The controls and plot of "Temple Run 2" are similar to its predecessor, but new obstacles are introduced and set in new locations where the protagonist must escape between temples, jungles, mines and rivers, and the route is changed from the original straight line to a curved route where the character moves at a faster pace. The game also replaced the three "demon monkeys" of the previous generation with one large monkey.

The player's goal in "Temple Run" is to run as far as possible by avoiding randomly generated obstacles. And get the most points and coins possible. The longer the player survives, the more points they will earn. The player's score can only be used to reach the goal.

The main characters are a group of wandering explorers who have to steal an idol from an ancient temple. After the explorer steals the idol, the player can control the explorer, and the game starts immediately after the explorer steals the idol. At this point, the explorer will be a group of "demon monkeys" chasing, thus triggering the "temple escape. Players only need to perform three operations in the game: jumping (slide your finger up), sliding (slide your finger down) and turning (slide your finger left or right). Tilting the device allows the explorer to move from one side of the road to the other, allowing the explorer to collect coins and avoid obstacles!

Players can collect gold coins while escaping. The gold coins are shaped like diamonds and are divided into yellow, red and blue, worth one, two and three dollars respectively. When the player collects gold coins, the bonus meter on the side will also increase. Whenever the player collects 100 gold coins, the reward meter will go up one level until the fourth level, which can increase some points, and then start from the first level after the increase. The coins collected by the player can be used to upgrade different items, rewards, buy characters and wallpapers.