Last updated on January 3rd, 2026 at 08:02 pm
Ticket to Earth – Puzzle Game Review
Ticket to Earth is a Puzzle/Roleplaying game from Robot Circus Pty Ltd, first launched in 15th March 2017.
It’s rated 12+ and currently has 698+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes Ticket to Earth Stand Out
A distant planet. A dying colony. A deadly conspiracy. Fight a corrupt system in Ticket to Earth, the revolutionary tactical puzzle RPG!
The puzzle grid is your battlefield as you position your team, collect matching tiles, and power up devastating special abilities. You’ve never played anything like this!
Ticket to Earth seamlessly blends turn-based tactics, thought-provoking puzzles, and engaging RPG storytelling into one awesome, multi-award winning experience.
BATTLEFIELD TACTICS – Fast and furious combat. Control your party in classic grid-based tactical action to accomplish a huge range of mission objectives.
TILE-MATCHING PUZZLE – New possibilities every time you play. Adapt your strategies to find new paths across the puzzle grid. Match tiles to build attack energy and unleash explosive combat powers!
STORY-DRIVEN RPG – Manage and customize your team’s abilities and gear as you explore a vivid sci-fi world full of unique characters!
AUGMENTED REALITY – Dive deeper into the world of Ticket to Earth with the iOS exclusive AR mode.
PREMIUM EXPERIENCE – No in-app purchases. This complete experience unfolds across more than 120 unique missions providing many hours of deep RPG gameplay.
- "Ticket To Earth is an evolutionary leap forward in the puzzle/RPG hybrid genre" – Kotaku
- "…one of the first truly essential mobile games of the year" – 9/10 Pocket Gamer
- "Ticket To Earth tricked me into enjoying a puzzle game" – Rock, Paper, Shotgun
- "A superbly original and exceptionally presented colour matching tactical game" – 5/5 Pocket Tactics
For more information about the game, visit www.ticket-to-earth.com
This Puzzle game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, Ticket to Earth is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 16th December 2020
Recent improvements include:
Ticket to Earth can now be played on Apple Silicon Macs!
This update also includes minor enhancements and fixes.
Download & Availability
Ticket to Earth is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get Ticket to Earth on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
Honestly, dont know why more people dont talk about this game. Imagine the top-down squad turn-based strategy of XCOM, but in smaller arenas, and with a color-matching puzzle-game-style dynamic where having a character run along tiles with matching colors during their turn can be used to boost that characters attack, defense, etc. Story and characters were interesting, too.
We think this is our favorite iPhone game. It is an interesting game dynamic combined with a surprisingly engrossing story. We found ourselves not just playing the game to play the game but also to advance the story and find out what happens! We played it through a while ago and am playing it again and its just as good as we remember. We highly recommend it.
The perfect blend of Banner Saga, Grindstone and Fallout 2 with a rich story, compelling characters, engagingly fun combat and complex but intuitive skill tree. One of the best mobile games ever made.
We were also recommended this game as a quality premium iOS game by Brandon Sanderson. The game has a nice story, fun gameplay, and satisfyingly powerful abilities. Admittedly, we had a hard time with the game at first. It starts off pretty hard. But if you can make it halfway through chapter 2, the game opens up and becomes more manageable. That is when the game really came together and as our characters got more powerful, it felt like we could finally take on the challenges of the game. We really liked the story in the end. We have some nitpicks about the progression systems, and we kinda wish there was an achievement system or some other incentive to 100% complete the game. Otherwise, its really good. If you can get past the difficult start, the game really comes into its own and is a joy to play. We highly recommend Ticket to Earth to tactics and puzzle fans alike.
Gameplay is smooth, deep, and highly rewarding. The story, characters, and presentation all blew us away. Sequel, please.
We only bought this game because Brandon Sanderson said it was his favorite mobile game and it was a pay once. 5 dollar price tag was really great. And now we must admit we just like Brandon, we want a sequel. Hope you guys are listening. Im about to start the game over (delete saved data) and play it again. Shout out to Brandon for suggesting it. Hope he has a game made off his books soon.
