Crying Suns

About

Crying Suns is a single player strategy game. It received positive reviews from players.

Space tactical rogue-lite inspired by Dune and Foundation

Genres & Tags

Strategy

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,540 reviews

story490 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

Engaging and well-written story with rich sci-fi lore and multiple endings, highly compared to FTL and praised for depth and narrative.
Challenging and rewarding real-time strategy combat with tactical pausing and squadron management, offering good strategic variety and replayability.
Polished pixel art style combined with immersive soundtrack and sound design creates a compelling atmospheric experience, optimized well for mobile devices.

User interface and text size are often too small and hard to read on smaller mobile screens, leading to eye strain and a poor accessibility experience.
Occasional bugs and crashes during battles or saving, especially on some devices, impacting gameplay and progression negatively.
Steep learning curve and combat controls can feel clunky or unintuitive, with limited tutorials or guidance leading to initial player confusion.

story
682 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
27%
1%
The story is widely praised for its deep, well-written, and engaging sci-fi narrative, often compared to titles like Mass Effect and FTL, with rich lore and meaningful player choices that enhance replayability. Many reviewers highlight its immersive world-building, strong character interactions, and captivating plot twists that keep players hooked throughout the campaign. While some note occasional pacing issues or minor plot confusion, the story is consistently regarded as the game's standout feature, effectively combining a compelling narrative with strategic gameplay.
- “The story is so well written, I couldn't stop playing until I was finished.”
- “The story is captivating and makes you want to make "just one more leap."”
- “The dialogue is very well written, the major characters are memorable, even the ones with very little screen time, and the plot just constantly keeps the player guessing.”
- “The game starts out interesting, with excellent imagery and a seemingly deep plot, but drops the ball when telling you how to operate the core mechanics, and as a result, you may fail at the first few missions due to a lack of gameplay experience.”
- “The story progresses really slowly and I didn't care for the ending.”
- “Game design is good, gameplay is reasonable, the interface leaves much to be desired when played on a phone just due to screen size, the story seems reasonable at first but by the end it becomes almost offensively bad and only gets worse up through the end.”
gameplay
264 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
32%
5%
The gameplay is widely praised for its engaging, tactical, and strategic depth reminiscent of FTL, featuring accessible mechanics with extensive customization and replayability. While some find it occasionally repetitive or initially challenging to grasp, the overall combat, variety of playstyles, and integration with a compelling story create a rewarding and immersive experience. Minor issues include UI clunkiness and occasional lack of quality-of-life features, but the gameplay loop remains addictive and well-suited for both short and extended sessions.
- “Mechanics are simple, easy to pick up but endless possibilities of strategy keeps the combat fresh.”
- “This game has a very captivating story, the gameplay is ftl with extra rts battle elements inbetween ships.”
- “Nice and immersive, with entertaining tactical ship combat, macro resource management/rpg gameplay, story-based choices, and an 'operations' mechanic where you use officers and commandos to complete missions that bring you rewards if executed properly.”
- “However, after the first two chapters, you've already seen everything the game has to offer gameplay-wise, so the only thing to look forward to is the unraveling of the mystery.”
- “The game starts out interesting, with excellent imagery and a seemingly deep plot, but drops the ball when telling you how to operate the core mechanics, and as a result, you may fail at the first few missions due to a lack of gameplay experience.”
- “Terrible game; confusing gameplay, poor instructions, clunky battle screens etc. Something like a bad old Nintendo Gameboy experience.”
graphics
147 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
31%
2%
The graphics receive widespread praise for their unique blend of pixel art and 3D visuals, delivering a stylish, nostalgic yet modern aesthetic that enhances the game's atmosphere and storytelling. While the art style is generally seen as beautiful and well-executed, some users note issues with UI scaling on mobile devices and battery drain due to graphics intensity. Overall, the visuals are considered impressive and a significant strength of the game, complementing its engaging narrative and gameplay.
