Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Temple Run vs Crossy Road

Temple Run 4.4★ · Free + IAP 60
Winner Crossy Road
Crossy Road 4.7★ · Free + IAP 70

Crossy Road offers a slightly more engaging and varied experience with its character unlocks and biomes, despite both games suffering from significant ad-related complaints.

Full reviews: Temple Run · Crossy Road

Temple Run and Crossy Road are both classic endless runner/arcade games, free to play with in-app purchases. While Temple Run is praised for its nostalgic appeal, it's heavily criticized for intrusive ads, even after paying to remove them. Crossy Road, though also plagued by ads, offers more character variety and unique gameplay elements that keep users engaged.

Head to head

Features and Gameplay edge: Crossy RoadR2R3R11R14
Temple Run Temple Run is lauded as a classic and nostalgic game, with users enjoying its simple, fun, and fast-paced nature R2R11R14. However, some find it boring after a while R3R27 and mention glitches like gaps not allowing jumps R19R30.
Crossy Road Crossy Road is praised for being fun, addictive, and immersive, with users enjoying the variety of characters, biomes, and special abilities . Some users find the game too hard, especially for new players . A notable point is the existence of a better, ad-free version on Apple Arcade R75.
Ads and Monetization tieR7R9R12R13
Temple Run Temple Run is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of intrusive ads, even after paying to remove them R7R9R12R13. Users report ads playing even when declining to watch them for an extra life R12 and unskippable ads that require force-quitting the app R7R37R43. Some users claim there are no ads unless they choose to watch them .
Crossy Road Crossy Road also receives significant criticism for its frequent and annoying ads . Many users report unskippable ads that force them to close and reopen the app . The option to pay to remove ads exists, but some find it expensive R94R99R117. Some users note that the Apple Arcade version is ad-free R75.
Reliability and Performance tieR19R21R28R30
Temple Run Users report issues with the app randomly opening the App Store R28 and long loading times on older devices . Some also mention glitches where jumps don't register R30 and the game stuttering . Swiping down for notifications on iPhone can interfere with gameplay R21.
Crossy Road Crossy Road users mention the game being laggy and occasionally getting stuck on the loading screen . One user reports dying after staying on a log for only two seconds .
User Experience and Engagement edge: Crossy RoadR1R3R7R10
Temple Run Many users play Temple Run for nostalgia R1R3R47 but some find it boring over time R3R27. The game is criticized for using AI R10 and constantly asking for reviews . The overall experience is often ruined by the aggressive ad strategy R7R37R43.
Crossy Road Crossy Road is described as addictive and a good way to pass time . The game's focus on unlocking characters rather than level progression disappoints some users R69R78. The game brings back good memories for many .
Pick Temple Run if

you are looking for a classic endless runner for a quick, nostalgic play session and are willing to tolerate or find workarounds for frequent ads R1R14R47.

Pick Crossy Road if

you enjoy unlocking a wide variety of characters and exploring different biomes in an arcade-style game, and are prepared for frequent ads or consider the Apple Arcade version R69.

Evidence note: Both apps are free with in-app purchases, and a significant portion of negative reviews for both are related to ads, which is common for free-to-play mobile games. Temple Run has a few reviews that claim no ads, which contradicts the majority of recent reviews . Crossy Road has a specific mention of an ad-free version available through Apple Arcade, which is a key differentiator R75.

