The gameplay in Asphalt Legends is similar to the other Asphalt games with noticeable differences in graphics and design. There were 48 cars featured in the game when soft-launched, but the worldwide release saw the introduction of four new cars, leading to 52 cars.

There are currently 300 cars as of the Legacy Of Speed expansion update. Like its predecessor, each of the cars belongs to a class progressively featuring higher performance and rarity: D, C, B, A, and S. The player starts with the first car in the lowest class (Class D), the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and ends with the car in the highest class (Class S), the Arash Imperium. All cars in the game now require blueprints to unlock and later "star up", with each of them having anywhere from 3 to 6 stars. For each new star, the car's top speed, acceleration, handling, and nitro efficiency are increased. Each car now also uses fuel when used for a race event, limiting its use for any game mode. The fuel quantity for each individual car is based on the max number of possible stars for that car, e.g. 3-star cars have 6 fuel blocks, while 4-star cars have 5. The more stars a car has, the less fuel it will have. The amount of time it takes for a car to be fully refueled (i.e. from zero fuel blocks) also depends on the car's class and max possible stars. For example, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X takes five minutes to refill its fuel, while the Koenigsegg Jesko (one of the highest ranked Class S cars) takes six hours.

Each car can also be customized with the new car editor feature. Upon unlocking a car, the player is allowed to choose from a few official stock colors or designs. The player can also create custom paint job colors to the body, rims, and brake calipers for most models. Some models also allow for carbon parts on the hood, trunk, and wings. Introduced in the 2019 Summer Update, several cars like the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 may also be customized with special tires, rims, and bodywork modifications, earned through rare 'customization packs'. The usage of these features was originally tied to how many stars your car was at, however in the Legacy Of Speed update, these functions were retired in favour of a new currency called "Style Tokens," in which almost all of the visual customization options can be purchased for a set amount of Style Tokens. These can be earned by playing certain events or purchased from the shop with real money. Along with this change many of the "Decal" customization options added to cars throughout the game's lifetime were made purchasable, ranging from 40 to 240 tokens. Several cars are also convertibles (they can be converted from closed roofs to open ones in-game), like the BMW Z4 LCI E89, the Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport, and the McLaren 570S Spider.

Also new to the series are "clubs", where up to 20 players can collaboratively score "reputation points" to acquire exclusive rewards. The more reputation points the club scores, the better rewards, ranging from credits to blueprints for cars.

The game also features "nitro shockwave", showing descent from Asphalt 6: Adrenaline and Asphalt 7: Heat's Adrenaline mode. When the player has a full nitro bar and taps twice on the Nitro button in a quick succession, a purple pulse is released from the vehicle and represents a drastic increase in the car's acceleration. On mobile platforms, Asphalt Legends Unite has three control layouts: Tilt to Steer, Tap to Steer, and the brand new "TouchDrive" in which the player selects routes and stunts by swiping left and right. TouchDrive is intended for beginners and casual players. On Windows 10 and Mac devices, TouchDrive and manual controls can be used with the keyboard; or with a tilt to steer, if the device has a touchscreen and an accelerometer.

The game offers five game modes: Career, Multiplayer, Daily Events, Gauntlet, and Seasonal Events (Grand Prix, Starway, Special Event, and Drive Syndicate). In career mode, the player participates in an extensive single-player campaign consisting of six chapters, each containing several series of races focusing on a certain car class or manufacturer, with more chapters set to be added. The player can gain a total of 827 blueprints for various cars from Career. In Multiplayer, the player competes against other players in real-time online multiplayer races, ranked by an Elo system. In Daily Events, the player participates in daily or weekly competitions to beat other players' times and earn other items. In Gauntlet, the player sets five "Defense Times" in five cars of their choosing, on five randomly generated tracks. After setting their defense times, players can compete against other players' defense times, which costs a "Gauntlet Ticket." In Showcase (or Showroom), players focus on upgrading a car of their choice by using it repeatedly in racing in the Showroom. Like Daily and Seasonal Events, players use tickets to race. Unlike them, they are their own individual tickets, unlike Seasonal and Daily Events sharing them. Other events include Car Hunts, focused on dropping blueprints for a specific car, and Time-Limited Events, usually themed to the game season.

