be found throughout the floors.
Not entirely sure what to make of this game... my thoughts on it are just as clouded as its plot. It is undeniably a fascinating game with an identity of its own which is more than you can say for a lot of other games but there's an abundance of frustrating flaws as well. If you're looking for a weird RPG-adjacent title on the PS2/Wii then check this out I guess, just be aware of those aforementioned caveats. Let's at least end the review on a positive note: the music is dope and the intro video is sublime.