Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is the first game from new independent developer Furnitiure & Mattress. It’s a narrative driven, quirky, visually stunning, relaxing-yet-head-scratching puzzle adventure game that does not overstay its welcome. The pastel art style and cozy score are a testament to the developer’s passion, further bolstering its overall quality with the intricately designed puzzles, resulting in an indie darling to keep an eye out for. I first got my hands on Arranger during Summer Game Fest Play Days, and was blown away by its charm. In my demo, I played up to the first boss fight before leaving for the next area. It was around thirty minutes, but I needed more. Fast-forward about a month, and the game is on the brink of release, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Read on for our review!
Arranging an Expedition
Arranger sees you take control of Jemma, a young girl with big dreams of exploring outside of her sleepy little town. Along the way, she meets a delightfully colorful cast of characters and visits a handful of unique locations. From the sandy beaches of Merritton to the wild west wasteland of Flax, Jemma embarks on a poignant quest of self-discovery, where she learns the importance of individuality and expression. It may not seem like it based on the gameplay mechanics, but Arranger is an emotional story-driven romp that will get you in your feelings, and steal a few laughs.
The overall gameplay style is quite unique. Movement is done on a conveyor belt-like grid. Moving in any of the four cardinal directions will move that whole row or column, and everything along with it (besides objects covered in Static). On path edges, if not blocked by a Static object, Jemma can instantly transport directly to the other side, offering faster movement and tons of ways to solve puzzles. The puzzles, as the title suggests, are the game’s main feature. Their intricate and intuitive design are undoubtedly impressive, and range from simple to baffling. There were a couple of times where I accidentally solved one without knowing the logic behind it. The game also offers a “skip” option for when you’d rather just move on.
For example, towards the end of the game is a boss fight where you have to maneuver Jemma and another character in such a way that you attack an enemy at three places at once. I tried, failed, took a break, and tried again numerous times before finally settling on skipping it. Thankfully, this was the only puzzle that I really could not figure out. In most games, the puzzles get harder the further you progress. Arranger aims to keep a consistent challenge and instead focus on the narrative, a welcome change.
Non-traditional Boss Battles
My roughly nine hour playthrough saw me contend with four total boss “fights”. Arranger is unique in that there is no traditional combat. Instead, boss fights are themselves elaborate grid puzzles. The first area’s boss is a rather large worm-like creature you have to lead around to its sharp tail to damage. After each hit, it grows longer, so the stage obstacles become another puzzle piece. In classic Zelda-like fashion, almost every boss required three hits and you win. Other than the fight near the end, each of the boss battles were easy enough to figure out. You just have to put the effort in and be patient. Oftentimes it’s best to stop and plan out your movements, predicting where you’ll end up in relation to other objects on the grid.
Each area has different mechanics that serve their respective puzzles, and are very different from the last. Merritton has you climb aboard a raft and navigate bridges, while Flax uses grappling hooks to cross canyon gaps. Not once did I found myself bored from doing the same type of puzzle over again. The eclectic blend of mechanics truly keeps the game fresh until the very end.
Everything you do in the game is puzzle-based, from walking over to a new house, to moving a heavy object onto a switch, and even catching fish. The conveyor belt movement comes with a slight learning curve, but once you learn the ins and outs, you’ll be backwards-teleporting in no time.
The character, boss, and environment designs are of a caliber not seen in many indie games. The art from Braid artist David Hellman brings the whole experience together, and the hand-drawn comic book panel-esque expository moments that serve as Arranger’s cutscenes show the moment-to-moment story beats that otherwise wouldn’t be possible on the grid.
Verdict
In a year filled to the brim with some of the best indie games we’ve seen, Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure stands out among the pack. The first game from indie developer Furniture & Mattress, it puts their veteran game developer status on full display, offering a delightful romp through an eclectic world of hilarious characters and emotional moments. The namesake puzzles are some of the most well-designed around, and offer enough of a challenge so as to not leave you bored. Despite them not moving in real time, the boss fights present a sense of urgency that further adds to the fun. If you check out any indie game this year, make it Arranger.
Pick up Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure on PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile when it releases July 25th, 2024.
Reviewed on PS5. Review code provided by the publisher.
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