Subway Surfers

Subway Surfers
Developer(s)	Kiloo, SYBO Games
Publisher(s)	Kiloo, Microsoft
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	iOS, Mac OS Android, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows Phone 8, Kindle
Release	24 May 2012
Genre(s)	Endless runner
Mode(s)	Single-player

Subway Surfers is an endless runner mobile game co-developed by Kiloo^[1] and SYBO Games,^[2] private companies based in Denmark. It is available on Android, iOS, Kindle, and Windows Phone platforms and uses the Unity game engine.^[3] Players take the role of young graffiti artists who, upon being caught in the act of applying graffiti to ("tagging") a metro railway site, run down railroad tracks to escape from an inspector and his dog. As they run, they grab gold coins out of the air while simultaneously dodging collisions with trains and other objects, and can also jump on top of the trains to evade capture. Special events, such as the Weekly Hunt, can result in in-game rewards and characters.

Subway Surfers was released on 24 May 2012^[4] with updates based on seasonal holidays. Since January 2013, updates have been based on a "World Tour" theme, which updates the setting of the game every three (or four, usually for seasonal holidays) weeks.

In 2017, Subway Surfers was the most downloaded game across the globe.^[5]

In March 2018, Subway Surfers became the first game on the Google Play Store to cross the one billion downloads threshold.^[6] In May 2018, Subway Surfers crossed the two billion download mark.^[7]. App Annie reported Subway Surfers as the #2 downloaded game of all time in iOS App Store.^[8]

In addition to the mobile game, SYBO Games introduced the Subway Surfers animated series and SUBSURF lifestyle brand.

Gameplay

Subway Surfers is an endless runner video game. The game starts by tapping the touchscreen, while the character sprays graffiti on a train. The inspector and his dog start chasing. While running, the player can swipe up, down, left, or right to avoid crashing into oncoming obstacles especially moving trains, poles, tunnel walls and barriers. By swapping rapidly as speed increases, more points can be acquired. A crash results in a game over. The player can collect various items such as coins, score multipliers, sprinting sneakers, jetpacks, magnets, gift boxes and scooters. A scooter provides combustion by launching up the player, while a jetpack has ability to fly for 10 seconds. Items, such as a hoverboard, allow avoiding collisions lasting about 30 seconds. Daily Challenges and Weekly Hunts give rewards for unique movements throughout gameplay. Missions have various tasks measured by player accuracy. Up to 14 characters are unlocked via in-game purchase and collecting a specific items, but the character "Dino" only unlocked by using Facebook account.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 71/100[9] Review scores Publication Score 148Apps [10] Gamezebo [11] The Apps Depot [12] PocketGamer 5/10[13] AppleNApps 4.5/5[14] TouchArcade [15]

Subway Surfers received decent reviews. Critics praised the game's visual style and entertaining gameplay, but criticized it for its monotonous world and unresponsive controls. Review aggregator website Metacritic gave the game 71 out of 100 based on 8 reviews.^[9]

Dan Griliopoulos of Pocket Gamer gave the game a score of 5 out of 10, praising the game's fun gameplay and free access, but criticizing the game's controls and parsimonious game design.^[13]

Gamezebo's Dant Rambo scored the game 3.5 out of 5, writing "It makes little attempt to stand out from other endless runners, but it's hard not to appreciate the polish of Subway Surfers. The controls are responsive, the gameplay is addictive, and it doesn't try and force you into spending cash on in-game items."^[11]

Other reviewers were not as critical. 148Apps and TouchArcade gave the game 4/5.^[10][15] Reviewers from The Apps Depot and AppleNApps were impressed, scoring the game 4.5 out of 5.^[12][14]

Subway Surfers animated series

On June 1, 2018, a series of animated shorts debuted on SYBO Games' YouTube channel. The 10 x 4 minute episodic series is scripted by Brent Friedman and Francesca Marie Smith and produced by Sander Schwartz. Chris Bartleman is supervising director and Michael Hegner is director. Denmark's WilFilm provides post-production services.

References