Frequently asked

Are there ads in Temple Run?
Yes, Temple Run has a significant number of ads, with many users reporting them to be frequent, unskippable, and even appearing after paying to remove them R7R13R37R43.
Can you play Crossy Road without ads?
Yes, while the standard free version of Crossy Road has many ads, an ad-free version called Crossy Road+ is available on Apple Arcade R75R94R99R117.
What is the main goal in Crossy Road?
The main goal in Crossy Road is primarily to unlock new characters, rather than progressing through defined levels R69R78.
Is Temple Run still fun to play?
Many users find Temple Run to be fun and a classic, especially for nostalgia, but some report it gets boring after a while and the experience is often marred by excessive ads R1R3R27R47.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] Temple Run 5/5 · US Cool: Cool
  2. [R3] Temple Run 3/5 · US Idk: When I was a kid I downloaded it it was fun but then deleted it😅 the reason is it’s kinda boring 😭 but like idm!
  3. [R11] Temple Run 5/5 · US Rating: Game is so much fun 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵
  4. [R14] Temple Run 5/5 · US GOATED: Just can’t beat the classic
  5. [R7] Temple Run 1/5 · US A classic ruined by greed: The ad placement of this game is abysmal. Even if you pay to have them removed, you still get popups (that you cannot disable anywhere in settings) asking you to watch an ad for another life. Paired with how awful mobile ads have become nowadays, a single misclick on these popups (an easy mistake to make because of their lazy and poor design) now requires fully quitting
  6. [R9] Temple Run 3/5 · US Ad: TO MANY ADS
  7. [R12] Temple Run 3/5 · US Watch an ad to continue?: Even though I say no it still shows ad but doesn’t even let you leave off where you stopped, otherwise great app
  8. [R13] Temple Run 1/5 · US Misleading: Paid to remove ads. Still have to view ads to recover from bad moves. Completely misleading and I’m asking for a refund.
  9. [R19] Temple Run 1/5 · US I hat this game: When I started running there were gaps on the ground. And they wouldn’t let me go left or right inless I was turning!😡😡😡😡
  10. [R21] Temple Run 3/5 · US Playing this on iPhone is torture.: If you have an iPhone, don’t play this. Every time I swipe down, the notifications come down and I can see the screen.
  11. [R28] Temple Run 2/5 · US App Store Randomly Opens: Not sure if this is something that you all can control, but the App Store has shown up out of nowhere despite me not tapping on anything and ended a run for me at least three times. It’s pretty frustrating and then I have to watch an ad regardless of pressing “No”. Nice nostalgic game, but the invasive opening of the App Store randomly is really annoying. Hopefully you
  12. [R30] Temple Run 3/5 · US Why I Don’t like this game and why I do: Why I don’t like this game is because this game glitches and when there is a gap, it won’t let me jump, and I fall. What I like about the game is that this is jungle themed and you have to escape from the monkeys. that is why I have a three star review.
  13. [R1] Temple Run 1/5 · US Review of temple run: I downloaded the app because of nostalgia but it’s not the same
  14. [R10] Temple Run 1/5 · US AI SLOP: loved this game growing up and am disappointed they are now using ai
  15. [R37] Temple Run 1/5 · US Ruined By Ads: I’ve loved this game for many years, but the new update is absolutely ridiculous and a waste of all time and enjoyment. It has become unplayable due to the unskippable ads. The game “gives you the option” to skip ads but it always plays them at the end of each round and they are continuous. The only way to end it or start a new game is to clear out the app and reopen it. Like I sai
  16. [R43] Temple Run 1/5 · US Terrible Ads: Got this game just for nostalgia, and the ads are unbearable. After every single game ends, I have to close the app and restart because an ad plays with no option to close it. Could pay 1.99 to get rid of them, but now I’m just annoyed and am deleting the game.
  17. [R75] Crossy Road 3/5 · US PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVE APPLE ARCADE!!!!!!: OK, so here’s the thing I love this game but like the one on Apple Arcade is so much better there’s no labs. You don’t have to play it on Wi-Fi. I don’t really remember if this one has ads and have to play it on Wi-Fi or not but definitely download the Crossy Road+ on Apple Arcade. It’s also completely free.
  18. [R94] Crossy Road 1/5 · GB Oh hell nah: Way way way way way way way way way to many ads don’t download this if you hate ads like me (To be fair,just don’t anyway)It’s boring and the only thing to do is cross a road and nearly every time you play there is ads and it’s 8 quid to stop them which is annoying
  19. [R99] Crossy Road 3/5 · GB I hate ads: You need to pay £8 just for no adds its annoying how many ads there are but everything else is just ok
  20. [R117] Crossy Road 2/5 · GB Adds!: There are adds every 2 minutes and the add block is so expensive! Would not recommend
  21. [R69] Crossy Road 3/5 · US Game focuses on unlocking characters rather than progressing thru levels: Was disappointed to see that there’s no defined level progression and the game goal is mostly to unlock characters. It’s a high quality game but not for me. Wish there was a version where you beat a set of predefined levels instead, and that you could unlock new levels instead of characters
  22. [R78] Crossy Road 3/5 · US Need better animals!: Crossy roads animals are mid need better ones 💔
  23. [R27] Temple Run 3/5 · US Great but gets boring after a while: Good game but boring after a while
  24. [R47] Temple Run 5/5 · US Man people are complaining for not knowing how to play the game. It’s a good game.: To prove my point, go to the most critical section and people will say you can’t go right or left, like people tilt your device right and left to move. This game is a classic and nostalgic as it brings back good memories. Sure it might have too many ads but just close the app and reopen it or turn off your Wi-Fi fo

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store