Lonely Mountains: Downhill might sound like the name of a lost chapter from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, but it's even more magical than that. It's... a mountain biking game.
Now, you might not think that sounds particularly magical, and we'd be tempted to agree with you. Except that we've played Lonely Mountains: Downhill rather a lot, and it really is packed full of wonder. Even if you haven't sat astride a ruggedised bicycle for a couple of decades (guilty as charged), and have no intention of making up for lost time, you owe it to yourself to at least take Megagon's game out for a spin.
Lonely Mountains: Downhill spells it all out for you right there in the title. It's all about getting to the bottom of a handful of mountains on your bike. And don't think that the 'Lonely' part of the title is a mere poetic embellishment, either. In fact, it's essential to the game's appeal. Each mountain track that you'll negotiate here supplies a splendid sense of isolation. There's no shouty commentator, no ground crew, no spectators - not even a smidgen of music to hint at the presence of your fellow human beings. It's just you (or rather your polygonal avatar) cycling through nature. The sound of wildlife, babbling brooks, and of chunky tires carving through dirt and loose rocks are the only soundtrack here.
That and the sickening crunch of metal and bone as you plunge off a particularly precarious rock-bridge for the tenth time in a row. You see, while there's a definite zen-like quality to Lonely Mountains: Downhill, it's not afraid to bare its fangs. After an initial exploratory run down a new trail, in which you're not even timed, the game will start to set you challenges. Get to the bottom in this amount of time, or with fewer than this number of crashes, all culminating in perhaps the biggest challenge of them all: Free Rider, in which you have to complete the entire run in one go, with no checkpoints to restart from.
With such a multi-pronged approach, each of the game's 16 trails opens out into something far richer and deeper and gnarlier than they first appear. Especially when you realise that there are multiple routes to be taken that veer well off the beaten track, some obvious, and some so extreme that they almost feel like cheating. So long as you make the next checkpoint, the game will let such diversions slide, rewarding you with potentially massive time savings.
All this would be for nought if Lonely Mountains: Downhill controlled like you were riding to the shops for a pack of toilet rolls. Or, perhaps even worse, like a motorbike game. But it perfectly nails the sensation of pedal-powered locomotion without feeling arcane or restrictive.
You're essentially holding ZR to accelerate, with a press of the A button initiating a burst of intensive pedalling (essentially a turbo boost), just like in any standard car racer. But far more important than these 'go forward' buttons is the nature and gradient of the surface you're on. It's all about harnessing momentum, as your biker wallows through flat sections and slight inclines before rapidly accelerating down into valleys and skidding around banked turns.
The steering system is crucial to making you feel like you're on a bike. The default system - and by far the best in our view - has it so that that the direction you hold the left Joy-Con stick directly corresponds to the direction your front wheel is pointed. In a car racer with the same kind of semi-fixed top-down perspective, this might feel weird, but here it somehow makes more sense. This way, you can use the severity of the angle of your front wheel to carve in and lean hard into turns, or else leave the handlebar open and let inertia pull you outwards. The interplay between the various sources of acceleration and this direct steering system just feels so very right.
Indeed, you feel so attuned to your bike and its path through the game's lush environments, that collecting enough parts to unlock a new ride is a genuinely thrilling reward. One bike might well look much the same as another, especially when rendered in the the game's simplistic art style. But they each handle very differently, and are better suited to different sections of track.
Flaws? We really struggle to think of any, beyond the obvious one. Unfortunately, performance on the Switch isn't up to scratch. In both docked and handheld, we noted numerous instances of slowdown, and even the odd lengthy pause slap bang in the middle of a run. As you can probably tell from our enthusiasm so far, it wasn't enough to detract from our enjoyment of the game. That said, we really hope the developer addresses these technical issues soon, because it's the only thing keeping Lonely Mountains: Downhill from absolute mastery.
Even as things stand, this is one of the finest driving games on the Switch. And yes, we do mean 'driving'. Calling it a 'riding' game or an 'extreme sports' game would only serve to downplay and diminish Lonely Mountains: Downhill as a niche concern for a certain type of gamer. And really, we can't think of any Switch owner that wouldn't be thoroughly captivated by it after a single lonely run.
