Comparison

Crying Suns vs Forward

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

Head to head
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.

About

Forward

Embark on a card-based roguelike dungeon crawl. Choose a champion, collect items to enhance abilities, and strategically move through procedurally generated levels. Each decision is critical to defeating monsters and clearing the dungeon.

Highlights
  • Card-based dungeon crawling
  • Procedurally generated levels
  • Item collection and combinations
  • Unique playable characters
  • Turn-based strategic movement
  • Resource management
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

FORWARD: Escape the Fold was created to be the perfect bitesized roguelike dungeon crawler. Choose your champion and face a relentless crawl through the card-based dungeons, collect items to power your abilities and defeat the gruesome monsters facing you. But keep going FORWARD! **2022 Megamigs Award Winner** **2022 Tiny Teams Fest Nominee** **2022 DemoNight Nominee** Forward is an innovative game in which you will progress through a procedurally-generated dungeon in the form of cards. Move your character from one card to another and keep going forward while avoiding attacking enemies. However be careful, each card will have specific effects making each move important and strategic. Your goal is to clear the 8 levels of a dungeon, each level getting increasingly difficult. In order to succeed, you will have to choose which move to make, which item to pick and use your skills. Each choice is critical. Take advantage of many items combinations and build the best character possible based on your goal and the cards you’ll come across. Features: - 100+ item cards to improve your characters - 9 playable characters with unique skills and game mechanics - 27 unique active competencies - 3 game modes As Forward is a rogue-like inspired game, the features you’ll be able to find are : - Death ends the game ‌ - Procedurally-generated dungeons - Turn-based movements - Resource management (health, armor, mana, gold etc) - Many randomly drawn items The game is based on the 2022 PC game Forward: Escape the Fold which was received very positively. Developed by Two Tiny Dice, its success prompted the developer to bring the game to mobile.

Screenshots

Crying Suns4 screens
Forward4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Forward at $1.99 against Crying Suns's $8.99. Forward also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). Crying Suns's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 117). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Crying Suns costs $8.99 and Forward $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

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 2.2K ratings behind it against 117, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of Crying Suns's written reviews are positive against 75% of Forward's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crying Suns ships an update monthly, Forward every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 11, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Crying Suns versus Forward: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrying SunsForward
Price$8.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.8 (2.2K ratings) — better4.5 (117 ratings)
Positive reviews72.6% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.2K — better117
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#174#86 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1014 MB103 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperAlternative ShiftChristophe Coyard

Customer experience

Crying Suns

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

Forward

All ratings116 ratings
Positive86.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.8%
Negative16.3%

Bugs and requests

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

Forward

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Crying Suns

No in-app purchases

None

Forward

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Crying Suns free?
Crying Suns costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Forward free?
Forward costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Crying Suns or Forward?
Crying Suns is rated higher. Crying Suns averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.2K ratings, while Forward averages 4.5 from 117 ratings.
Do Crying Suns or Forward have ads?
Neither Crying Suns nor Forward shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crying Suns or Forward?
Crying Suns ships an update monthly, and Forward every 4 days. Most recently, Crying Suns was updated on November 11, 2026 and Forward on November 11, 2026.
Which is more popular, Crying Suns or Forward?
Crying Suns currently peaks at #174 in the App Store charts, and Forward at #86. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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