- “A beautifully made game, with stunning visuals, compelling gameplay and a story that leaves you wanting more.”
- “I'm not a huge fan of micropixels (they hurt my eyes), but this game did it right, and the visuals were absolutely stunning all throughout the story.”
- “It is a brilliant game, with a mixed feel of nostalgic 2d graphics with modernized attention to detail and tone of atmosphere.”
- “Reading it is possible, but eventually I get a headache from the small size and mixture of the dark background (and darker graphics) and the thin very white text.”
- “The graphics really could have used an overhaul, felt like I was playing an old DOS game.”
- “Was excited because I'm a big fan of Dune and this was supposed to be influenced by the books but.. graphics disappointing gameplay like old school battleship.”
replayability
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
36%
7%
The game is widely praised for its high replayability, offering diverse strategies, multiple ships, random events, and different story paths that keep the experience fresh and engaging. While some users wish for more unlockables and less repetition, the combination of deep gameplay, random generation, and multiple endings provides many hours of enjoyable replay. Overall, it appeals to both casual and dedicated players seeking substantial replay value.
- “It offers a deep, mysterious, and captivating campaign, paired with exceptional gameplay and massive replayability.”
- “Replayability due to random generated maps each time you restart, which you will.”
- “For a fan of old science fiction, this game gives a fun and challenging experience with a lot of replayability and many different paths to explore.”
- “Not enough roguelike elements for replayability with the current limited tech, ships, and events.”
- “I just wish it had even more replayability, like more ships to choose from or alternate stories to play.”
- “Personally wish it had more unlockables and more replayability.”
music
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
17%
8%
The game's music is widely praised for its immersive, mesmerizing, and atmospheric qualities, perfectly complementing the sci-fi and dystopian themes with a haunting, ethereal, and techno-inspired soundtrack. Many reviewers highlight how the soundtrack enhances the overall experience, making exploration and storytelling more engaging, though a few note some repetitiveness in the ambient tracks. Overall, the music is considered a standout element that significantly elevates the game's mood and aesthetic.
- “The soundtrack is phenomenal, gameplay is awesome, and overall?”
- “Absolutely breathtaking, the design is awesome, the plot is twisty, the music creates a nice atmosphere... everything I could say about it is more than positive.”
- “The music really enhances the feeling of traveling through the stars.”
- “I just find the story somewhat unpolished and implausible, the music ambient but repetitive, and the gameplay tedious in its monotony.”
- “Your phone's speakers won't do the music and sound design justice!”
- “Before I write the review, I want to make a suggestion to all future players with Spotify: play this game with music turned off in the game's settings, then open Spotify and play The Expanse (TV series) soundtrack in the background.”
monetization
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
25%
24%
The game is consistently praised for its fair monetization model, featuring a one-time purchase with no ads, microtransactions, paywalls, or premium currencies. Players appreciate the absence of aggressive monetization tactics, which allows for uninterrupted, skill-based gameplay and extensive replayability. Overall, it is regarded as a refreshing alternative to typical ad-laden or pay-to-win mobile games.
- “This game is a classic, in the sense that you exchange a set amount of money for a finished product that doesn't have microtransactions.”
- “No microtransactions, no ads, just an amazing game.”
- “There are no ads, no in-app purchases, and plenty of hours of replayability.”
- “If you are looking for a bit of quick strategy without endless ads and cash grabbing 'booster packs' (yes, let's pay 99 bucks for imaginary boosters), then this is the game for you.”
- “I've been so frustrated with mobile games; they are all either loaded with ads, so full of micropayments that they're effectively pay to win, or both.”
- “Insane to find a game on the app store that is actually a well-made, fully fledged game with artistic intent, and not just a predatory skinner box with the facade of interactivity plastered overtop, highly engineered to get you to pay/watch ads to be less frustrated.”
atmosphere
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
