SPL vs Crying Suns
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SPL
A minimalist puzzle game designed to challenge your intellect. Experience a deceptively simple yet deeply engaging gameplay experience that will test your problem-solving skills.
- Minimalist design
- Challenging puzzles
- Intellectual gameplay
- Engaging experience
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We know. It doesn't look like much. But we promise that it's a very good puzzle game. Like, really good.
Crying Suns
Command a space fleet in a tactical rogue-lite inspired by classic sci-fi. Explore a procedurally generated universe, engage in strategic ship battles, and uncover a deep storyline across six chapters. Experience a rich narrative and atmospheric gameplay designed for mobile.
- Procedurally-generated space exploration
- Tactical battleship and squadron fleet combat
- Over 300 story events
- Deep, 6-chapter storyline
- Mobile-optimized interface
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When FTL meets Foundation and Dune: Crying Suns is a tactical rogue-lite that puts you in the role of a space fleet commander as you explore a mysteriously fallen empire. In this story rich experience inspired by Dune and Foundation, each successful run will uncover the truth about the Empire... and yourself as well. Main Features: - Space exploration in a procedurally-generated universe - Tactical fights between battleships and their squadron fleets - More than 300 possible story events - A deep and dramatic storyline structured in 6 chapters - A dark and disturbing atmosphere inspired by our favorite S-F universes (Foundation, Dune, Battlestar Galactica) First released on PC and Mac, the indie hit Crying Suns was carefully redesigned for mobile and tablets, including a revamped interface and intuitive touchscreen interactions. Pay once to get the full Crying Suns experience! No ads, no F2P mechanics! All future updates included. Supported languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese If you encounter any problem, please contact us at contact@cryingsuns.com with as much information as possible on the issue.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Crying Suns at 4.8 against SPL's 4.0. Crying Suns also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (2.1K vs 124). SPL's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $8.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases 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
SPL costs $2.99 and Crying Suns $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Crying Suns holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crying Suns has 2.1K ratings behind it against 124, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of SPL's written reviews are positive against 73% of Crying Suns's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SPL ships an update every 11 months, Crying Suns monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SPL | Crying Suns |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 4.0 (124 ratings) | 4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.9% of reviews — better | 72.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 124 | 2.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #134 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 89 MB | 1014 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Simogo AB | Alternative Shift |
Customer experience
SPL
Crying Suns
User reviews
SPL
From 124 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Simple and addictive gameplay
- 👍 Elegant and minimalist design
- 🧠 Surprisingly deep and challenging
- 💡 Hidden features and surprises
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and compatibility issues
- 🔋 Drains battery even when not playing
- 🔇 No option to mute sound effects
- 🤔 Confusing instructions and lack of guidance
Crying Suns
From 2.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fun gameplay
- 🌟 Amazing atmosphere and story
- 👍 Engaging combat system
- 💎 Great value for money
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Small text and UI elements
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay and missions
Bugs and requests
SPL
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes on iPhone X and newer devices
- Game disappears when no more moves are available
Requested features
4 requests- Restart/reset option
- Leaderboards and achievements
- Ability to save progress
- Option to adjust color scheme
Crying Suns
Reported bugs
4 issues- Game crashes when using certain ship abilities
- Crashes during end-of-chapter cutscenes
- Progression-blocking bugs preventing access to new content
- Inability to progress past specific story points due to crashes
Requested features
4 requests- Zoom functionality for combat screen
- Ability to play own music during gameplay
- Endless mode or sandbox option
- Improved tutorial to explain key mechanics
In-app purchases
SPL
No in-app purchases
Crying Suns
No in-app purchases
