Subway Surfers

-1.69
Slightly Bad
Price: Free
Ads: Yes
In App Purchases: Yes

iOS App Store
Google Play App Store

Temporal Dark PatternsTemporal Dark Patterns

This game has 369 reported Temporal Dark Patterns. There are 288 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.86

112 votes
4 votes
Daily Rewards -
112 / 4 votes
Encourages return visits every day and punishes you for missing a day.

113 votes
4 votes
Grinding -
113 / 4 votes
Being required to perform repetitive and tedious tasks to advance.

71 votes
3 votes
Infinite Treadmill -
71 / 3 votes
Impossible to win or complete the game.

66 votes
7 votes
Advertisements -
66 / 7 votes
Forced to watch ads or given rewards for watching ads.

4 votes
70 votes
Wait To Play -
4 / 70 votes
In-game timers that make you arbitrarily wait for something.

3 votes
89 votes
Can't Pause or Save -
3 / 89 votes
The game does not allow you to stop playing whenever you want.

111 votes
Playing by Appointment -
0 / 111 votes
Being forced to play according to the game's schedule instead of yours.

Monetary Dark PatternsMonetary Dark Patterns

This game has 643 reported Monetary Dark Patterns. There are 487 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.9

107 votes
Premium Currency -
107 / 0 votes
Exchange rate between real money and in-game currency disguises the real price of items.

110 votes
2 votes
Pay to Win -
110 / 2 votes
A player can spend real money to purchase something that gives them an advantage in the game.

106 votes
Artificial Scarcity -
106 / 0 votes
Limited time offers with unnecessary urgency.

121 votes
6 votes
Pay to Skip -
121 / 6 votes
Spend money to avoid waiting for a timer to expire.

122 votes
2 votes
Anchoring Tricks -
122 / 2 votes
Placing a cheap item next to an expensive item to make it look more affordable.

71 votes
4 votes
Gambling / Loot Boxes -
71 / 4 votes
Spending real money to play a game of chance for a reward.

5 votes
73 votes
Accidental Purchases -
5 / 73 votes
Making it easy to accidentally spend money with no confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.

1 votes
110 votes
Recurring Fee -
1 / 110 votes
Encourages players to play as much as possible to get their money's worth.

77 votes
Power Creep -
0 / 77 votes
A permanently purchased item in the game becomes less valuable over time.

124 votes
Pay Wall -
0 / 124 votes
The game becomes impossible to continue playing without payment.

89 votes
Waste Aversion -
0 / 89 votes
Capped inventory forces you to destroy items or upgrade inventory. Also, having small amounts of left over premium currency.

Social Dark PatternsSocial Dark Patterns

This game has 131 reported Social Dark Patterns. There are 603 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

2.04

123 votes
2 votes
Competition -
123 / 2 votes
The game makes you compete against other players.

4 votes
90 votes
Social Pyramid Scheme -
4 / 90 votes
You get a bonus for inviting your friends and then they have to invite their friends.

4 votes
113 votes
Fear of Missing Out -
4 / 113 votes
If you stop playing you'll miss out on something or be left behind and unable to catch up.

111 votes
Social Obligation / Guilds -
0 / 111 votes
To avoid letting down your friends, you are obligated to play when you don't want to.

104 votes
Friend Spam / Impersonation -
0 / 104 votes
The game sends spam to your contact list or social media account.

101 votes
Reciprocity -
0 / 101 votes
Feeling obligated to return a favor, share resources, trade an item, etc.

82 votes
Encourages Anti-Social Behavior -
0 / 82 votes
The game incentivizes players to lie, cheat, or backstab other players to get ahead.

Psychological Dark PatternsPsychological Dark Patterns

This game has 431 reported Psychological Dark Patterns. There are 223 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-2.54

100 votes
5 votes
Invested / Endowed Value -
100 / 5 votes
Having already spent time and money to improve your status in the game, it's difficult to throw it away.

80 votes
4 votes
Badges / Endowed Progress -
80 / 4 votes
Reluctancy to abandon a partially completed goal, even one forced upon the player.

96 votes
5 votes
Aesthetic Manipulations -
96 / 5 votes
Trick questions or toying with emotions or our subconscious desires.

81 votes
5 votes
Complete the Collection -
81 / 5 votes
The urge to collect all the items, achievements or secrets in a game.

66 votes
4 votes
Variable Rewards -
66 / 4 votes
Unpredictable or random rewards are more addictive than a predictable schedule.

4 votes
83 votes
Illusion of Control -
4 / 83 votes
The game cheats or hides information to make you think you're better than you actually are.

4 votes
117 votes
Optimism and Frequency Biases -
4 / 117 votes
Overestimating the frequency of something because we’ve seen it recently or memorably.

App Store Ratings

iOS:  (4.50) with 889,095 votes.
Google Play:  (4.50) with 30,564,850 votes.



Recent Dark Pattern Reviews

Illusion of Control reported on Feb 20, 2024
Multipliers to increase your score when running making you think you are better than you are.
Fear of Missing Out reported on Dec 22, 2022
this is the worst dark pattern in this game.
Illusion of Control reported on Dec 2, 2022
The game constantly has a counter in the corner that shows how far you've run compared to someone else, and every time you beat one person another pops up. It can make you feel forced to continue if you're only a few hundred meters off from beating someone.
Complete the Collection reported on Dec 2, 2022
You can collect a bunch of runners and boards,, with the game advertising new ones every season.
Gambling / Loot Boxes reported on Dec 2, 2022
You have boxes that give you a chance to get an item that will help you get a new runner.
Pay to Win reported on Dec 2, 2022
You can pay to buy keys, which let you keep running after you've been caught.
Artificial Scarcity reported on Dec 2, 2022
The game moves cities every few weeks, showing off "exclusive" runners for that area, that can only be won (or bought) within a short period of time.
Competition reported on Sep 9, 2022
Every week the top runners can get prizes
Grinding reported on Sep 9, 2022
the core machinic is "running" and dodging for as long as you can
Wait To Play reported on Sep 9, 2022
There are certain in game events that have timers, where you can run as a certain character and win specific prizes. But you can play the "normal" game without waiting.


Report a Dark Pattern

Screenshot DASH as fast as you can!
DODGE the oncoming trains!

Help Jake, Tricky & Fresh escape from the grumpy Inspector and his dog.

Grind trains with your cool crew!
Colorful and vivid HD graphics!
Hoverboard Surfing!
Paint powered jetpack!
Lightning fast swipe acrobatics!
Challenge and help your friends!

Join the most daring chase!

A Universal App with HD optimized graphics.

By Kiloo and Sybo.