Sting’s 1998 Japanese Saturn release, Baroque, is a 3D, first-person perspective roguelike action game. Inflicted with amnesia, you begin in a darkly post-apocalyptic world whose inhabitants’ bodies suffer mutations representing their agonies and their guilt. You soon meet with an apparition of Archangel, who briefs you and gives you a god-killing gun. Your mission is to make your way downward — to the very bottom — through the many randomly generated floors of the nearby Nerve Tower, without dying… ah, but dying triggers cutscenes that advance the game’s story!
The game features very detailed, highly stylistic graphics and dark, SFX-enhanced music for a decidedly hellish atmosphere. Battle enemies, manage your HP and Vitality, juggle your very limited inventory, find and make use of various items, and immerse yourself in the religious, psychological, and philosophical themes that come to life in the world of Baroque. If you’re lucky, you’ll even meet “friends” along your journey.
Now… this is not always easy to do in Japanese. Luckily, in 2023, Plissken was divinely inspired to bless our tormented souls with an English translation for this most unique of titles. Now, even the most heretical amongst us can take up the search for absolute truth. Amen!
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