Baroque

 Wii
Metascore
50

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 22
  3. Negative: 11 out of 22
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  1. Zentendo
    70
    Baroque is a marmite game: you’ll either love it or hate it. It’s a piece of interactive fiction genius and although the gameplay can be a little poor at times, the entire package is great and is well worth picking up if you enjoy a hard, dungeon crawler challenge.
  2. GamesRadar+
    70
    It takes a certain type of person to plunge into a deep and randomly generated dungeon, but if you’re that type, Baroque is a very satisfying plunge.
  3. GameSpot
    65
    A fiendishly difficult, randomly generated dungeon crawler that at times can be an incredible work of interactive fiction, and at other times, a muddled mess.
  5. Cubed3
    60
    Baroque is an odd one, even by roguelike standards. It has all the elements of the genre that will put off 'regular' players – random dungeons, deadly difficulty spikes, loss of items and experience on death – but it also suffers from technical shortcomings that even roguelike fans won't enjoy.
  6. Nintendo Gamer
    55
    You know us, we love to champion the odd outsiders, but Baroque drinks your praise only to then puke it in your lap. Horribly interesting. [July 2008, p.62]
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  7. IGN
    54
    Baroque is unique in concept but lacking in fun. That idea that you have to die in order to put the pieces of your life together is interesting and could work, but you still have to give the player a sense of direction and accomplishment.
  8. n-Revolution Magazine UK
    54
    Not a terrible game but if you want to be scared witless, go for Resi 4 instead. [Issue#22, p.78]
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  9. Edge Magazine
    50
    The only area in which the game satisfyingly realises the twisted ideas is in mental ailments. [July 2008, p.96]
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  10. games(TM)
    50
    Settle into the initially jarring pace of the game and it eventually becomes the sort of RPG that you simply play for the sake of playing, immersing yourself in the world and discovering its many surprises as you go. [Sept 2008, p.108]
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  11. Thunderbolt
    50
    Investing time and money into Baroque comes down to your tolerance for the genre - those experienced with ‘roguelike’ dungeon crawlers should find a lot of hidden depth here mixed in with an engaging story. For everyone else, Baroque is a more often than not, distant, vague and unfairly difficult experience you could probably do without.

