I honestly didn’t know what to expect with Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure because, for the most part, I genuinely hate sliding-block puzzles. There is no faster way to make me dislike a game than to make me do a sliding-block puzzle. Usually, it’s because these types of “puzzles” require very little thought and are more frustrating than challenging, but there was one game in particular that really soured me towards them.
I’ll never forget the moment it happened. It was The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Map block E-5, “Link’s Private Oasis.” I spent hours doing one sliding-block puzzle after another, thinking it was the way to open the fireplace and get the Triforce map, only to learn a simple grappling hook handle on the roof that needed to be pulled.
So, imagine my surprise when I started playing Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure, and I found myself genuinely enjoying almost every aspect of it. Here’s a game that has finally achieved what almost 30+ years of gaming never could—a way to make sliding-block puzzles not only interesting and engaging but, dare I say, fun as well.
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure puts players in the role of Jemma—a small girl with a big destiny. On the day she decides to set out from her quiet hometown, she discovers a mysterious force known as the “Static” has been spreading and has even brought monsters to her town. It’s up to Jemma to discover what’s been going on, why her once-connected world is not separated, and maybe her own mysterious origins.
“I started playing Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure, and I found myself genuinely enjoying almost every aspect of it.”
While it does have a fairly standard RPG plot of: “mysterious orphan with a grand destiny,” it fleshes it out in a big way by interweaving the story into the gameplay. Jemma is quite literally affecting the world around her whether others like it or not and this informs her character in small ways on why others and even Jemma herself feel she’s a chaotic nuisance. But it also works a lot of humour and charm into the moment-to-moment storytelling that makes experiencing it a constant delight.
But like I said at the top of this review, the real standout in Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is the gameplay. The whole game is one giant, intricately designed sliding-block puzzle where the whole world is designed on a grid, and wherever Jemma moves, she’ll pull any block behind her. But it’s utilized in interesting and clever ways that suit the two primary gameplay functions of an RPG—combat and exploration.
“…the real standout in Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is the gameplay.”
While moving around the world, players can simply slide from square to square, but if they should ever find themselves at a roadblock, they can slip past the edge of the grid—appearing at the other end. While this allows for some unique puzzle-solving when moving past Static blocks, it also expands the other puzzles since slipping past the boundaries applies to any objects following Jemma’s path.
Not only does it provide players with clever solutions, but it also fits Jemma’s character thematically as well—even the boundaries of this world don’t really apply to her and she can force things outside of them. Her brand of chaos brings freedom and liberation. It’s constantly finding unique ways to build on the sliding-block puzzle format and never feels too stagnant, which again, feels very connected to the game’s theme.
The “combat” usually provides Jemma with a sword, and players will need to figure out how to push or pull it across the grid and connect it with a monster’s face—quite literally, in fact. This logic applies to many of the game’s other puzzles, which are constantly changing and adding a lot of charm and fun. One moment, you’re trying to shear woolly creatures who nervously grow back their fur if you waste too many moves, and another, you’re pushing bananas around to lure orangutans to each other.
“Every frame of Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure’s world is brimming with colour and detail…”
However, despite its many positives, these are still sliding-block puzzles, and they can get a bit frustrating, especially if you make a mistake with an item’s placement and need to slide back repeatedly to undo your moves and try to start over. While the game does provide you with a sort of hint system, after playing so much Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, I couldn’t help but wish for a quick-restart function.
Thankfully, the game makes up for this immediate shortcoming with an incredible art style and a beautiful soundtrack. Every frame of Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure’s world is brimming with colour and detail—attributed largely to Braid artist David Hellman. The game has a distinct look that’s less painted and more inked with colours that are bright and beautifully blended. Adding to this is a unique comic-book style with background details placed in panels, making the whole thing feel like a storybook come to life.
The soundtrack is equally whimsical and fun with every track being highlighted by acoustic guitar or ukelele. It runs the gamut from high-tempo plonks that make the game peppy and fun to quiet and reflective tracks that are punctuated by acoustic guitar slides. It creates environments that are both fun and exciting, but also not too overbearing as to distract the player’s ability to concentrate on the puzzles.
Despite my disdain for sliding-block puzzles, I really enjoyed Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure. I think both hardcore and casual puzzle fans alike will find something to enjoy with this one. Its unique gameplay, interesting story and supurb style set it a cut above other puzzlers in the genre.
