“Hey Google: What is a role-playing game?”
The answer has evolved quite a bit over the past few decades. What once was a niche genre defined by dice rolls, critical hits, and high fantasy lore has slowly transcended its DnD roots. Now, everything from Madden to Call of Duty has RPG elements.
Yet, with this explosion of popularity comes the risk of fatigue. There are simply too many games to consume, and time is limited. To stand out, today’s role-playing games must have one heck of a hook.
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure puts that raison d’être right in the title. Part puzzle game, part coming-of-age story, Arranger attempts to break the RPG mold with a novel, grid-based movement system—to modest success. Its puzzles, though clever, flirt with frustration, while its story suffers from juvenile characters and lackluster worldbuilding. Perhaps most disappointing: There’s hardly any role-playing at all. The result is a capable game that could have been more.
Call to Arrange
Arranger tells the story of Jemma, a young girl with the mysterious ability to shift the ground she walks on. In her town, she’s viewed as a deviant and a curse by everyone except for a small found family. Even her biological parents have seemingly shunned her, with an opening flashback depicting her cradle being left at the town’s gates, Oedipus style.
One day, Jemma’s situation reaches a tipping point. After getting chastised by the townsfolk for the umpteenth time, she decides to leave home to discover where she comes from and who she really is. Here, Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure kicks into motion.
It’s an intriguing premise, buoyed by the sheer absurdity of Jemma’s power. As you move about the world, she will drag just about everything with her—from tree stumps and rocks to animals and NPCs. Combine this power with Jemma’s whirlwind of a personality, and you’ve got a cocktail for absolute mayhem.
Unfortunately, Arranger fails to capitalize on this premise. The plot devolves into a fairly simplistic “save the world” narrative, and Jemma’s heritage is barely touched. She encounters a host of characters on her journey, but each suffers from unwieldy writing that frequently feels out of place. Expect goofy names, cheesy one-liners, and terminology that makes zero sense in a fantasy world. I cringed when one townsperson labeled Jemma a “simp.”
Hard as it may try, Arranger fails to tell a story worthy of its world.
Brain Dump
Thankfully, Arranger’s gameplay fares better. As Jemma explores the world, she routinely faces obstacles ranging from blocked pathways to “static” monsters that can’t be budged with her power. Each obstacle offers a unique puzzle, with Jemma needing to manipulate the terrain in a certain way to progress.
Take the example of the blocked pathway. At first, it may seem impossible for Jemma to progress. But by moving in a quick box step rotation, she can pull obstacles out of position, creating an opening. If she can’t move the obstacle, she can walk the opposite way until she “rotates” back into frame on the other side.
There’s a Rubik’s Cube-esque quality to these puzzles. The world itself is an endless grid of squares, and Jemma’s movements mimic that of a carefully executed algorithm. Mastering the mechanics of Arranger takes not just a love of conundrums, but a love of math, positioning, and repetitive computations.
This might entice analytical minds, but it isn’t for everyone. I spent much of the game brute-forcing my way through certain puzzles, unable to “get” the rhythm of movement. While the game eventually clicked for me, it did so far too late into an already short adventure. (Even with a few optional side puzzles, the game only takes about five hours to complete.)
Where’s the Role Playing?!
Then, there’s the elephant in the room—or lack thereof. On storefronts, Arranger is described as a “breezy RPG without XP or inventory to manage, where everything is handled in-world.” If you think about it, though, those are two elements that make an RPG, well, an RPG.
There are exceptions, of course. Look no further than Zelda—the classic example of an RPG-lite that prioritizes storytelling over stats and gear. But Nintendo’s designers offset those expectations by providing other incentives: quirky characters, intricate levels, satisfying bosses.
Arranger offers very little of that. Its characters are one-note, its world is surprisingly linear, and its bosses—though fun—are few and far between. Even without an inventory, I would have loved to see Jemma acquire upgrades throughout her journey—a new mechanic, or power, or outfit. Anything, really.
Instead, Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure seems content to double down on what it does best—the puzzles. The game finds clever ways to add new layers to gameplay (one memorable sequence involves navigating waterways via a raft), but they’re all handled, as the game boasts, within the world. Jemma herself never acquires new tools, taking much of the excitement and grandeur out of the adventure.
Role-playing games aren’t about damage counters, skill trees, or shopkeepers. They’re about helping players escape to new lands and explore what it’s like to be someone else. Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure tries to deliver where it counts, but the magic simply isn’t there.
Final Thoughts
In isolation, Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is a tough but fair puzzle game. Once the game clicks, there’s a zen-like flow to zooming about the environment (speedrunners, take note). But the puzzle element is only one part of its RPG promise—the sense of adventure is lacking, and the roles are nowhere to be found.
It does have its audience. If you love the methodical pull of a Rubik’s Cube and don’t mind a relatively silly story, there’s plenty to like. But if you go into Arranger expecting to explore a rich world with big stakes and clear progression, you’ll be disappointed.
Part of me wishes the development team at Furniture and Mattress had spent more time fine-tuning the design to cater to a broader audience. Another part of me recognizes that this game only works because it’s such a narrow experience. As with so many aspects of Jemma’s adventure, your mileage may vary—I just wish it didn’t have to.
Score: 6.5/10
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure, developed and published by Furniture & Mattress LLC, is available now on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mac. MSRP: $19.99.
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.
