Baroque is artistic in its approach to game design and achieves an immensely dreadful atmosphere by combining its bleak aesthetics with simple but arduous gameplay. The objective is simple: make it to the bottom of the tower, but your success can be largely dependent on your luck with random items. You learn bits and pieces about the world through context rather than explanation, which is an approach to storytelling that I've always appreciated. Masaharu Iwata's grim sound arrangements are the perfect backdrop for this experience, and contribute so much to the pure isolation I feel while playing. I felt similar emotions while watching the anime series "Texhnolyze" years ago, but that story has much more of a concern for society than I can say for Baroque. However, this is the kind of game that different people will read in different ways. There are definitely allusions to problems of human civilization, but I find that Baroque is more concerned with understanding Being and the self. This isn't the sort of media I draw concrete conclusions from; I just find tremendous enjoyment in playing it repeatedly while considering any or all of the pieces of this incredible composition.