35%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its captivating, immersive, and richly detailed sci-fi setting, enhanced by beautiful pixel art and a mesmerizing soundtrack. Reviewers highlight its blend of nostalgic 2D graphics with modern design, creating a dark, brooding, and emotionally engaging experience. Overall, the atmosphere significantly elevates the storytelling and gameplay, making players feel deeply invested and transported into the game world.
- “The art and atmosphere are gorgeous, the soundtrack is mesmerizing, and the named character designs are pretty neat too (especially Kaliban, good lord).”
- “Absolutely breathtaking, the design is awesome, the plot is twisty, the music creates a nice atmosphere... everything I could say about it is more than positive.”
- “Beautiful artwork and atmosphere, I'm genuinely blown away by the quality.”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
5%
78%
The game's stability is inconsistent, with many users reporting frequent freezes, crashes, and glitches—particularly during boss battles or important gameplay moments—that can cause loss of progress and hinder playability. However, some players experience smooth performance on certain devices, indicating that stability issues may vary by platform. Overall, bugs significantly impact the experience for a notable portion of users.
- “This game runs great on my Galaxy Note 9; I would say it's very much like FTL combined with some RTS elements in combat.”
- “Good roguelike sci-fi game that runs great on my phone with a pretty decent story.”
- “FTL but easier, with more interesting lore; it looks and runs great on mobile too.”
- “The only thing taking 2 stars from this review is a bug that freezes the game and prevents continuing the story.”
- “Alright, the game is very fun and I've been playing it for a while now, but the game keeps freezing, especially when I'm about to win, forcing me to start the battle over again.”
- “Glitches leading to resetting progress, unable to continue the current game, forcing one to create a whole new game, make this ultimately unplayable.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
The grinding in the game is often described as tedious, repetitive, and occasionally frustrating, detracting from the overall experience for some players. However, many appreciate that the combat doesn't require excessive grinding, allowing them to stay engaged without feeling overly burdened. Fans of the story and art style tend to overlook the monotony, valuing narrative over gameplay repetitiveness.
- “Starts out fantastic, but gets very tedious very quickly.”
- “The story and art style of the game is extremely good but the gameplay can get really tedious after an hour or so.”
- “Then the game becomes tedious and repetitive.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is consistently praised for blending dark and funny elements seamlessly, enhancing the compelling story and setting. Players appreciate the witty, well-written dialogue and the game's ability to balance humor with serious themes like AI singularity. Overall, the humor is considered one of the standout and enjoyable aspects of the game.
- “Nice blend of humor and darkness in the setting, and the authors seem to really get the stakes around AI singularity.”
- “It's dark, funny, and compelling all in one.”
- “Amazing semi-turn based strategy with RPG elements and a brilliant loose and funny tone about it at times.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game is well-optimized, running smoothly without stuttering, and offers a control scheme well-suited for mobile play, eliminating the need for additional peripherals like gamepads or keyboard and mouse.
- “Excellently optimized for mobile play; I've yet to find myself in a situation where the control scheme has me wishing for a gamepad or a keyboard & mouse.”
- “Runs smoothly.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a deeply emotional and story-driven experience with well-developed characters that strongly engage players. While the controls are easy to understand, the tutorial relies on common sense, and some initial learning curve and minor lag are noted. Overall, players found the emotional narrative captivating and expressed a strong desire for a sequel or prequel.
- “Wow, I couldn't believe this. The story was amazing and I loved all the characters. It made me feel like the main character. I loved it. I wanted so badly, while playing the last half, for there to be a prequel or sequel. This is deep and fun.”
- “It's a very emotional and story-driven roguelike. It has its own style and easy-to-understand controls. Other than that, there are no complaints.”
- “The story and characters are deeply engaging, making the emotional experience immersive and memorable.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is highlighted through well-designed and memorable characters, with particular praise for unique and striking designs like Kaliban, enhancing the game's artistic and atmospheric appeal.