In March of last year, developer Robot Circus released Ticket to Earth ($4.99) to the App Store, an incredibly clever tactical RPG that used matching mechanics for its combat. Whereas most puzzle RPGs feel like a puzzle game first and foremost with a bunch of RPG elements bolted on top, Ticket to Earth felt like a full-blown strategy RPG first and foremost that just happened to use color matching as its main mechanic. The blend was seamless and we loved Ticket to Earth enough to choose it as our Game of the Week when it released.

The only downside was that it was built as an episodic game with that initial release only featuring one of four planned episodes, and the engaging story ended on a real cliffhanger. The following August the next chapter of the game was released as a free update, and although it’s now taken more than a year the third episode has also arrived for the game. It seems this update has snuck out a bit earlier than planned, and according to the Robot Circus Twitter account they’ll have more to announce about it tomorrow, which I imagine will include their plans for the fourth and final episode.

For now though, if you’re a Ticket to Earth fan that had finished up the available content already, now is the time to redownload and check out Episode 3. And if you’re new to the game then now is a good time to jump in as this is an effortless recommendation to fans of RPGs, strategy, and puzzles. You can also find all sorts of discussion and impressions about it from the past year and a half since its release in our forums.