Conclusion
An exquisite bike racer-cum-trials game with tight controls, varied courses, and uniquely zen-like presentation. At once calming and demanding, Lonely Mountains: Downhill looks and feels like no other game on the eShop. Barring one or two disappointing technical issues, it's an absolute freewheeling delight.
Comments 45
Pretty excited for this one. It’s all downhill from here.
This is not what i expected my next game on my wishlist would be but, here were are...
Let me know if the performance issues get patched.
Looks great, been downhill-biking myself a bit - 20 years ago...
Been looking forward to the Switch release of this ever since I watched a bit of the PC version on Youtube. I'll be downloading it tonight and squeezing it into my already packed gaming schedule.
It’s a brilliant game, I played it through Game Pass PC and it’s really calming. Perfect to play while listening to music too.
Neat... I will be watching to see if performance issues get patched as well.
@Scollurio Me too! I live in a community where it feels like 80% of the population mountain bikes.
This game looks like great fun. I did chuckle a bit when describing the steering system. I mean.. yes you turn your front wheel more to turn more... at slow speeds. However, if you are hurdling down the mountain side, you're steering by leaning and turning your hips. That's the one thing I find these mountain bike games struggle to get right when it comes to physics.
@sketchturner and the Switch menu icon. They MUST address it and add the game's title in it
I was going to get it until I saw the price. I think I will wait for a sale.
The Steam listing mentions a pretty big (1.0.4) update in February 2020... does anyone know if these changes made it into the Switch release?
I'll be purchasing this as soon as I'm home later, been waiting for this gem
It's a good game, played it on Gamepass it is tough but rewarding... It has that just one more go feel to it..
Reads more like a 7 than a 9 given that any lag or stutter in a time attack game should be considered to be a serious issue.
I nearly got this when it came out on PS4 but now I can play it on the go I think I’ll bite...
The performance issues just took my finger off the insta-buy button. I hope they correct this. I’ve been dying for this to be on Switch. I have the other two systems, so I could easily play a better version. But the game “feels” like it belongs on the Switch. Fingers crossed for a patch to correct this.
I loved this on PC and was looking forward to getting it on Switch but the resolution looks pretty low on the screenshots. Anyone know what the resolution is? The UI looks fine, but the game looks pretty bad.
This sounds great! I liked the comment about it being a good game to listen to music with. It’s on the list!
I have it on Xbox One. Part of its charm is the hilarious brutality of resetting your poor avatar after the umpteenth bone-shattering crash and sending him onward to his next abrupt meeting with a tree/rock/etc.. Thankfully the resets are quick and have you trying again from the last checkpoint within a second or two. It's one of the few games I've played where I was laughing so hard at the over-the-top "agony of defeat" that I didn't get overly frustrated at the difficulty (and even on the first trail there are sections that WILL challenge you).
Here it is finally.
And I am happy it seems to have turned out this well.
I AM EXCITED!
@MisterMan,
It's not low resolution; it's a deliberate aesthetic choice on the part of the developers in a similar vein to low-poly titles such as the upcoming Hot Shot Racing or even M2's excellent remaster of Virtua Racing. Even so, there are heavily forested and varied areas that definitely convey genuine beauty. The bottom line is that it absolutely works, and the fact that it's low-poly may also play a big role in how smoothly it plays and how fast the resets are after you crash.
Oh, and incidentally, this also helps make the blood-spattering crashes (blood can be turned off, by the way) suitable for a more family-friendly rating, I guess. Much more animated than gory in quality, otherwise I think much of the humor in its crash/repeat/brutal crash/repeat/no-way-he'd-survive-THAT/repeat challenge would be lost. The absurd (and rather dark in a way) humor is part of this game's appeal, without a doubt, in the same way that making "incomplete coasters" was for the RollerCoaster Tycoon games.
@AtlanteanMan I'm not referring to the low poly count. I have the game on PC and love the aesthetics. I'm talking about the actual resolution of the game. The rider and the background have jagged edges, look pixelated, and the resolution looks to be lower than the overlayed UI.
edit: I went ahead and bought the game and yeah, it's definitely blurrier than the PC version and seems to run at 30fps, but it's nice way to play this handheld, but I think I'd rather stick with the PC version for this game. The developers said to get the game to run on Switch they had to make some concessions and it runs equivalent medium terrain quality and low shadow settings on PC (from they're announcement on Steam). I'm glad they said this and wish more devs would be this transparent on ports to the Switch.
