Comparison

Gladiabots 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

Gladiabots

Design the AI for your robot squad and deploy them in strategic combat. Refine your tactics through a single-player campaign and online multiplayer modes. Customize your robots and compete in various game modes without ads or pay-to-win mechanics.

Highlights
  • Create and program robot AI
  • Customize robot crew
  • Single player campaign
  • Online multiplayer modes
  • Multiple game modes
  • Tournament creation
  • Asynchronous multiplayer
Features
Read full description

Gladiabots is a robot combat strategy game in which you carefully construct the AI of your robot squad and send them into the battle arena. Improve, refine and repeat until you outsmart all your opponents and friends online. Features: - Create your own AI and watch your robots execute it in the arena - Fix it, improve it and repeat it until you outsmart all your opponents - Simple and powerful AI programming system offering millions of possible combinations (with no programming skills required) - Create and customize your robot crew - Single player campaign with hundreds of solo missions - Online multiplayer career mode featuring, ranked, unranked and private matches - 3 distinctly different game modes: elimination, domination and collection - Create and compete in tournaments - Asynchronous multiplayer - battle friends even if they are not online - Sandbox mode in which you control both teams to test your tactics - Rank up and earn points to unlock new robot skins IMPORTANT NOTE This game doesn't have any ads and is NOT pay-to-win! The in-app purchases allow you to buy in-game credits that you can use to unlock new skins for your robots. They are optional, purely cosmetic and don't give any gameplay advantages.

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

Gladiabots4 screens
Crying Suns4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Crying Suns at none against Gladiabots's 5. Crying Suns also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (2.1K vs 90). Gladiabots's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $8.99) and review sentiment (87% vs 73%). On 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

Gladiabots costs $3.99 and Crying Suns $8.99 up front. Gladiabots sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. 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 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crying Suns has 2.1K ratings behind it against 90, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 87% of Gladiabots'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

Gladiabots ships an update every 2 weeks, Crying Suns monthly. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Gladiabots versus Crying Suns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGladiabotsCrying Suns
Price$3.99 — better$8.99
Rating4.5 (90 ratings)4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.2% of reviews — better72.6% of reviews
Number of ratings902.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#68 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size182 MB1014 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperSebastien DuboisAlternative Shift

Customer experience

Gladiabots

All ratings90 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral2.2%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews94 reviews
Positive87.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative8.5%

Crying Suns

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

User reviews

Gladiabots

From 90 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Innovative programming concept
  • 🧠 Great for learning logic/programming
  • 👍 Satisfying to see AI work
  • 🚀 Deep and complex gameplay
  • 😊 Rewarding when AI works

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Steep learning curve
  • 🤔 UI can be confusing
  • 📚 Tutorials can be complex
  • 💸 Some find it expensive
  • ⚠️ English-only wiki/hints

Crying Suns

From 2.1K 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

Gladiabots

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • iOS version not up-to-date
  • AI logic bugs/unexpected behavior
  • Screen not fitting iPad Pro
  • Game not running on older iPads

Requested features

4 requests
  • Korean language support
  • Option to toggle FPS (30/60)
  • Add more robots
  • "Quit" confirmation button in training

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

5 purchases

Gladiabots

One-time5
  • Hello World Pack$0.99
  • Script Pack$1.99
  • Algorithm Pack$4.99
Show 2 more
  • Automaton Pack$8.99
  • Neural Network Pack$17.99
None

Crying Suns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gladiabots free?
Gladiabots costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Crying Suns free?
Crying Suns costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Gladiabots or Crying Suns?
Crying Suns is rated higher. Gladiabots averages 4.5 out of 5 from 90 ratings, while Crying Suns averages 4.8 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Gladiabots or Crying Suns have ads?
Neither Gladiabots nor Crying Suns shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Gladiabots or Crying Suns?
Gladiabots ships an update every 2 weeks, and Crying Suns monthly. Most recently, Gladiabots was updated on October 19, 2026 and Crying Suns on October 19, 2026.

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