Comparison

Space Borders 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

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

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

Space Borders4 screens
Crying Suns4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Space Borders versus Crying Suns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpace BordersCrying Suns
Price$1.99 — better$8.99
Rating4.7 (167 ratings)4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better72.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1672.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#134 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB1014 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAmasis BrauchAlternative Shift

Customer experience

Space Borders

All ratings167 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews110 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.5%

Crying Suns

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

User reviews

Space Borders

From 167 App Store ratings

What 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 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

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
Show 6 more
  • 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
Show 14 more
  • 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

1 purchases

Space Borders

One-time1
  • Conquest Mode$1.99
None

Crying Suns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Space Borders free?
Space Borders costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Crying Suns free?
Crying Suns costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Space Borders or Crying Suns?
Crying Suns is rated higher. Space Borders averages 4.7 out of 5 from 167 ratings, while Crying Suns averages 4.8 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Space Borders or Crying Suns have ads?
Neither Space Borders nor Crying Suns shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Space Borders or Crying Suns?
Space Borders ships an update every 2 months, and Crying Suns monthly. Most recently, Space Borders was updated on October 14, 2026 and Crying Suns on October 19, 2026.

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