Comparison

Banner Saga 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

Banner Saga

Embark on an epic tactical RPG journey where your strategic choices shape your personal story and the world. Lead a caravan across stunning environments, battle enemies, and build relationships to ensure your clan's survival in a bleak, Norse-inspired fantasy realm.

Highlights
  • Epic tactical RPG journey
  • Norse mythology-inspired world
  • Branching narrative with real consequences
  • Strategic turn-based combat
  • Over 25 playable characters
  • Beautiful 2D rotoscope animation
Features
Read full description

Embark on your own epic journey in Banner Saga, the critically acclaimed tactical RPG where your strategic choices directly affect your personal story and the world around you. Leave your home and strike out on a desperate journey to save your people. Lead your caravan across stunning environments and into war with enemy clans and vicious Drudge soldiers. Build relationships and make choices that will shape the future of your clan as you scramble to survive in this beautiful, bleak world. Banner Saga Features: - A unique fantasy realm inspired by Norse mythology – explore a grim world shaped by the legends of the Vikings. Uncover ancient lore and battle tooth and nail to carve out a new bastion in a world abandoned by the gods. - Beautiful 2D rotoscope animation - immerse yourself in beautifully hand drawn combat sequences and animations, accompanied by an evocative score from Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory. - Real choices with real consequences – every decision you make on the trail, in conversation and during combat has a meaningful effect on the outcome as your unique story unfolds. - Over 25 playable characters with unique personalities – form relationships in and out of combat with a variety of characters from 7 different classes, each with unique abilities and upgrade options to fit your play style. - Strategic combat with permanent repercussions – choose your warriors, form your strategy and strike. Adapt to a dynamic battlefield where your tactics determine who lives and who dies. Victory, defeat and even the permanent loss of a character depends on the choices you make. - Winner of the Geekie Award for best Indie Video Game, 2014, Independent Games Festival Finalist for Excellence in Visual Art and Honorable mentions for Design and Audio. Only your choices can guide your caravan through the harsh winter, past mystical enemies and brutal Viking clans. When the trail is uncertain, can you take the lead? Download Banner Saga and begin your journey today. NOTE: Banner Saga does NOT run on iPhone 4. iPhone 4S and more modern devices recommended.

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

Banner Saga4 screens
Crying Suns4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Crying Suns at monthly against Banner Saga's every 3 months. Crying Suns also leads on price ($8.99 vs $9.99). Banner Saga's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

Banner Saga costs $9.99 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 — 4.8 for Banner Saga against 4.8 for Crying Suns. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.1K and 2.2K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 73% and 73% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Banner Saga ships an update every 3 months, Crying Suns monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Banner Saga versus Crying Suns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBanner SagaCrying Suns
Price$9.99$8.99 — better
Rating4.8 (2.1K ratings)4.8 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.5% of reviews72.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.1K2.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#86#74 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB1014 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperStoicAlternative Shift

Customer experience

Banner Saga

All ratings2,057 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews772 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral8.9%
Negative18.5%

Crying Suns

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

User reviews

Banner Saga

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful artwork and animation
  • 🎵 Excellent music and sound design
  • 📚 Compelling and immersive story
  • 🤔 Meaningful choices with consequences
  • 🕹️ Engaging and challenging tactical combat

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Small text and UI elements on smaller devices
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 🕰️ Slow loading times between scenes
  • 🗺️ Limited exploration of the game world
  • 💰 Perceived high price for the length of the game

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

Banner Saga

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on loading screens or during battles
  • Unresponsive or misregistered touch controls
  • Graphical glitches and visual artifacts

Requested features

4 requests
  • Cloud save support for cross-device play
  • Optimization for larger screens and newer devices
  • More frequent updates and content expansions
  • Additional difficulty settings and challenge modes

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

Banner Saga

No in-app purchases

None

Crying Suns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Banner Saga free?
Banner Saga costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Crying Suns free?
Crying Suns costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Banner Saga or Crying Suns?
Crying Suns is rated higher. Banner Saga averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Crying Suns averages 4.8 from 2.2K ratings.
Do Banner Saga or Crying Suns have ads?
Neither Banner Saga nor Crying Suns shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Banner Saga or Crying Suns?
Banner Saga ships an update every 3 months, and Crying Suns monthly. Most recently, Banner Saga was updated on November 6, 2026 and Crying Suns on November 7, 2026.
Which is more popular, Banner Saga or Crying Suns?
Banner Saga currently peaks at #86 in the App Store charts, and Crying Suns at #74. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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