Endless Runner Games – Core Mechanics and Top Titles

Subway Surfers was the most popular game for three consecutive years, with 218 million downloads in 2023, 304 million in 2022, and 191 million in 2021. (Source: Business of Apps)

Subway Surfers, an endless runner game, was released by Kiloo Games and SYBO studio in May 2012. It is an action-packed game with colorful graphics, intuitive swipe controls, top-notch sound effects, different themes and characters, and challenges. The features were reason enough for the wide popularity of the game shortly after its release. 

What is an Endless Runner Game?

Endless Runner Games or Infinite Runner Games is a game genre with one continuous level with no pauses, no levels, and no end. The level of difficulty starts easy and slow. As the game speeds up, the character’s pace also keeps increasing with obstacles approaching on the way. The player’s objective is to survive for as long as possible to reach a high score.

Core Mechanics of an Endless Runner Game

Game mechanics make a video game engaging and challenging for players. They are used in a way to differentiate a game from others and make it stand out. The core mechanics involved in an Endless Runner Game include -

Player Actions

The player interacts in an endless runner game by jumping, sliding, or shifting sideways to avoid obstacles. There are no levels and no finish lines so the player has no option of taking a break. The game is continuous and involves the player to stay focused to avoid mistakes and crashing into something.

Game Goals

As the name suggests, the goal of the game is that the player has to run endlessly for as long as they can avoid the obstacles and survive in the game. The player has to obtain the highest score possible and that indicates the player's achievement. 

Points & Rewards

Endless runner games offer points for distance traveled, collectibles gathered, and surviving the game longer. Various rewards can also be offered, including coins or soft cash, that the players can use to unlock new characters, avatars, and attributes. Some games reward players with lives or currency boosts for watching ads. 

Level Design

ER games have just one level that never ends. This type of level designing involves procedural generation where reusable tiles (including power-ups, obstacles, and aesthetic features) are randomly assembled. This is integrated in a way that it creates a balance between randomness and structure, making each run feel new and unpredictable.

Obstacles

In an Endless Runner game, obstacles determine the player’s behavior as to whether the player must jump over, slide beneath, or leap left or right in response to a barrier. These simple movements at the right time are required to move ahead in the game.

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Best Endless Runner Games In The Market 

Some recent and popular trends in Endless Runner Games include strong themes and concepts, multiplier mechanics with more characters on-screen, Virtual reality and Augmented Reality integration, procedural generation that dynamically generates the level layout and obstacles, and character models that can reflect futuristic designs. These trends have risen to this game genre’s popularity. Let’s talk about a few most-played Endless Runner Games and what made them so popular.

Temple Run

Temple Run was released in 2021 by Imangi Studios. It is a simple-to-play game. The goal of the game is easy to understand, game controls are straightforward to execute, and the game keeps becoming challenging as the player moves ahead in the game. Moreover, the game has a highly addictive quality that comes from its never-ending features and constantly rewarding nature. It involves fast-paced running, ancient temple exploration, and strategic decision-making. 

The first Temple Run game was a huge hit among mobile gamers and has been downloaded more than 1 billion times! The sequel, Temple Run 2 was equally as successful. It got to 20 million downloads in just 4 days of its release and surpassed 700 million all-time downloads. (Source: Udonis)

Super Mario Run

Super Mario Run was revealed on September 7, 2016, by Shigeru Miyamoto at the Apple press conference. This game uses elements from the main Super Mario series. In this game, Mario can get power-ups and coins, jump on enemies, and run through a platform-style world with just a few taps. One of the best things about this game is that Super Mario Run is a totally addictive game. The goal of the game is to run and jump to collect 3 different types of colored coins until you reach the castle to save Princess Peach from Bowser’s clutches. There are 24 exciting courses to reach Princess Peach. 

Super Mario Run was downloaded 2.85 million times on its first day. (Source: The Verge)

Alto’s Odyssey

Alto's Odyssey is the sequel to Alto's Adventure released by Noodlecake Studios Inc. on Jul 25, 2018. The environment of the game has the player’s character sandboards through the desert which features rain and thunderstorms. What’s said to be different about Alto’s Odyssey is that it manages to keep the excitement of the player alive throughout. The game has features like water physics, tornadoes, falling platforms, power-up, and balloon bouncing; with mechanics such as a day-night cycle, weather, and the wingsuit. 

Sensor Tower's Store Intelligence data shows that, in the time since its launch, the adventure game has grossed more than $1 million worldwide across the App Store and Google Play. (Source: Sensor Tower)

Sonic Dash

Sonic Dash is a parkour game developed by Hardlight and published by the Japanese game studio Sega in 2013. A part of Sonic the Hedgehog series, Sonic Dash has gameplay where the player controls various Sonic the Hedgehog characters while running across various locations of the series and avoiding obstacles by jumping, rolling, and using the quick step. The obstacles in this game include bottomless pits and Badniks which can be destroyed with a roll. 

SEGA’s Sonic Dash has passed a major download milestone on mobile devices, as the Endless Runner starring the famous blue hedgehog has been downloaded more than 100 million times since its release in March 2013. (Source: Adweek)

Conclusion

Logic Simplified is a Unity Game Development Company with the finest, most creative game concept artists, 2D and 3D game designers, and UX designers. As a top game development company, we build interactive, human-centered, and exciting games and make your dream project a reality. If you have any more questions regarding game design and development, or want to know about our Endless Runner Game portfolio, please get in touch with us at enquiry@logicsimplfied.com.