Lonely Mountains: Downhill

+ Brilliant feeling bike controls + Exactly the right level of challenge + Flawless (Reviewed on Nintendo Switch, also available on Xbox One, PS4 and PC (Steam))

87%Game Brain Score

graphics, gameplay

story, grinding

90% User Score Based on 2,566 reviews

Critic Score 84%Based on 15 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $6.99

Buy NowGet on Steam$19.99

Buy NowGet on Xbox Games Store

Buy NowGet on PS Store$6.99

About

In "Lonely Mountains: Downhill," players descend through beautiful, treacherous mountains on a mountain bike. With a focus on exploration and speed, players can choose their own path and master different trails. Customization options for bikes and outfits are also available, adding a layer of personalization to the adventure.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,581 reviews

graphics231 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

Beautiful art style and landscapes that create a relaxing atmosphere.
Easy to learn but hard to master, providing a satisfying challenge for players.
High replayability with various trails, shortcuts, and daily challenges to keep the gameplay fresh.

The fixed camera angle can obscure obstacles, making it difficult to navigate and leading to frustrating crashes.
Crashing often feels unfair, as minor bumps can result in instant death, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
Progression can be tedious, requiring players to repeat trails multiple times to unlock new content.

graphics
374 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
37%
2%
The graphics of "Lonely Mountains: Downhill" are widely praised for their beautiful low-poly art style and vibrant landscapes, which create an immersive and relaxing atmosphere. Players appreciate the simplicity and charm of the visuals, noting that they complement the gameplay effectively, despite some minor rendering issues. Overall, the aesthetic is described as stunning and engaging, enhancing the overall experience of the game.
- “The graphics are stunning, and the physics of the bike can actually remind you of riding.”
- “The graphics are beautifully simple and the artistic style of the game fits naturally in a low-poly render scenario.”
- “The distinctive, almost painterly low-poly graphical style and the natural setting and soundscape are relaxing; the controls are tight, smooth, and intuitive.”
- “It was unplayable even on the lowest graphics settings.”
- “Along with a rather lackluster graphical package to customize my rider, the game could be offering more either in parts, or in polish.”
- “The game has low quality looks, but when you get used to the graphics you are able to see the beauty of this simplicity.”
gameplay
281 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
45%
4%
The gameplay of "Lonely Mountains: Downhill" is characterized by its addictive and rewarding mechanics, offering a blend of challenging and relaxing experiences as players navigate beautifully designed levels. While the controls are generally tight and intuitive, some players note issues with camera angles and physics that can detract from the experience. Overall, the game provides a compelling mix of exploration, time trials, and replayability, appealing to both casual players and those seeking a more competitive edge.
- “The challenge increases as you progress, but the smooth and rewarding gameplay makes each descent enjoyable.”
- “Beautiful art style, really fun gameplay, great level design, the seasons keep it interesting.”
- “Super fun and smooth gameplay.”
- “It is one thing to be challenging, and this is just artificial padding via bad game mechanics.”
- “The mechanics are extremely punishing and there doesn't appear to be a 'fun' mode or lower difficulty setting for players who enjoy the riding but would rather not spend hours perfecting various challenges.”
- “While the name and atmosphere of videos suggest a relaxing experience, the gameplay is a struggle.”
music
107 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
64%
4%
The game features no in-game music, relying instead on ambient nature sounds, which many players find enhances the relaxing experience. While some users express a desire for a musical soundtrack, others appreciate the absence of music, feeling it allows for a more immersive connection with the environment. Overall, the sound design is praised for its calming effect, making it a suitable backdrop for personal music playlists.
- “The visual style is super nice to look at and the audio design is amazing; there's no music, but that works in the game's favor as you're able to hear really peaceful nature sounds the whole time.”
- “They hit the nail on the head with the environments by not having a soundtrack and just having nature ambiance that changes with the scenery.”
- “I like that it has no music; it makes it a really soothing and relaxing experience.”
- “I'd have liked music, even just brief chimes or relaxing melodies playing in the background would have been welcome.”