We really liked the characters and storytelling. The game dynamics allow for some fun puzzles to solve during battle.
The best RPG that very few have heard of. A true hidden Gem.
The story grows on you, but the gameplay is fun and challenging from the start.
This game is superbly satisfying; the way characters power up through specific tile colors story, the comic book style, all comes together quite seamlessly.
As so many other reviewers have noted, this game does so many things right! The story is tight and interesting, the weapons-perks-elements development ladder is nuanced and really changes the gameplay as you go, and its just so hard to put down! We really wish they made the second installment.
Its crazy how this games keeps coming up in our go to stash for something quick and fun to play. We suspect Ive been through it 15+ times now, but its still a great game at its core. Quirky dialogue and story which is actually a very good part of the game, but the battle/matrix part of it is what keeps us coming back. Ill sometimes play through and ensure we get ALL the nitrium, or maybe Ill play with zero weapon upgrades… But the basics of this game keep it fun. Of all the smaller app type games Ive purchased, this one is a far favorite.
This game is on another level. Fun and novel mechanics, compelling story, and plenty of powers/character development choices that let you play your way.
Just dont play games on our phone anymore because have a casual console. Would buy again for that to finish it.
Love the game now that the story is complete. Please add new replay modes.
Yes, it's a "match" game. Wait! It's all about movement. It's a grid of 4 different "elements", and then you connect them in a chain to boost your attack, move your character around the map, gain powers, etc. But honestly, it's more than the sum. There's some solid writing, some great characters, honestly very good storytelling, neat abilities, clever ways to solve levels, and that's before we mention each character has their own abilities and skill tree. It's long, the design values and art are crazy good, and it's fun. Definitely worth it.
Great turn based puzzle combat dynamic, great story, great game. Loved it.
Great game – great support from devs, with several updates adding more game to an already super game. Totally worth the price.
We were looking for a game that gave a similar mix to X-Com or Shining Force in terms of grid based,turn based combat with a storyline and some RPG character options. Something that doesnt take a huge investment but has some story depth too. This nailed it,such a fun game to play.
This is, hands down, the single best mobile platform game that we have ever played. That includes both iOS and Android. Add to that the low price, the complete lack of ads, and zero in-app purchases, and its a no brainer. Fantastic gameplay, story, controls, etc. Wow :).
Fun strategy components, easy to learn, difficult to master. Engaging story, but artwork has an inconsistent style which cheapens the experience a little. Minor gripe but could use refinement.
This game has been our favorite iPhone game. Wish they had more like it. Very original gameplay. Replay is fun too. We love trying to charge up our power to the max for a strike. Update: episode 4 was terrible, they put very little effort into the story for the last installment, we deleted the game after episode 4, thats how disappointed we were.
Backbone controller support would be great.
We play game to avoid game. Why adding real world politics in it? Universal health care in the end.
Great gameplay, good story, you won't regret of buying and playing this game(if you are into turn based gameplay).
Truly an engrossing game. Deep strategy, but the story is incredibly well-crafted and really adds a sense of investment in the characters. For instance, in some games even though we could beat the level if a played had reached zero health, Id quit before beating it just because we didnt want that character to die. And the gameplay is fantastic enough to warrant playing after we beat it. Very well done, and we truly hope you keep making games and possibly a sequel.
This game takes the classic RPG and gives it an iPhone twist. Such a good game it could be on a console, but it would not work there as well! But it would stand up to that $50 price tag. Pick this one up, you will not be disappointed.
Just what the doc ordered for our stay at homeness. Very addicting, not too hard, and interesting if not a bit cheesy of a storyline. Mechanics are a blast. This is the game Id write if ups were to write a game. Nice job.
A little easy, but lots of fun if you learn the best powers. The story is fun to follow too.
We really loved the narrative in this game. The characters and story are fantastic. They built a great world. At the end, we were hoping for a little more backstory on each of them, especially the relationship between Wolf and Malady, but it was still compelling. Reads like a graphic novel. The stakes keep getting higher in a great way (which is impressive when you start out with the murder of an entire city, lol). The gameplay itself is alright, its mostly the same thing every time with little tactical differences, but we found it somewhat meditative and fun. The music is good too, although wish there was some more diversity. A note to the devs, there are lots of typos in the one level in chapter 4 when theyre in the engine room.
