Comparison

Tropico vs Crying Suns

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

Head to head
About

Tropico

Lead an underdeveloped Caribbean island to glory as its elected ruler. Manage every aspect of your nation, from infrastructure and economy to politics and foreign policy, in this humorous city-builder with a political twist. Transform your island into a tourist paradise, industrial powerhouse, or a police state.

Highlights
  • Island nation management
  • Political strategy
  • City building
  • Economic development
  • Foreign policy
  • Customizable nation types
Read full description

All hail El Presidente! The proud nation of Tropico is now in your hands and badly in need of modernisation! As the freshly elected leader of an underdeveloped Caribbean island with untapped resources and enormous potential, hopes are high that you will deliver Tropico into the glorious future its people deserve. The opportunities are boundless in this humorous city-builder with a political twist. YOU RULE! Develop and manage every aspect of Tropico, from its roads, buildings and people, to its military, trade and foreign policies. BE A VISIONARY LEADER Transform Tropico into the country you want it to be: a booming tourist paradise, an industrial powerhouse, a police state, or all three! PLAY POLITICS Recount elections, calm unruly elements, manage public opinion and reward your loyal followers… BUILT FOR iOS Exercise complete control with an intuitive touch interface and gameplay mechanics designed and refined for mobile gaming. EXERT ABSOLUTE POWER! From printing your own money to growing your own fanclub, Tropico includes all the extra edicts, missions, landmarks and leisure facilities of its popular expansion pack, Absolute Power. ADDITIONAL MISSION PACKS Fleece revolutionary llamas and search for alien life in the free 'Postcards from Tropico' mission pack. Or play the markets and face God’s wrath in 'The Tropican Dream' mission pack, available via in-app purchase. This game requires iOS 14 or later and just under 3GB of space to install. Supported iPhones: • iPhone 6S / 6S Plus and later • Any iPhone SE • iPod Touch (7th generation, 2019) Supported iPads: • iPad mini (5th generation, 2019) and later • iPad Air (3rd generation, 2019) and later • iPad (5th generation, 2017) and later • Any iPad Pro Copyright © 2023 Kalypso Media Group GmbH. Tropico is a registered trademark of Kalypso Media Group GmbH. All rights reserved. Developed for and published on iOS by Feral Interactive Ltd. Apple, the Apple logo and iOS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd. All other logos, copyrights and trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Procedurally-generated space exploration
  • Tactical battleship and squadron fleet combat
  • Over 300 story events
  • Deep, 6-chapter storyline
  • Mobile-optimized interface
Read full description

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

Tropico4 screens
Crying Suns4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Crying Suns at none against Tropico's 1. Crying Suns also leads on price ($8.99 vs $12.99). Tropico's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

Tropico costs $12.99 and Crying Suns $8.99 up front. Tropico sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Crying Suns asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Tropico against 4.8 for Crying Suns. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2K and 2.2K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 73% and 73% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tropico ships an update fortnightly, Crying Suns monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Tropico versus Crying Suns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTropicoCrying Suns
Price$12.99$8.99 — better
Rating4.8 (2K ratings)4.8 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.4% of reviews — better72.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2K2.2K — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#84#75 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2.3 GB1014 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperFeral Interactive LtdAlternative Shift

Customer experience

Tropico

All ratings2,019 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews688 reviews
Positive73.4%
Neutral6.0%
Negative20.6%

Crying Suns

All ratings2,136 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews285 reviews
Positive72.6%
Neutral9.5%
Negative17.9%

User reviews

Tropico

From 2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Faithful port of PC version
  • 💰 Fair one-time purchase price
  • 🎨 Excellent graphics
  • 🕹️ Intuitive touch controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and save data loss
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🤔 Clunky road building
  • 🕰️ Slow construction speed
  • 🕹️ Finicky camera controls

Crying Suns

From 2.2K App Store ratings

What 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

Tropico

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Missions not triggering properly
  • Inability to build or demolish roads
  • Audio issues (speed up, no sound)
  • Flickering minimap

Requested features

5 requests
  • More campaign missions and scenarios
  • Improved population growth and AI
  • Ability to customize terrain
  • Multiplayer or online features
  • Support for older iPad models

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

1 purchases

Tropico

One-time1
  • The Tropican Dream$2.99
None

Crying Suns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tropico free?
Tropico costs $12.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Crying Suns free?
Crying Suns costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tropico or Crying Suns?
Crying Suns is rated higher. Tropico averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Crying Suns averages 4.8 from 2.2K ratings.
Do Tropico or Crying Suns have ads?
Neither Tropico nor Crying Suns shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tropico or Crying Suns?
Tropico ships an update fortnightly, and Crying Suns monthly. Most recently, Tropico was updated on November 6, 2026 and Crying Suns on November 7, 2026.
Which is more popular, Tropico or Crying Suns?
Tropico currently peaks at #84 in the App Store charts, and Crying Suns at #75. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons