Space Borders vs Crying Suns
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Space Borders
Command a fleet of starships in a real-time strategy war against hostile aliens. Build your armada, harvest resources, and use tactical formations and superweapons to protect Earth and its colonies from annihilation.
- Real-time strategy gameplay
- Build and customize fleet (15 ship types)
- Resource harvesting and upgrades
- Tactical ship formations
- Superweapons and special powers
- Campaign, Survival, and Sandbox modes
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Command massive star ships in a large-scale war, against a powerful alien force! Put your tactical skills to work and protect humanity and Earth from certain annihilation. Space Borders is a 2D space RTS game, which features lots of gameplay depth, colorful graphics, cool special effects & a great overall atmosphere. _________________ GAMEPLAY • Real-time strategy (RTS) • Build up your fleet by choosing from 15 different types of ships (with unique abilities) • Harvest resources to buy new ships, power-ups and upgrade your mothership • Protect friendly ships and stations from attacks & ambushes • Create custom formations of fighters, destroyers, carriers & support vessels • Coordinate your ships to gain tactical advantages in difficult situations • Use superweapons to destroy large clusters of enemies • Distract the enemy with special powers • and much more... FEATURES • Great visual effects • 3D audio for realistic sound effects (headphones required) • Wide variety of battleships (fighters, carriers, destroyers & more) • Unrestricted camera freedom • Ambient space soundtracks • Training mission • Campaign Mode (8 missions) • Survival Mode (endless play) • Deep Space Mining mode (resource booster) • Sandbox Mode • Conquest Mode (add-on) PLOT In the late 23rd century humans have populated most of Earth. Troubled by the poor quality of life and the excessive amount of damage inflicted on Earth, they decide to plant new colonies on distant planets. The Earth military (EDF or Earth Defense Fleet) is in charge of organizing and carrying out this immense project. During the colonization, the EDF encounters a new life form, which turns out to be extremely hostile. Multiple attacks on EDF key installations, as well as on a research ship, force the EDF to improvise new strategies for a full evacuation. You are a high ranking officer of the EDF, who is in the midst of all the action. Make sure you all get back home to Earth safe & sound. _________________ SPACE BORDERS ONLINE • spaceborders.proboards.com - submit feedback, feature requests & more • facebook.com/spacebordersapp - receive the latest news about Space Borders • http://spaceborders.proboards.com/thread/260/ - Conquest Mode FAQ THANK YOU Thank you all for supporting Space Borders with reviews, ratings, ideas for new features and a lot more. This game is truly powered by its fans! Check out the links above and be part of it. _________________ SPECIAL CREDITS • Space Borders is powered by the Sparrow Framework.
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 in-app purchases: Crying Suns at none against Space Borders's 1. Crying Suns also leads on ratings volume (2.1K vs 167) and chart position (#134 vs unranked). Space Borders's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $8.99) and review sentiment (91% vs 73%). On rating, 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
Space Borders costs $1.99 and Crying Suns $8.99 up front. Space Borders sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Crying Suns asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Space Borders against 4.8 for Crying Suns. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crying Suns has 2.1K ratings behind it against 167, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Space Borders's written reviews are positive against 73% of Crying Suns's.
Space Borders ships an update every 2 months, Crying Suns monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Space Borders | Crying Suns |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (167 ratings) | 4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better | 72.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 167 | 2.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #134 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 166 MB | 1014 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Amasis Brauch | Alternative Shift |
Customer experience
Space Borders
Crying Suns
User reviews
Space Borders
From 167 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Excellent RTS gameplay mechanics
- 💰 No pay-to-win or microtransactions
- 🎨 Charming 2D graphics and visual style
- ⚙️ Deep fleet customization options
- 📱 Works smoothly on older devices
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes during missions
- 💾 No save/checkpoint system for long missions
- 🎨 Cartoony graphics in newer versions
- 🤖 Poor AI behavior
- ⏱️ Missions are very long without breaks
Crying Suns
From 2.1K 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
Space Borders
Reported bugs
11 issues- App crashes mid-mission with no progress recovery
- Save file corruption and rollback after updates
- Mission failure without clear cause or visibility
- Resource disappearance between campaign episodes
- Harvester ships launching into enemy fire
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- Ships spinning uncontrollably when near targets
- Occasional lag with action controls
- Controls requiring multiple inputs to register
- Crashes on iOS 11 with iPhone 7
- Game-breaking resource management allowing soft-lock
- End-mission crashes before hyperspace exit
Requested features
19 requests- Multiplayer or online gameplay
- Sequel or major expansion
- Additional campaign missions and episodes
- More ship types and varieties
- More turret and weapon options
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- Larger fleet size capacity
- Cloud save/iCloud synchronization
- Checkpoint system for long missions
- Ability to save and place destroyed ship debris in sandbox
- 3D graphics upgrade
- Larger maps and scaled battles
- Local multiplayer support
- Drones and sentry gun units
- Base building mechanics
- Planet-based gameplay
- Larger hangar sizes
- More varied campaign storylines
- Speed-up options accessible from play screen
- Ability to unlock sandbox mode without beating conquest
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
Space Borders
- Conquest Mode$1.99
Crying Suns
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Space Borders free?
Is Crying Suns free?
Which has better reviews, Space Borders or Crying Suns?
Do Space Borders or Crying Suns have ads?
Which is updated more often, Space Borders or Crying Suns?
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