This game is amazing! Fun, challenging, exciting, and has a great story. Check it out.
Great epic story with lots of cool world-building! We love puzzle rpgs, and this game is unique in its rules and yet easy to learn. We love all the characters and we got plenty of hours playing through this game. We bought it when it first came out, revisiting it as the chapter unlocked. Ive enjoyed the experience! We hope to see more games out of this developer! :-).
This is everything mobile games should be. Its a truly impressive accomplishment for its developers and an unforgettable journey for anyone who plays it. If you like games, youll love this one.
Creative plot Rose OP late Worth buy it.
Excellent combination of strategy and puzzle solving. Story slowly but steadily draws you in. Nice background music. Stable, no crashes. No ads or in App purchases. And, no internet connection required. All in all , a refreshing change from the freemium model of most games nowadays. We would gladly pay for additional levels or a sequel.
It is fun playing this game and challenging too. Definitely worth it.
XCOM on iOS is nice but its awkward for the screen size. This strikes a perfect balance between deep strategy and casual play. Challenging but very fair. Great art and mechanics.
Amazing game. Totally sucked us in. Good tactics, great story, engaging engine and play style. When it we see a great game like this it reminds us just how awful and predatory to games completely designed around in app purchases are. Its like psychological warfare on us trying to get us to buy their crap. This game is a fair price for a great game. Couldnt recommend higher.
The character progression is rich and encourages you to switch up gameplay strategy, keeping the game fresh to the end. Excellent sound design and art. So much content for the cost. Well done.
Fantastic game, one of our entries on a very short list of must install apps. We just wish it didnt have an endpoint after youve completed the story. If completing the story unlocked an endless play mode of some sort, Id still be playing the game daily (how far can you go before all your team falls? That sort of thing). As noted in another review, a difficulty level higher than Veteran would add incentive to replay as well. But seriously: give this game an endless play mode.
Great mechanics and story. One of our favorites.
Really enjoyed the characters, story, and intellectual turn-based gameplay. Nothing else has cone close for this balance of quality gameplay and mobile-friendly time demands.
A high quality premium game like they rarely make anymore, easily worth even twice the price. Thanks for the constant support developers.
Okay here it is. On an iPhone 8 the player doesnt respond fast enough to finger taps. We watched walkthroughs online and it works for other operating systems.
Would like to play but no sound.
Difficulty is mostly due to RNG (tile respawns are randomized) thus beating the game is entirely down to luck. Regardless the main gameplay loop and storyline are logically disconnected and boring. Dont waste your money.
Hands-down, one of the best iPad games Ive ever played. Brilliant combination of strategy and combat. The pace is what you make it. This deserves a sequel. TAKE MY MONEY.
We love this game. The mechanics are creative, combining TRPG with a sort of puzzle grid. We were worried looking at screenshots that it would be a match-3 type thing, but its not. You can run along a line of same-colored tiles to charge your skill gauges & your basic attack. We adds another layer when youre deciding how to move & position. We love is the sub goals on each mission. Im a completionist about doing them all and we add challenge by trying to do them all in one run. We do have to say Ive hit one glitch, in the final chapter. The menus say that there is still yellow nitrium to collect in one level, but there isnt. Thats the only technical issue Ive had, though, and its very minor.
Really amazed with this one. Exciting and balanced strategy combat with smooth animations and satisfying action. Four long, compelling chapters telling a story that seems very relevant to our time. Absolutely a cant miss game for anyone into strategy RPGs.
By far the best tactical mobile game Ive ever played. Excellent, thoughtful gameplay; great story thats well thought out and executed; wonderful, unique art style; substantially long but never boring.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 4.0.5
- Size: 2,720.82 MB
- iOS: 10.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory: Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References
- Developer: Robot Circus Pty Ltd
Last updated: 16th December 2020 | Genre: Puzzle, Roleplaying | Developer: Robot Circus Pty Ltd