The Netflix subscription It allows you to access an infinite number of series, films and programmes, allowing you to choose from a wide variety of products of all genres. In addition to all this, another advantage of being subscribed to this streaming service is the possibility of enjoying a good selection of very varied video games, which has allowed me to find one that has pleasantly surprised me.
It is about Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventurewhose name leaves no doubt about the genres it is betting on. I was recommended to give it a try and I thought I had nothing to lose. In short, downloading through the application for mobile devices is totally freeso I always had the option to delete it and move on to something else in case I didn’t end up liking it.
This situation has not occurred because It hooked me from the first minute.Only four people have been involved in the development of this game, including the producer and writer of works such as Celeste and Carto, as well as the artist of Braid, something that is noticeable in that magical visual section that knows how to easily win you over.
Starting from this premise that already guarantees you that Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure has been in good hands, the adventure introduces us to Jemma, a girl who was abandoned when she was just a baby and now that she is older all she wants is to embark on a journey far from her town to get to know herself. What’s more, even some of the townspeople will be deeply grateful for it because, let’s say, our protagonist is a bit of a troublemaker.
And not precisely because she is a hooligan and nothing similar. It is all due to the very curious ability that she has and that is what gives life to the main mechanics of this title that makes it so tremendously interesting, innovative and challenging. Let’s say that the whole world is connected by a kind of network of paths that move in a horizontal or vertical row, depending on the path we choose, but it is not Jemma who moves, but the path itself.
This means that each and every element of the stage that is located in that same row or column will move at the same time. In other words, The world moves with our young adventurer. So this causes the environment to become so chaotic as all kinds of objects and even other characters are constantly being carried around, that some people don’t have a special affection for Jemma. In any case, this is what gives rise to some brutally clever puzzles.
More than anything because you are constantly going from one place to another in order to open paths, to eliminate elements that are obstructing the passage or heavy objects to activate switches. With some I have racked my brains too much trying to find the solution until I can, in which I have to admit that they have made me sweat a lot, because many are about going around and around everything that is close to you and what you can do, since there is also the possibility of exit on one side of the stage and appear on the other.
In fact, this last feature is so important that a good part of the puzzles are solved this way and it is sometimes easy to overlook it if you are not aware of it, forcing you to Think about the number of boxes around to be clear about where you have to position yourself and when to move each path in order to reach the destination you want. Also, something that has fascinated me is that the main mechanic is complemented by many others that are introduced on the fly depending on the scenarios you visit, so the game is constantly presenting you with new challenges.
Another detail to note is that, as much as it is a puzzle adventure, There are also fights. However, these are based on the same features highlighted so far. The reason is that the enemies are completely static and cannot move, as well as rocks and other obstacles that hinder progress, so the only way to eradicate them from the map is to look for a sword that is nearby and think of a way to make it hit its position.
In order to curl the curl even more, they have even included boss battles in which you can’t die at any time, but they are more demanding than a normal puzzle, so you might as well have a clear mind when you want to start playing, because you’re going to need it a lot if you want to progress and not get stuck.
In another order of things, The setting seemed sublime to me because of the different scenarios that you have to go through, because they change constantly, but the icing on the cake is the comic-book-like images that you see in the distance and that add a little more background to the plot that keeps gaining points as it progresses, although in the end it is not as remarkable as the other sections. And of course the soundtrack is not far behind with some great songs that accompany this peculiar journey wonderfully.
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure It has turned out to be a very pleasant surprise and you could also say that for a puzzle game it has a very considerable duration. It all depends on how hard it is for you to find the right solutions, but it’s usually not less than five or six hours, as a minimum, although it’s easy to get caught up in it so much that you’ll want to finish it from start to finish in an afternoon or a weekend. As a final note, it’s also available on PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
At iGamesNews | The puzzle genre would not have reached where it is without indies
