After a decade sprinting across train tracks around the world, Subway Surfers is ready to grind some rails. Shred with Jake, Tricky and other familiar faces in the hit game’s first spin-off: the high-tech skate sensation Subway Surfers Tag, exclusively on Apple Arcade.

We spoke to Eoin O’Doherty, game director at developer SYBO, for a peek at what’s in store.

No old-school skateboards here. Instead, you’ll zip around on a futuristic hoverboard. “They’re an iconic element of the Subway Surfers universe but they’re used sparingly,” says O’Doherty. Even cooler, you’re free to cruise around arenas such as the Railyard and Docks in any direction you like. “We really wanted to keep the movement autonomous.”

In Subway Surfers Tag, that pesky security guard has help – waves of menacing robots that are on your tail at every turn and get more aggressive and harder to take down the longer you survive. Luckily you have a strong defence: spray paint! Use it to stun the guard and destroy the bots (some of which will leave behind a battery for you to juice up your board).

Combos are key to keeping your score climbing, so be sure to snatch up items strewn around the arena. A Jetpack lets you fly above danger; a Spinning Yo-Yo knocks back pesky robots and security guards. But the higher your combo, the faster the meter runs down. To keep a combo going while you traverse an arena, grind from rail to rail (your meter stays full mid-grind) and splat anything and everything you can when you’re off a rail.

Each character has their own Special Shot that’ll give you an edge on those ever-growing robot hoards. Our favourites: Jake’s shocking Electric Paint and Yutani’s massive Slime Ball, which rolls around the arena slowing down whatever falls in its gooey green path. Yuck!

Jake, Tricky, Yutani, Fresh. Everyone’s unique – and uniquely empowered – in Subway Surfers Tag. “We want players to jump between the characters,” says O’Doherty. “We tied it into our mission system, where we ask players to jump into a certain character so they get familiar with their abilities.”

“As in Subway Surfers, every power-up is on an independent timer,” O’Doherty explains. “If you go to the shop and buff up each one, they’ll last longer.” They’re also stackable. “You can have your Jetpack and Yo-Yos, the Coin magnet and 2X score multiplier all at once if you find them.”

Juggling every power-up simultaneously for a killer combo? Sounds like a fun challenge to us. Let’s get to surfin’!

Looking for more to play? Discover over 200* amazing Apple Arcade games on the Arcade tab of the App Store.

*Game availability for the 200+ titles across devices varies based on hardware and software compatibility. Some content may not be available in all areas.