Comparison

Starbase Orion 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

Starbase Orion

Engage in a deep 4X space strategy experience. Explore, expand, and conquer the galaxy by colonizing worlds, designing ships, and outmaneuvering opponents in turn-based combat. Features a robust AI and multiplayer options for galactic domination.

Highlights
  • Explore new worlds
  • Expand your empire
  • Exterminate rivals
  • Design custom ships
  • Engage in turn-based combat
  • Diplomacy and espionage
  • Multiplayer via GameCenter
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

"The best 4X game currently available for mobile" - PocketTactics.com "This one is geek heaven" - AppAdvice.com "Master of Orion in Your Pocket” - GamePro.com "Starbase Orion has an epic-feeling" - TouchArcade.com "Starbase Orion is here, and it's glorious." - TUAW.com Explore. Expand. Exterminate. Can you defeat your friends and become the ruler of the galaxy? Starbase Orion is an old-school 4X space strategy game that draws inspiration from titles such as Master of Orion and Galactic Civilizations. Lead your empire from the birth of its space age; colonize new worlds, explore new horizons, and discover other players attempting to do the same. It is a race to the stars where only one empire can declare victory over the galaxy. New to 4X Strategy Games? No Problem Starbase Orion includes a hand tailored tutorial mission perfect for those new to the genre. It features high-quality voice acting provided by the very talented Maurice Thomas. Aged like a Fine Wine With nearly a five year life span the dedicated community of Starbase Orion players and the developer have produced twenty-four fantastic updates. Each update has introduced new features and player suggested functionality to make the game better, more strategic, and more immersive. Strong Single-Player Experience Compete against a battle-tested artificial intelligence. Our AI was derived from our entry into to 2010 Google AI contest, where it placed in the top 15% of thousands of competing intelligences. Go head-to-head against a single AI opponent, or ramp up the carnage with a 4 way free-for-all. GameCenter Multiplayer Turn-Based Games Starbase Orion was designed to provide a fantastic multiplayer experience. Launch the game, sign into GameCenter, and start a new multiplayer game. No need to coordinate play times or seek out other players. Just go play, when you want and on your terms. Choose Your Race, Or Create Your Own There are five uniques races included; Human, Draske, Vass, Cyban, and Isather. You can also create your own custom race by picking and choosing between different race characteristics. Intense Space Combat Design your ships from a variety of weapons, hull, and systems. Send them into battle against the enemy. Give them orders, then watch the battle in unfold as they duke it out in the dark expanses of space. Diplomacy, Espionage, Free Agents Direct confrontations not your cup of tea? Negotiate your way to victory through diplomatic endeavors. Confound your enemies with an army of spies. Contract one of the many power and unique leaders to help you to victory. iCloud Support Starbase Orion is built from the ground up for iOS 5. It supports iCloud so that your saved games are instantly available on all of your devices. Start a game at home on your iPad, then pick it up again the next day on your iPhone. Simple, streamlined, fantastic. Universal - You Bought the Cool Gadgets, Go Play on Them Full support for iPad, iPhone, iPod, standard and Retina displays. Play when you want, where you want. Guaranteed Pricing While it is quite common for apps to become “free for a day”, Starbase Orion is not one of those apps. The standard price for Starbase Orion is $7.99 USD; it will never run a “free for a day” campaign. Tens of thousands of players have placed their confidence in us by purchasing Starbase Orion, and this is our guarantee to you. Guaranteed Free Updates We have a lot more planned for Starbase Orion. We plan to release all updates for free, without any hidden fees or In-App Purchases.

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
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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

Starbase Orion4 screens
Crying Suns4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Crying Suns at monthly against Starbase Orion's every 3 months. Crying Suns also leads on ratings volume (2.2K vs 329). Starbase Orion's advantage is review sentiment (81% vs 73%) and price ($7.99 vs $8.99). On rating, 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

Starbase Orion costs $7.99 and Crying Suns $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Starbase Orion against 4.8 for Crying Suns. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crying Suns has 2.2K ratings behind it against 329, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Starbase Orion's written reviews are positive against 73% of Crying Suns's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, Crying Suns monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Starbase Orion versus Crying Suns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarbase OrionCrying Suns
Price$7.99 — better$8.99
Rating4.7 (329 ratings)4.8 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews — better72.6% of reviews
Number of ratings3292.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#183#97 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.2 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size239 MB1014 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperChimera Software, LLCAlternative Shift

Customer experience

Starbase Orion

All ratings329 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral4.9%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews316 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative11.7%

Crying Suns

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

User reviews

Starbase Orion

From 329 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent 4x strategy game
  • 👍 Faithful recreation of Master of Orion
  • 🚀 Continuously updated with new features
  • 👍 Vibrant player community
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay and intuitive controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Limited diplomacy and foreign relations
  • 🔍 Automated combat lacks depth
  • 🔍 Repetitive late-game experience
  • 🔍 Outdated visuals

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

Starbase Orion

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and save file corruption
  • UI issues with overlapping text and unresponsive controls
  • Multiplayer matchmaking and connectivity problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • More ship classes and customization options
  • Expanded tech tree and research system
  • Deeper diplomacy and espionage mechanics
  • Manual control of ship combat
  • Improved end-game content and victory conditions

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

None

Starbase Orion

No in-app purchases

None

Crying Suns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starbase Orion free?
Starbase Orion costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Crying Suns free?
Crying Suns costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starbase Orion or Crying Suns?
Crying Suns is rated higher. Starbase Orion averages 4.7 out of 5 from 329 ratings, while Crying Suns averages 4.8 from 2.2K ratings.
Do Starbase Orion or Crying Suns have ads?
Neither Starbase Orion nor Crying Suns shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starbase Orion or Crying Suns?
Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, and Crying Suns monthly. Most recently, Starbase Orion was updated on October 24, 2026 and Crying Suns on October 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, Starbase Orion or Crying Suns?
Starbase Orion currently peaks at #183 in the App Store charts, and Crying Suns at #97. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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