The Seasonal Events, previously referred to as "Special Events", launched with the Bugatti Chiron Special Event in December 2018, and have continued since with the introduction of "Drive Syndicate" events in July 2019, themed around escaping the police as a member of an underground 'drive syndicate'. The 2022 Winter Drive Syndicate was announced to be the last of its kind by Gameloft. Initially slated to release in the January 2023 "Lunar New Year" season, its replacement would be the Faraday Road Test, which was delayed until the next season. Since the older "Godly Beasts Update", the "Grand Prix" was launched, debuting with the Techrules AT96 Track Edition Grand Prix. Players compete against other players for rewards, including a "car key" that allows the player to immediately unlock the featured Grand Prix car, though the car itself can still be "starred up" with blueprints.

The game also includes nine race types. The "Classic" race mode from previous games makes a reappearance alongside new career-exclusive races: "Time Attack" and "Hunted". Multiplayer-exclusive races include "Ghost" and "Ghost Slipstream". "Slipstream" appears in both Events and Multiplayer. A game mode titled "Takedown", restricted only to specific events, made its first appearance in Drive Syndicate 5. Finally, a new Multiplayer game mode called "Team Pursuit" was released shortly after the name change to Asphalt Legends Unite, as well as the Gauntlet mode, ported from Asphalt 9 China, in April 2025.

In Time Attack, the player has to cross the finish line within a time limit, collecting time bonuses along the track. In Hunted, the player must escape a police pursuit in a car chase without wrecking their car or running out of time. In Ghost, players cannot collide with other players' cars - all opponents are treated as 'ghosts', making the event similar to a live time trial. In Slipstream and Ghost Slipstream, players can perform a slipstream by driving behind opponents, allowing them to quickly build up their nitro. Slipstreaming can only be interrupted by holding the brake button or doing 360s, and the difference between the two is that there are no collisions in Ghost Slipstream.

In Takedown, players drive police cars and are tasked with taking down racers from the Syndicate. These police cars use a unique boost system, rather than the game's regular nitro, charging up on a timer and being used up all at once for a quick burst of acceleration. The player can take down Syndicate cars by either using their boost or by hitting them with a 360 spin. Similarly, in Team Pursuit, players are split into two teams, the Security team with 3 players and the Syndicate team with 5. The players on the Security team drive police cars, and are required to chase the Syndicate players and take down five of them to win. The Syndicate team needs to survive until the time runs out to win the match.

In Gauntlet, the player sets five consecutive "Defense Times" in five cars of their choosing on five randomly generated 30" tracks. After setting their defense times, players can compete against other players' defense times, which costs a "Gauntlet Ticket." The player gets five Gauntlet Tickets per day, and can buy 5 more for 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 tokens respectively. Each Gauntlet season lasts a week, and at the end of the season, players get "Gauntlet Tokens," which they can use in a Gauntlet Shop, similarly to its semi-predecessor, the Club Clash. Players can also get rewards for earning "Gauntlets," and can progress through five different leagues within the five different divisions, which are separated by the combined max rank of the five best cars in each player's garage. (i.e. Division V is anything above a total combined rank of 21,000.) The Gauntlet Shop offers many cars, but the main reward is the Devel Sixteen. The Gauntlet, like the Showroom, is classified under the "Special Events" tab of the in-game user interface.

The game features a number of race tracks set in new locations: Cairo (including Giza), the Himalayas, Wyoming (named U.S. Midwest), Scotland, the Caribbean, Osaka, Auckland (featuring race track-inspired aesthetics), Buenos Aires, Greenland, Tuscany and Norway. It also brings back several locations from previous games in the series: San Francisco, Rome, Shanghai, New York, Nevada and Paris. The Legends Unite expansion introduced a new location, Singapore, which was subsequently followed by Chicago during the collaboration with Avenged Sevenfold. The 20th anniversary update reintroduced San Diego Harbor from Asphalt 8: Airborne.