Comparison

Xenowerk Tactics 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

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.

Highlights
  • Squad-based real-time combat
  • World map exploration
  • Base management
  • Character development
  • Single-player offline gameplay
  • Tactical pause for orders
Features
Read full description

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

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

Xenowerk Tactics4 screens
Crying Suns4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Xenowerk Tactics versus Crying Suns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXenowerk TacticsCrying Suns
PriceFree — better$8.99
Rating4.6 (341 ratings)4.8 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.5% of reviews — better72.6% of reviews
Number of ratings3412.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#112 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size572 MB1014 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperPixelbiteAlternative Shift

Customer experience

Xenowerk Tactics

All ratings340 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral2.1%
Negative6.2%
Written reviews241 reviews
Positive75.5%
Neutral7.5%
Negative17.0%

Crying Suns

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

User reviews

Xenowerk Tactics

From 341 App Store ratings

What 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 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

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
Show 3 more
  • 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

1 purchases

Xenowerk Tactics

One-time1
  • FULL GAME$6.99
None

Crying Suns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Xenowerk Tactics free?
Xenowerk Tactics is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crying Suns free?
Crying Suns costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Xenowerk Tactics or Crying Suns?
Crying Suns is rated higher. Xenowerk Tactics averages 4.6 out of 5 from 341 ratings, while Crying Suns averages 4.8 from 2.2K ratings.
Do Xenowerk Tactics or Crying Suns have ads?
Neither Xenowerk Tactics nor Crying Suns shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Xenowerk Tactics or Crying Suns?
Xenowerk Tactics ships an update every 3 weeks, and Crying Suns monthly. Most recently, Xenowerk Tactics was updated on November 3, 2026 and Crying Suns on November 11, 2026.

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