- “In fact, Lonely Mountains: Downhill's developers did something really interesting, which is showcasing the gameplay in trailers with sort of high-octane rock/punk music, but in-game there's almost no music at all!”
- “The sound design is okay but not nearly good enough to get away with not having a soundtrack.”
atmosphere
102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
26%
3%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals and immersive sound design, creating a relaxing yet engaging experience that captures the essence of mountain biking through nature. Players appreciate the beautiful art style, ambient sounds of wildlife, and the ability to explore varied trails, which contribute to a sense of tranquility, even amidst challenging gameplay. Overall, the game successfully balances a chill atmosphere with skill-based challenges, making it both enjoyable and addictive.
- “Amazing art style and atmosphere, you almost feel like you are really riding those deep misty PNW woods or hitting rock drops in Sedona.”
- “While the atmosphere offers colorful scenery, the birds chirping, the sound of the wind and other wildlife, this makes for a very relaxing game.”
- “This game has a really great atmosphere to it that makes it a joy to just coast down the trails while listening to its nature sounds.”
- “To start, I want to say I adore the game's atmosphere and premise, but the controls and camera make it a miserable experience most of the time.”
- “While the name and atmosphere of videos suggest a relaxing experience, the gameplay is a struggle.”
- “However, within that relaxing atmosphere, if you are attempting the challenges, be prepared to feel the stress of the game.”
replayability
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
29%
6%
The game boasts impressive replayability, with players highlighting the variety of trails, challenges, and routes that encourage repeated play to improve times and explore new strategies. Despite having a limited number of mountains, the depth of gameplay, seasonal cosmetics, and competitive elements keep the experience fresh and engaging. Overall, it offers a satisfying blend of challenge and exploration, making it a highly replayable title.
- “It is endlessly replayable and I feel like there are new routes to be found every time I play.”
- “You'd think this game wouldn't be very replayable with only 4 mountains, but each mountain has different trails and each trail has several challenges that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”
- “However, while normally this type of time-gated, daily challenge thing doesn't hold me for long (I hate FOMO-driven engagement), in this game it actually adds immense replayability in terms of remixing tracks and forcing you to learn various alternate routes, of which there are many, some even surprising ways to descend each mountain.”
- “Very simple gameplay and doesn't look like it has much to offer but so much freedom to choose your own routes and shave seconds off a time or crash onto your face, leaving it with so much replay value.”
- “The missions for each track and the different bikes grant a lot of replayability.”
humor
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is primarily derived from its hilarious ragdoll physics and the amusing crashes players experience while navigating challenging terrains. Reviewers consistently highlight the game's ability to evoke laughter through its creative mechanics and entertaining visuals, making it a fun and engaging experience despite its difficulty. Overall, the combination of beautiful graphics, atmospheric sound design, and comedic elements contributes to a uniquely enjoyable gameplay experience.
- “The ragdoll in this game is hilarious.”
- “It's a unique concept with an excellent realization and plenty of content with replayability. I've been laughing at my crashes and giving kudos to the devs as I'm trying to find the quickest yet safe enough route down the creatively placed hills and rocks, trees, and various obstacles.”
- “Gorgeous visuals, challenging rides, hilarious fails, and 10/10 sound design.”
story
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
77%
20%
The game lacks a traditional story or cinematic cutscenes, which some players find reminiscent of old-school titles. Instead, it focuses on a rewarding gameplay loop that emphasizes exploration and challenges, with a relaxing atmosphere provided by the scenery. While there are missions and replayability through different bikes, the absence of an overarching narrative may leave some players wanting more in terms of story engagement.
- “I was unsure if I would click with this game initially, playing mainly story-driven games these days, but I'm already hooked.”
- “It reminds me of an old-school game, like from the NES generation, because this doesn't have a story or cinematic cut scenes to carry it; it has to *feel* good, moment to moment, or why are you playing it?”
