Arranger: A Role Puzzling Adventure Review

Arranger: A Role Puzzling Adventure is a curious little game that caught our eye when it was first announced earlier this year. Described as a Role Puzzling Adventure, as literally plastered on its title, the game immediately reminds us of a mix between Crypt of the Necrodancer (without the beat-related movement) and Braid.

Arranger tells the story of Jemma and her journey of self-discovery. She sets out to the world ruled by an immovable static force, and it is up to her to disrupt and make her mark while finding out about herself.

Jemma moves and shifts the tiles under her, as the world is made up of an interconnected grid where exploration and combat take place. While moving, everything around her shifts as well, and it is up to the player to solve puzzles by shifting these tiles to beat this 8-10 hour adventure.

Move it!

If the puzzle aspect of Arranger is tough to understand, it really isn’t. A good way to imagine it is that if you move Jemma forward, all of the tiles beneath her also move forward 1 step, along with any objects on the row. Through these movements, players need to navigate Jemma through puzzles that block her path. If there’s a monster on the path and a sword somewhere in the vicinity, players will have to “push” the sword towards the monster to clear the way, and so on… you get the drift.

In action, everything really makes sense, and while it does seem complicated at first, the system clicks together within mere minutes of playing. It’s very intuitive and totally fun once you get the hang of it, and the creativity on display leaves us in awe.

Puzzling Goodness

For a game like Arranger, the variety and creativity of its puzzles can largely determine if it is good enough to sustain your attention, tickling the brain while not leaving things too hard to be frustrating. Thankfully, despite its relatively simple puzzles (and some head-scratchers later), they are very fulfilling and can be a source of some back pats along the way.

Moving around things in Arranger is the foundation of getting around and, consequently, puzzles, so it is arguable that things could get somewhat repetitive. A small twist such as moving to the edge of the screen and appearing on the opposite side gives Arranger just enough leeway to make puzzles entertaining. Taking it even further, some items are locked in place, so players will have to be extra creative with moving things around.

This kind of simplicity is refreshing to see, and it goes to show that a game need not have layers upon layers of systems to provide a fun time. In Arranger, a player just needs to try out things until that sudden realization hits, rightfully earning that satisfaction. If you can’t go to the left, maybe go to the right edge and appear on the left!

If at some point players feel that some puzzles are a bit too tough, Arranger does provide very helpful accessibility options to ease the pain. Apart from just skipping some puzzles outright, there are little toggles such as having the quest marker visible at all times. These are certainly appreciated and do well to invite more casual players in.

Arranger is full of these little moments that make players feel good about accomplishing these puzzles, and in a game full of them, there’s a lot of good vibes to go around. Paired with a charming visual style that pops off the screen like a paintbrush storybook courtesy of Braid’s David Hellman, the game is simply a joy to experience.

Verdict: Buy it!

Arranger: A Role Puzzling Adventure may have flown under the radar due to some heavy hitters that were released in the same month, but it is definitely a game that puzzle enthusiasts and more casual individuals will enjoy. The game is a treat to the eyes as much as it is to the brain, and solving puzzles through the provided sandbox does not get old despite its straightforward premise.

*Arranger: A Role Puzzling Adventure was reviewed on a PS5 with a review code provided by the publisher.