Comparison

Hoplite 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

Hoplite

Engage in challenging turn-based tactical combat on small maps. Strategize your moves carefully to overcome procedurally generated levels and unlock upgrades. Compete with friends on leaderboards and test your skills in daily challenges.

Highlights
  • Turn-based tactical movement
  • Procedurally generated levels
  • Quest mode with upgrades
  • Challenge mode with daily challenges
  • Leaderboard rankings
  • Hard but fair gameplay
Features
Read full description

"Blanket recommendation for this one." - Pocket Tactics (5 stars) "It's very simple to learn, but there's a huge amount of depth to the game" - Touch Arcade (5 stars) Hoplite is a turn-based strategy game focusing on tactical movement around small maps. This game is designed to be hard, yet fair. You'll need to think before you act if you hope to win. Every move counts! Quest Mode: • Make strategical choices to upgrade your abilities as you dive deeper into the underworld. • Earn achievements and unlock access to new upgrades. • Procedurally generated levels give a new experience every play. • Challenge your friends and see how you rank on the leaderboard. Challenge mode: • Jump straight into the action with a randomized set of upgrades. • Try to beat the daily challenge or play predetermined challenges at two difficulty levels.

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

Hoplite3 screens
Crying Suns4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hoplite at $3.99 against Crying Suns's $8.99. Hoplite also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 73%) and chart position (#55 vs unranked). Crying Suns's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

Hoplite costs $3.99 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 Hoplite against 4.8 for Crying Suns. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 787 and 2.1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Hoplite's written reviews are positive against 73% of Crying Suns's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hoplite ships an update every 3 months, Crying Suns monthly. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Hoplite versus Crying Suns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHopliteCrying Suns
Price$3.99 — better$8.99
Rating4.7 (787 ratings)4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews — better72.6% of reviews
Number of ratings7872.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#55 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB1014 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperDouglas CowleyAlternative Shift

Customer experience

Hoplite

All ratings787 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral3.4%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews238 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral2.9%
Negative6.3%

Crying Suns

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

User reviews

Hoplite

From 787 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple yet deep gameplay
  • 👍 Addictive and challenging
  • 🕹️ Elegant and intuitive controls
  • 💎 Excellent value for money
  • 🔍 Surprising depth and strategy

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or compatibility issues
  • 🔧 Lack of landscape mode support
  • 🔊 Mutes music/podcast playback
  • 🕹️ Accidental moves due to controls

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

Hoplite

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on launch with certain OS versions
  • Agility upgrade not functioning properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • More game modes or levels
  • Customization options for the character
  • Landscape mode support
  • Ability to start at higher levels

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

Hoplite

No in-app purchases

None

Crying Suns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hoplite free?
Hoplite costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Crying Suns free?
Crying Suns costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hoplite or Crying Suns?
Crying Suns is rated higher. Hoplite averages 4.7 out of 5 from 787 ratings, while Crying Suns averages 4.8 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Hoplite or Crying Suns have ads?
Neither Hoplite nor Crying Suns shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hoplite or Crying Suns?
Hoplite ships an update every 3 months, and Crying Suns monthly. Most recently, Hoplite was updated on October 16, 2026 and Crying Suns on October 16, 2026.

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