Got this game on Game Pass and I really liked it. If it ever goes on sale on the Switch I might just pick it up to have it on the go.
@SuperCharlie78 I’ve reached out to a contact I have at publisher, Thunderful. They’re going to look into the icon situation. If you look me up on Twitter at @SimonPotticary, you can also take a look at the SwitchIconWatch tweet I posted earlier today.
@The_Pixel_King I'll check soon! I wrote to them on Twitter, too. It's getting more and more frustrating with this icon issues. Nintendo gave pubs and devs guidelines for icons and apparently they only apply to the Nintendo website ones (and the preview image of all games on the Switch eShop). But then it seems they can do whatever they want with the actual icons you see on the Switch menu screen.
@SuperCharlie78 I know, it’s getting out of hand. That’s why I do the SwitchIconWatch on Twitter. When you get a chance, give me a follow and I’ll follow you right back. Maybe we can form an alliance?!
@shani Actually, despite how it 'looks', Lonely Mountains is actually pretty great. Besides, Descenders isn’t on Switch... yet!
I played this one on PC (via Gamepass) and I absolutely loved how the bike controlled. There's a real sense of speed, and pulling off difficult turns can be absolutely thrilling.
I ended up dropping, though. It gets really hard after a while, and when the criteria to unlock the next track goes from number of crashes (which is pretty manageable on a careful run) to strict time limits, the difficulty got to be too much for me to want to continue.
I liked the look of this when it was announced. In to the watch list it goes.
How does the game get a 9 out of 10 when it has serious performance issues? I just don't get it to be honest. I had my eye on this one, but I'll wait for a possible patch. It's just unbelievable that games get released like this, and it happens (specially on the Switch) a lot these days. The possibility to patch a game has a huge downside, and this is it. They just release games that are not finished and giving those kind of games a great review isn't helping. A game like this needs to be fluid, and it sounds like it just isn't.
@Cyrax77
This is rather melodramatic really.
I bought the game yesterday. It runs fine as far as I can tell, no huge performance issues. It is a little blurry and almost certainly doesn't run like it would on a gaming PC but it's a brilliant game and runs nicely on the switch.
And blaming patches is a bit of a red herring. I remember countless PSX and N64 games that were released with performance issues and bugs but could never be patched.
The game is great, give it a try.
@jaglufc that's heresy, N64 games used 15fps as an aesthetic choice!
Amazing game; takes a few minutes to get used to the tank control, but after that it's great. I wouldn't be too critical re performance issues; there are some, but nothing that distracts from the fun.
I played this on XBox randomly because Game Pass and fell in love with it. Glad to see I'm not the only one. 🙂
Hadn’t heard of this one till now/- gonna have to check it’!
@The_Pixel_King I’m now seeing the Switch menu icon. (I broke down and bought it) You and others are right, it’s crap. Please update that devs.
@Realness Sir, I see you are a man of taste. But fear not, the devs have reached out to me on Twitter with a picture of the new icon that will be added in the next update! Hurray!
Unfortunately, I don’t know how to add a picture to this comment, but if you check out my profile on Twitter (@simonpotticary) or the games official page (@lonelymnts), you can take a look at it. It’s so much better!
But it’s great news, huh? 🥳 🎉
@The_Pixel_King I’ll wait and be surprised. Good to hear though. I really don’t know how something as trivial as the design of a menu icon can bother me, but for some inexplicable reason, it irks me so.
@Realness Same man, me too. I tell myself that it doesn’t matter, but for some strange reason, it really does!
Might download someday.
The first patch has really improved the performance so it feels just as smooth as the PS4 version
The performance at night is game breaking. I bought it because of the misleading review and strongly regret it.
Should've played Pumped BMX or Descenders instead.
I let myself be misleaded by a classic "NintendoLife nearly always at least 8/10 review".
I just bought this yesterday on sale... The occasional performance issues are worse than expected at this point... they aren't frequent, but it's really unfortunate in a game that is about "flow".
@HolyGeez03 Thanks for posting, was just considering getting this.. Played the demo, loved it, but noticed the slow down and the freezes. Bummer it hasn’t been patched in the full release. This game is a cyclists dream, but not with these performance issues…
@Ear_wiG I think I saw that the game received another update recently, but I have no idea if it addresses any performance issues... probably not.
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