No thoughts, no feelings, only Temple Run: Legends

When I’m riding on the New York City subway, I’m almost always playing a game on my Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch. I still haven’t gotten over the novel appeal of getting to take a complicated, graphically intense game like Elden Ring on the go. I’m spoiled, but sometimes I can’t help but glimpse at the grass on the other side. Sometimes I’ll notice a fellow commuter playing a simple mobile game like Subway Surfers.

In that moment, I’m torn in two. One part of me feels thrilled that portable gaming is no longer restrained to brainless experiences like that. Another part of me, though, wishes I was playing that game instead.

While I’ve long avoided — and perhaps even looked down on — the infinite runner genre, I’ve finally given into its mystical appeal with Temple Run: Legends. Apple Arcade’s latest exclusive shakes the mobile classic up with bite-sized platforming levels in addition to its infinite play mode. It’s a perfect compromise for those who see the appeal of a series like Temple Run, but need some firmer goals and objectives. That’s helping me finally understand the satisfying appeal of a popular genre, even if it isn’t changing my world.

Temple Run: Legends needs little introduction. Players control an explorer who runs past obstacles and collects coins. They can swipe left and right to move them between lanes, swipe down to slide under low obstacles, or swipe up to jump. That’s all you need to know. Is there a story told throughout its 500 short levels? I guess so. I could not tell you what it is and I’m over 150 levels deep.

That’s because games like Temple Run aren’t there to light up your brain; they are time machines. In my first session with it, I take it on the subway. Legends feels almost perfectly engineered for that experience. A level lasts almost exactly one subway stop, like it was timed for that purpose. My trip into Manhattan flies by in an instant, each level ticking down how many stops I have left. All of my energy goes to my thumb as it