Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure

Arranger is a puzzle adventure game about navigating a grid-based world where the objects around you move when you do. You must use this core mechanic to traverse mazes, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies. A playful tone pairs with this deliberately chaotic ability.

The basic concept of Arranger is that every row and column of every room wraps around as if it is a looping strip. When your character moves either vertically or horizontally, you rotate that strip, moving every object in that row or column with you. Anything that moves off the edge of the room, including yourself, appears again on the other side. Certain types of objects can’t move and block other things from moving. So the trick is to move around in such a way that both you and the props around you end up where they need to be.

This rotational design even continues when you move between rooms, carrying props along the way. You have no inventory, so this is the only way to use items. Because of this design, the puzzles are less self-contained than most grid puzzle games; puzzles can flow smoothly into each other and sometimes encompass multiple areas.

There’s a substantial amount of RPG-style story, exploration, and dialogue in between the puzzles. You play as Jemma, an orphan born with the inexplicable ability to rearrange the world around you, which creates chaos wherever you go. You must find your place in the world and learn to embrace your unique abilities, despite the problems they cause.

The game was a joint effort from a team of puzzle veterans, including (but not limited to) Braid artist David Hellman, Ethereal duo Nicolás Recabarren and Tomás Batista, and Carto writer Nick Suttner. Cute, colorful art, a cozy world, and a unique twist on grid puzzles are all things to look forward to in Arranger.

This description was written by Gwen C. Katz.