- “Basically, because this game doesn't have an overarching story or characters to invest in, the core gameplay loop has to be so rewarding in the short-term that it makes you want to keep trying, to see what you can do.”
- “There’s nothing to speak of in terms of story, although there is a bit of a background in a Steam DLC 'ASMR' soundtrack, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a great atmosphere.”
grinding
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The game's grinding aspect is polarizing; while some players enjoy the challenge of time trials and the opportunity to explore shortcuts, others find the repetitive nature of grinding tedious, especially when resources can be lost. The experience can be relaxing for those who prefer a slower pace, but it also demands significant time investment for those aiming to perfect their skills. Overall, the game offers a mix of rewarding and frustrating grinding experiences, depending on player preferences.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I also spent lots of time grinding resources to buy new bikes only for the bikes to disappear the next time I open the game and my spent resources don't come back either.”
- “Expect a lot of grinding and replaying of the same maps to perfect your time!”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The optimization of "Lonely Mountains: Downhill" is generally well-received, with players appreciating the solid mechanics and variety of routes that allow for extensive micro-optimizations. However, some users report performance issues that can disrupt gameplay, though these do not significantly detract from the overall experience, especially on lower-end hardware. Overall, the game offers a balance of challenge and relaxation, with room for improvement in its performance optimization.
- “Lonely Mountains had everything in place for that: solid mechanics, a good selection of tracks, and a lot of room for optimization by offering a plethora of routes.”
- “Chill but also very challenging and speedrunner-y; you can always best your result by different kinds of micro-optimizations and taking risks here and there.”
- “This game does both of those things for me: I get to explore maps to find the optimal routes down the trails, and I can learn each trail at my own pace, trying sections over and over again until I get them optimized just the way I want.”
- “Performance could be more optimized.”
- “Sadly ran into performance issues that stopped my run, but if you can get used to the game's controls, this game can both provide great challenge and a lot of relaxation, depending on how you approach each course.”
- “The few performance issues aren't enough to keep Lonely Mountains: Downhill from being a must-have for Switch owners, whether a racing fan or not.”
emotional
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, particularly through the experience of cycling, which fosters a sense of attachment. However, the frustration of sudden crashes and the inability to recover from minor obstacles can lead to feelings of heartbreak, especially after navigating challenging terrain. Overall, the emotional highs and lows contribute significantly to the game's impact.
- “Aur iske chalte cycling ke sath humara emotional bond ban jata hai aur isi baat ko core banake aaj ki is game ko prastut kiya gya hai.”
- “It's kind of heartbreaking making it all the way through difficult terrain just to be taken out by an errant twig sticking out just at the finish line.”
- “Aside from the occasional annoyance from dying by touching rock, this game is a job well done.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
57%
The game's stability is a mixed bag; while it runs well on platforms like the Steam Deck and older MacBook models, many users report significant bugs and glitches that disrupt gameplay, particularly with character movement and crashes. Overall, the experience can be enjoyable, but the inconsistency in stability detracts from its overall quality.
- “Runs great on the Steam Deck.”
- “Loved this on the PS4, so I thought I'd give it a try and see if it ran on my 2014 13" MacBook Pro - and it runs great with the resolution knocked down a bit!”
- “Runs great on the Steam Deck OLED!”
- “It's fun and pretty, but incredibly buggy and inconsistent, especially relating to crashing.”
- “You're constantly interrupted by a tiny root that glitches the character and stops momentum and other similar things.”
- “If it's that buggy before I even hit new game, one can imagine how it will be after you do that.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy includes advertisements for the developer's new game, which some users may find intrusive.
- “The game is riddled with ads for the developer's new game, which disrupts the overall experience.”
- “The constant advertisements for the developer's new game are incredibly intrusive and take away from the enjoyment of the game.”