Awards & Rankings

32
#32 Most Discussed Wii Game of 2008
43
#43 Most Shared Wii Game of 2008

User Reviews

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User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 30
  3. Negative: 2 out of 30
  1. NachiK.
    Apr 24, 2009
    10
    Best game ever. Any critics that didn't like it either played it for like 30 minutes or are stupid. Or both. "You can only fire the gun Best game ever. Any critics that didn't like it either played it for like 30 minutes or are stupid. Or both. "You can only fire the gun five times!!11" lol. "It's too haaaard." Double lol. I didn't know what a Roguelike was until I started this thing, and I have to say that those sound a bit dull. The awesome plot development more than makes up for whatever else this game lacks, which in my opinion is very little. The battle system is not "flawed;" it's difficult. Get over yourselves and go watch a movie if you can't handle pushing buttons more than once every hour. Surviving the dungeon requires more skill than luck, and is a constant and exciting challenge. The music is awesome. The story is awesome. The setting is awesome. This game is awesome. And sadly, totally unique. If you want a fun, mentally and physically challenging game that can be played for hours on end, Baroque is for you. Ignore the critics, who probably shouldn't be reviewing video games seeing as they find them so "difficult" and "pointless," (both features of every great video game ever) and get it before it's impossible to find.… Full Review »
  2. Duncan-Idaho
    Jun 15, 2011
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Baroque is a rouguelike game, it means that the dungeon or dungeons will be all generated at random, however this is what makes rouguelikes interesting as you will always start both fresh on some dungeon or will keep items but every dungeon you visit will be different. The Wii and Possibly the Ps2 version start with an anime intro that will give you a vague idea of this contents, you start as the 'chosen one' who is amnesic and does not knows anything about who or what he is, this was just the thing that made me take the bait, moving on you will see nearly everyone is twisted and few are not physically twisted but rather mentally, example are the bagged one, the horned girl as physical twisted mentally is the grave keeper and a few others. Moving on you will see the Archangel who will give you the angelic rifle and warns you to use it against the absolute god (yes i know you were just asked to kill god this shocked me A LOT), once you enter the neuro tower you will start by seeing that the only stable element is the first floor it never changes and it's very advised to come armed, so go to the grave keeper and finish his dungeon/tutorial and you will probably have some bones, meat, seeds a coat and a sword. The way of progressing on this game is reaching the bottom of the neuro tower and shot, or embrace the absolute god, the ending sequence for the first games for some is bizarre as hell, so allow me to explain until you trigger a flag in the game the protagonist is asleep so to speak, and is being cloned en masa my dear readers, so it keep going and going until said flag is triggered, afterwards you can start to collect the idea sephiras (their souls so to speak what was their embodiment) and so you will need to keep heading down and down. The Challenge on this game is on 4 points, the first your VIT bar, you need to eat to restore it and level up so you can survive longer on the tower, the second is the items, unless you are able to search and use the orbs you WILL lose all you collected on your current run, enemies will get stronger, but so you will get better equipment. So what still wondering what is this all about? here it is: The archangel conspired with the Dr.Angelus to steal from the Absolute God the ability to feel pain, unable to feel and understand pain the absolute god went crazy and started to unleash the distortion, people slowly began to look what they were inside, then the protagonist comes in, he was part of a double being, conjoined twins after the death of one of the twins the surviving one kept on with his life until he was offered a chance to fuse with the absolute god, yes said being was about to regain what she lost and more become more humanlike, but sadly the archangel had a hand to play on this, he interrupting the ceremony caused the blaze essentially accelerating the distortion and choosing to blame all on the protagonist. All the reason was for the Archangel to get revenge on the absolute god as she stole his sister, he would steal her godhood and embody it within him. The protagonist was to mend things, sadly after you finish the game you learn that it's impossible to turn back the hands of the clock, as the blaze truly revealed mankind deepest wishes but as a fix they chose to create a consensus reality were they can try to make the events less Traumatic for mankind. Baroque crude play style is truly the only bad thing that surrounds this game aside from the limit of objects you can take out of the tower. In the end Baroque is an excellent gothic rouguelike game with a deep saddening atmosphere, with a deep reaching story that will make all those hours of suffering worth something, and the game can take up to 50 hours just to finish the story part if you a re patient you can get up to 300+ hours of pure game play!. Before i forget this game is a re make of the Saturn game known as Baroque and it was originally a FPS not a 3rd person.… Full Review »
  3. enemycoke
    Sep 22, 2010
    6
    I really do love this game. Don't see my 6 and instantly assume that I am trying to bash this game. I have spent hours wondering around andI really do love this game. Don't see my 6 and instantly assume that I am trying to bash this game. I have spent hours wondering around and honestly do find this fun. It is just what I want to get from a modern dungeon crawler. Rogue-like is honestly a genre I have never heard of, and after this It didn't really turn me into a fan.

    I feel like the makers accomplished exactly what they wanted but it left me out in the air with no idea what was going on, with random cut scenes that I found entertaining but not really of substance. (I will get endless hours of entertainment out of "Do you remember our scar?"). The art design is beautiful and the controls are simple enough to pick up and play, I don't really understand why complex controls is something to mention in a positive review. If this game is going to blow your mind it will do so by being eerie, confusing, and gothically beautiful but not with its control scheme. It could have done a better job in explaining different aspects and some I still don't understand. If I didn't love this game for theatricality and ease of play I would have given it a much lower score (around 2 or 3) simply because I spent around 5 hours playing and getting nowhere. I was trying to hold on to the mystical gun for the cleansing of the fremen but I found myself losing it in at least 3 ways: accidentally throwing it at the light bringer who disappeared, having it stolen by the Noid, and having it turn into a leg of meat by stepping on a land mine. by all means I should hate this game that I feel is punishing me with severely limited item pack that fills up quick with bones, and for making me maddeningly angry by allowing the game to give me everything I don't need and nothing I do, and for lying to me about the dungeons not repeating, they do if you die enough. The real reason this gets a 6 is the same reason I rate Arthouse films on the lower end, they can look gorgeous and be amazingly well put together but if I get little entertainment then there isn't much for me to watch again. I would classify this game in the Arthouse-Anime genre if anything because that is how it felt, a Japanese industrial Bergman experiment. Wholly confusing but really does have alot to say if it is analyzed. I am going to continue to play this game for a while. And for the whopping 7 dollars I payed for it, it was a good choice on my part.    … Full Review »
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