Comparison

INKS. vs Old Man's Journey

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

INKS.

Experience a fresh take on pinball where each play session becomes a unique work of art. Smash an ink-covered ball across colorful canvases, creating vibrant layers and a visual history of your gameplay. Enjoy over 100 unique tables with perfectly balanced mechanics.

Highlights
  • Artistic pinball gameplay
  • Over 100 unique tables
  • Color-bursting mechanics
  • Visual game history
  • Share levels and scores
  • Tactical challenges
Features
Read full description

** App Store Best of 2016 ** ** Apple Design Award Winner 2016 ** From the makers of BAFTA-winning Lumino City comes INKS. INKS updates pinball for a new generation. It combines the joy of pinball with skilful tactical challenges, and allows you to create wondrous works of art as the ball smashes around the canvas. Blocks of colour burst like beautiful fireworks across the surface, building up in vivid layers and recording a visual history of your game as you perfect your score. FEATURES: - Beautiful and elegant design - Over 100 unique tables to play - Perfectly balanced gameplay - Each canvas tells the story of your game - Share your favourite levels and high scores If you're enjoying INKS and want to extend the experience further you can also buy Powerups - slow-mo 'Precision' aim, and the 'Stopper' to prevent you from losing the first precious Gold Ball. “Amazing looking... vibrant, full of life. Are we excited about this.” Pocket Gamer Inspired by artists like Miro, Matisse, Jackson Pollock and Bridget Riley, each table becomes a unique work of art, sculpted by the player as they fire an ink covered ball around the canvas. With State of Play’s creative flare and skill at crafting beautifully elegant gameplay, INKS offers something new: art and gameplay as one, for everyone.

About

Old Man's Journey

Embark on a poignant adventure exploring life's journey, loss, and hope through a visually stunning, award-winning narrative. Solve handcrafted puzzles in whimsical, hand-drawn landscapes with a unique mechanic that shapes the world around you.

Highlights
  • Emotional narrative told through imagery
  • Whimsical hand-drawn landscapes
  • Handcrafted, pressure-free puzzles
  • Unique landscape-shaping mechanic
  • Compact game experience
  • Original soundtrack
Features
Read full description

A soul-searching adventure about life’s precious moments, broken dreams, and changed plans. Over 17 International Awards, including: - Apple Design Award (USA) - Emotional Game Award (France) - Innovation Award (Brazil) - Best Art Award (Japan) Features: - A powerful and emotional narrative told only through imagery - Gorgeously whimsical landscapes with hand-drawn art and animations - Handcrafted, pressure-free puzzles - Unique landscape-shaping mechanic - A compact game experience perfect for a wanderlust-evoking escape - Original and emotionally compelling soundtrack by SCNTFC "A gorgeous experience." - TouchArcade (10/10) "An absolute joy to look at and play" - The Guardian "A whimsical poem" - Polygon (8/10)

Screenshots

INKS.4 screens
Old Man's Journey4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Old Man's Journey at none against INKS.'s 6. Old Man's Journey also leads on chart position (#104 vs unranked). INKS.'s advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and price ($1.99 vs $4.99). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

INKS. costs $1.99 and Old Man's Journey $4.99 up front. INKS. sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Old Man's Journey asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

INKS. holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.8K and 2.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of INKS.'s written reviews are positive against 71% of Old Man's Journey's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

INKS. ships an update monthly, Old Man's Journey every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
INKS. versus Old Man's Journey: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterINKS.Old Man's Journey
Price$1.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.7 (1.8K ratings) — better4.5 (2.4K ratings)
Positive reviews82.1% of reviews — better71.1% of reviews
Number of ratings1.8K2.4K — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#104 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size443 MB1.3 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperState of Play GamesBroken Rules

Customer experience

INKS.

All ratings1,831 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral3.6%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews1,199 reviews
Positive82.1%
Neutral7.5%
Negative10.4%

Old Man's Journey

All ratings2,364 ratings
Positive86.3%
Neutral4.1%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews863 reviews
Positive71.1%
Neutral10.0%
Negative18.9%

User reviews

INKS.

From 1.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful and artistic design
  • 👍 Relaxing and calming gameplay
  • 🎨 Satisfying color splatter effects
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive controls
  • 🎨 Unique take on the pinball genre

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unresponsive or laggy flipper controls
  • 🔋 Drains battery life quickly
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
  • 🤔 Levels can be too short or repetitive

Old Man's Journey

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and animations
  • 🎶 Calming and soothing soundtrack
  • 👍 Relaxing and meditative gameplay
  • 💡 Unique and innovative puzzle mechanics
  • 🤗 Touching and emotional story

Room to improve

  • 🕰️ Short game length
  • 🤔 Repetitive gameplay
  • 💰 Perceived as overpriced for the content
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes

Bugs and requests

INKS.

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Flipper controls not registering properly
  • Game freezes or crashes on certain levels
  • Powerups not working as intended

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more levels and gameplay variety
  • Implement a sandbox or freeplay mode
  • Include background music or sound options
  • Add support for tilt/shake controls

Old Man's Journey

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game freezing or getting stuck on certain levels
  • Compatibility issues with some devices
  • Inability to reset or restart the game

Requested features

3 requests
  • More levels and content
  • Ability to save progress and resume later
  • Difficulty options or more challenging puzzles

In-app purchases

6 purchases

INKS.

One-time6
  • VespaFree
  • PlushFree
  • 160 Credits$0.99
Show 3 more
  • 350 Credits$1.99
  • 800 Credits$3.99
  • Infinite Credits$11.99
None

Old Man's Journey

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is INKS. free?
INKS. costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Old Man's Journey free?
Old Man's Journey costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, INKS. or Old Man's Journey?
INKS. is rated higher. INKS. averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while Old Man's Journey averages 4.5 from 2.4K ratings.
Do INKS. or Old Man's Journey have ads?
Neither INKS. nor Old Man's Journey shows ads.
Which is updated more often, INKS. or Old Man's Journey?
INKS. ships an update monthly, and Old Man's Journey every 2 months. Most recently, INKS. was updated on October 28, 2026 and Old Man's Journey on October 26, 2026.

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