Xenowerk Tactics vs Crying Suns
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Xenowerk Tactics
Lead an emergency response team in a post-disaster apocalyptic adventure. Explore infected zones, scavenge resources, and engage in real-time combat against mutant hordes. Manage your base and operatives to either cover up the incident or save the world.
- Squad-based real-time combat
- World map exploration
- Base management
- Character development
- Single-player offline gameplay
- Tactical pause for orders
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Requires iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 or newer. Play the first part for free. Get access to the full game with an in-app purchase. Play as the commander of an emergency response team after a disaster at a secret lab, hidden deep in the arctic region. Your task is to cover up and maximize profits for the Xenowerk corporation, or to save the world, depending on whom you ask... EXPLORE Deploy squads on expeditions into the infected zone. Explore a ferocious landscape scattered with remnants of Xenowerk's absurd research facilities. Use skills, traits and mutations to mitigate the dangers, horrors and mishaps during your journeys. Push your operatives to the limit, not to waste any precious time. Explore jungles, swamps, laboratories, shelters and factories. Scavenge for valuable resources. Carry out various missions. Secure strategic safe zones. Find and rescue M.I.A. operatives. FIGHT Control your squad in real-time combat against hordes of mutants. Use operative skills and mutations, such as Frag Grenade, Bait & Trap, Adrenaline, Pyrokinesis and much more, to skew the odds in your favor. Activate Tactical Pause at any time to give more detailed orders. MANAGE Recruit and evolve Marines, Rangers and Scientists as your operatives. But choose wisely, some may obtain dubious traits or mutations. Spend gathered resources to enhance your base of operations; Barracks, Recruitment, Field hospital, Armory, etc. Spend earnings on treatments, upgrades and recruitment. Cater for the whims of the Xenowerk Management to keep getting funded. Earn some extra cash-under-the-table by selling off resources on the Black Market. Or maybe try to save the world... • Single Player off-line game. No connection required. • Tactical squad-based, real-time combat. • World map exploration with loads of handcrafted and generated missions. • Home base management and character development. • Beautiful graphics rendered with physically based techniques. • Keep up to 10 different save games and store them in the cloud. • English, Deutsch, Français, Español, Italiano, 简体中文, 한국어, 日本語, 繁体中文, русский, Português do Brasil
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 price: Xenowerk Tactics at Free against Crying Suns's $8.99. Xenowerk Tactics also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). Crying Suns's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On review sentiment, 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
Xenowerk Tactics is free to download; Crying Suns costs $8.99 up front. Xenowerk Tactics sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Crying Suns asks for nothing beyond the download.
Crying Suns holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crying Suns has 2.2K ratings behind it against 341, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of Xenowerk Tactics'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.
Xenowerk Tactics ships an update every 3 weeks, Crying Suns monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Xenowerk Tactics | Crying Suns |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (341 ratings) | 4.8 (2.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.5% of reviews — better | 72.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 341 | 2.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #112 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 572 MB | 1014 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Pixelbite | Alternative Shift |
Customer experience
Xenowerk Tactics
Crying Suns
User reviews
Xenowerk Tactics
From 341 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Nice game help with easier experience
- 🚀 Great fun, nicely made
- 🚀 Excellent game, well worth purchasing the full version
- 👍 Addictive, enjoyable and a well made game
- 👍 Handheld AAA game
Room to improve
- 🐛 Charged 60 instead of 6.99
- 🐛 Won't let me play
- 🐛 Unintentional or not, getting mutations for things that operatives already have
- 🐛 Uneven difficulty curve
- 🐛 Repetitive, not much content for the price point
Crying Suns
From 2.2K 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
Xenowerk Tactics
Reported bugs
3 issues- Won't let me run the missions
- Game just loads with white loading dots, cannot play
- Keeps crashing
Requested features
8 requests- Add a super easy mode for people who are really bad
- More interesting combat, more depth to exploration
- Loot, finding gear and weapons to distribute among operators
- More interesting character progression and customization
- More dramatic effects of trauma and horror
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- More levels, more troops, an arsenal of weapons and gear
- Ability to switch weapons/armor for characters of the same class
- A.I. deploy function to send soldiers to different locations
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
Xenowerk Tactics
- FULL GAME$6.99
Crying Suns
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Xenowerk Tactics free?
Is Crying Suns free?
Which has better reviews, Xenowerk Tactics or Crying Suns?
Do Xenowerk Tactics or Crying Suns have ads?
Which is updated more often, Xenowerk Tactics or Crying Suns?
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