Illusion Labs technically never left iOS, but in what would be their first brand new game in a while, they’ve released an awesome puzzle (new IP!) platformer for us to enjoy!

Blast-A-Way (Universal: $4.99) 

“Help three robot heroes save the lost Boxies throughout the many levels made of wood, metal, fabric, stone and plastic. To accomplish this honourable mission they have to use bombs, teleporters, rebuilders, colorizers, portals, color gates and more, found in and around the levels.”

Presentation

For a studio whose name is Illusion Labs, presentation is obviously a big part. And from the second you load the game, you can tell it has Illusion Labs written all over it. The game starts out with wooden levels, which remind us of the earliest Illusion Lab game of them all: Labyrinth.

After all, the levels consist of metal and fabric among other textures. You can tell how much work went into visuals in this game when you’re playing on the new iPad, and the fabric textures look incredible. To top it all off, is a soundtrack that as usual, fits in perfectly with the game. It doesn’t have to be amazing to do it’s job.

Controls

Illusion Labs is no stranger to releasing games with challenging controls, and Blast A Way is no exception. This game in particular is extra challenging because you have to control a fully 3D puzzle game, which is easier said than done on the iPhone screen.

To move your robot around the levels, you tap it and drag it to draw a path for it to follow. The controls for the bombs are similar, with you tapping and holding to throw the bomb at whatever angle you want. For a touch screen, Illusion Labs did a good job making it as simple as possible. It’s not perfect, but I’m confident people can get the hang of it after a couple levels with it.

Gameplay

Your goal in Blast A Way is to find and rescue Boxies. To do this, you control a range of Robots who have an arsenal of balls to use, with each ball has a different effect on the environment. One of these balls is an impact bomb. You can throw these at objects which will break them, freeing other balls or trapped Boxies.

However this is a little trickier than it sounds, since the color of the ball has to be the same of the object you throw it at, or it will simply bounce off. There are also other type of bombs, and as you go on you can combine these to clear through the levels. You also get other types of balls, like the teleporter balls which move your robot to areas it could not previously reach. The best part out of all the gameplay? No signs of IAP or freemium gameplay in sight.

Conclusion

Overall, Blast A Way does a good job at bringing us a fresh puzzle game for the iOS platform. It has the polish we’ve come to expect from Illusion Labs, while packing content (80 levels), that make it well worth the $4.99. It’s not only my inner IL fanboy speaking when I say you should definitely pick up this game.