Exit Strategy Review

Combining twitchy gaming with lateral thinking and more traditional puzzle elements is a risky move. That's why Exit Strategy doesn't entirely succeed. It leaves you wanting to think things through but doesn’t give you the time to do exactly that. Instead, you'll be frantically trying to chase after the metallic ball dictating what happens next.

Kind of like a simpler (and less humorous) Portal, Exit Strategy involves you creating a path through mazes by opening portals on the side of many walls. A swipe once creates a blue portal while a second swipe creates a red shaped exit. You have to grab, or at least try to grab, all the stars along the way, too. Things get trickier both thanks to the speed of Exit Strategy and the many obstacles in your wake. Deadly lasers are fun for no one, after all.

It's the speed that's the main issue here. You have to react very quickly to keep up with what's unfolding and it leaves you on edge, wishing you could just have a tiny bit of breathing space. If you mess up, the level is reset and you’re right back at the beginning, cursing your luck. You can gain some extra time through a time slowing power-up, but these cost money after an initial free bundle. There are some very intrusive adverts too, interrupting your play after each level.

There's a nice idea behind Exit Strategy and it sometimes works, but other times it just turns too frustrating. It's the kind of frustration that you can just about forgive, but it makes for a slightly jarring experience that never entirely succeeds. Throw in the fact that it looks kind of dated for iOS now, and it's not the warmest of games. It'll prove quite satisfying in the long run, but you'll never escape that wish for things to be slower.