Subway Surfers Full Review: Story, Gameplay, Graphics & More
Are you familiar with being bored waiting for your transport, or maybe just having some spare time before school or work? In all of these situations, you could easily install Subway Surfers. I recall installing it years ago in order to have something to do because I expected to play for only five minutes. One hour later, I was trying to make a high score without crashing into that train for the hundredth time already.
Such is the charm of Subway Surfers. The game doesn't put you through boring missions and complex gameplay; instead, you just swipe, jump, earn money and avoid being captured. Even after many years, it still manages to be one of the most downloaded games in history.
So, after numerous hours of playing this game on various Android phones and PC via an emulator, here is my personal experience with Subway Surfers.
What Is Subway Surfers?
It is an endless runner where the player’s task is quite easy to run as long as possible and avoid trains, barriers, obstacles, and other things.
The player becomes a young graffiti artist Jake, who got caught on painting a train. Then a security guard and his dog begin to chase him in the railway tracks.
The story is not very complicated and interesting, but this is how it should be because the main focus is put on the game itself, which does not require long stories or missions.
Story Review
Everything starts with Jake who decides to paint a train in the subway yard.
However, unfortunately, he was discovered by the inspector.
He did not give up and began to run across the railway tracks in order to gather coins and escape from the inspector and his dog.
With different game updates, Jake is accompanied by many other characters who have various outfits and features. Each month the game changes a city due to World Tour updates and gets new backgrounds.
And that is all what the story is for.
Gameplay Experience
And it is here that Subway Surfers really excels.
Controls in the game are super-easy.
Left swipe – left movement.
Right swipe – right movement.
Up swipe – jump.
Down swipe – roll underneath obstacles.
It may seem rather obvious, but when you speed up, all your decisions start to matter.
Just one little slip-up can ruin your perfect streak.
I know this for a fact, since during my first week of playing the game, I used to concentrate solely on gathering coins without thinking about the track in front of me, which resulted in my crashing into trains all the time.
Eventually, I understood that it was more beneficial to survive for as long as possible than to gather coins all the time.
Power-Ups That Are Useful
There are many power-ups that come in handy in Subway Surfers.
Jetpack
The Jetpack allows you to fly over the track while gathering lines of coins safely.
It is undoubtedly one of my favorite power-ups as there is no danger of bumping into anything when using it.
Coin Magnet
With the Coin Magnet, there is no need for you to chase each coin; it will be attracted to you.
This makes your run all the more profitable.
Super Sneakers
They help increase your jumping ability and allow you to overcome bigger obstacles.
While they are very useful, they may require some practice, as the jumps become much higher than usual.
2x Multiplier
It doubles the score multiplier for a period of time.
Whenever I spot such a power-up, I make sure to get it.
Characters
Another factor that makes Subway Surfers so captivating is its extensive cast of characters.
Some of the popular ones are:
Jake
Tricky
Fresh
Yutani
Lucy
Prince K
Spike
Ninja
Brody
Coco
Many characters can be obtained using events, coins, mystery boxes, or promotions.
There are some purely cosmetic characters, but obtaining them turns out to be quite exciting.
Hoverboards
Hoverboards are a great life saver.
In case you hit any obstacles when using the hoverboard, then your hoverboard will be broken and not you.
I used to keep my hoverboards for special occasions.
Now, I use them whenever I start moving very fast, since usually they save me from making costly mistakes.
Some hoverboards have unique abilities such as:
Double Jump
Speed Boost
Smooth Drift
Graphics Review
Despite its age, Subway Surfers is still a vibrant game.
Its cartoonish visuals have held up relatively well over time.
Rather than aiming for realism, the creators made sure that all the details are vibrant and appealing.
The trains, tracks, buildings, and backdrops are elaborately designed, yet it does not make the game unplayable on budget smartphones.
The animations flow smoothly, while each character is full of life.
World Tour updates release every month and offer an entirely new environment based on different cities.
This allows for avoiding any repetitiveness.
Sound Effects and Music
The music track corresponds with the fast-paced gameplay very well.
You will hear energetic background music together with the sounds of coin collection, jumping, and power-up activation.
In most cases, I prefer to play with sound turned on since it adds some extra excitement to the game.
Fortunately, it does not get irritating despite long sessions of playing.
Controls
The controls are probably one of the strongest parts of Subway Surfers.
They are quick and intuitive for newbies.
Even an inexperienced player will be able to get used to the mechanics in just a couple of minutes.
I almost never encountered any missed swipes or laggy movements on older Android phones.
Performance
I have played Subway Surfers on various phones, even those with limited amounts of RAM (3GB and 4GB).
And the game works great!
Loading times are low, and there are no performance drops at all.
Also, battery consumption isn't too high.
Daily Goals and Events
There are many ways why players want to come back every day.
Examples of these are:
Daily Goals
Weekly Hunts
Mystery Boxes
Seasonal Events
World Tour Rewards
Character Unlocks
These small goals ensure that the game will never be boring.
Coins and Keys
Coins are considered as the primary currency.
This can be used for:
Power-up Upgrades
Hoverboard purchases
Character unlocks
Outfits
Keys are considered extremely useful.
This allows players to continue if there is a crash or unlock other contents.
I discovered the importance of saving keys.
It is more useful when you have high scores.
Tips for Beginners
There were many mistakes that I did at the beginning.
Here are some tips that really benefited me:
Survival
You don't have to collect all the coins.
First of all, you need to survive.
Upgrade your coin magnet.
It will make coin collection very easy for you.
Save Your Keys
Don't use them in shorter runs.
Keep them for PB runs only.
Hoverboard Smartly
Always activate it before entering tricky zones rather than afterwards due to a crash.
Finish Your Daily Mission
It gives you free stuff without paying anything.
Common Errors Made by Players
Players often make the same mistakes.
They include:
Watching coins only
Neglecting power-ups
Using keys wastefully
Never riding hoverboards
Getting panic attacks when speed is high
I made all these mistakes in my first couple of weeks.
When I fixed all that, my game scores went up rapidly.
Is It Worth Playing Subway Surfers
Definitely.
In spite of the fact that there have been thousands of different mobile games developed after that, Subway Surfers is going to remain one of the best endless runners ever made.
Not only does it have everything a user-friendly game must have, but also it is pretty hard if you want to make a good result.
Whether you play it in a 5-minute break or in a 1-hour-long gaming marathon, you can be sure that it is always fun.
That is why today I feel compelled to open the app if I find myself idle somewhere and don't want to waste too much time.
If you look for a user-friendly free mobile game that suits many devices and remains entertaining for ages, this is the one you need to try.
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