Lonely Mountains: Downhill

It's a cool game :>

This game is on one of my favorite games off all time and would recommend it to anyone who mountain bikes or enjoys a fun adventure in games.

The bike, it goes down

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I generally love the concept and a lot of what it does, but dont get tricked by the trailer, this is not at all how it goes.
Theres no cool music playing (never) and this game plays more like a puzzler than an actual bike driving game.

What has this game fall are three things:
1. The camera
2. lack of polish on the maps
3. No information about what you can do or not and why
4. Bonus: Checkpoint system flawed

1. The camera pretty much kills the entire concept, because it simply doesnt work.
Theres plenty of areas and situations where the camera becomes a problem, completely blocked by a tree or a rock, not swinging enough so you literally cant see your character anymore.
Each track has about 40% of areas that have the camera efficiently block your view or not being fast enough.
Mind, the camera is fixed, you cant control anything of it.
Its also made in a way, that you are not seeing anything infront of you, but pretty much 90% of the games driving is guesswork and reacting fast to incoming objects that are popping up only 10 metres infront of you.
That turns it into a complete trial and error experience, where you retry a single section about 30 times until you get it right.
Thats not because of you, but the camera not allowing you to position yourself well enough. Even hitting a minor pixel of a rock will get you killed.
2D sideways sections are the worst for that, as you drive from one side to the other, with the camera not tilted or angled enough to allow yourself to properly position yourself. Theres a ton of jumps that go that way and it makes this awful to play.
Essentially, this game makes trial and error the wrong way. Its not your fault if you fail, its the games fault and lack of polish when you fail in most instances.
Your goal and challenge here lies in overcoming the games faults, not track conditions and challenging driving aspects/mechanics.

2. To add to the previous issue, a lot of the maps feature parts that are simply not well designed or badly polished.
Theres a little piece of rock clipping through the ground and hitting rock, no matter your speed or angle has you go boom.
A lot of the maps feature many ways to reach the end, but theres also a ton of spaces where you think "even i could to that jump or drive over that part", but the game prevents you from doing so.
A rock that looks like a good ramp? Nope, once you just touch it your character flies off.

3. A lot of times you make a jump and your character makes it, then next attempt you do it the exact same way and he falls off and the next ten attempts falls off, but then the 11-2th attempts its fine again.
Why? I dont know.
The game fails to communicate anything properly, so i fall often without actually knowing why and jumps that i otherwise could do, suddenly become impossible.
It also seems that physics dont matter. I was going fast over a ramp and pretty much aligned my bike perfectly and came landing in the perfect angle to the ground.
I should have softly landed and catapulted forwards, but instead the game decided my bike cant handle the airtime and calculated an arbitrary number in the background, that added up the metres of my time in the air to some number i couldnt pass and had me crash.
Physically nonsense and thats how it often goes and why the above is an issue. I guess when i make a jump once and the jump is 10 metres i make it, next time is 10,01 metres because i hit a pixel more to the left, i crash when landing because my bikes max drop range is 10 metres.
And so i have to try 20 times again until i find the exact spot that drops me only 10 metres. Polish your maps properly.

This could be fixed with some sort of camera mode that shows me exactly why i crashed. I crash, ok so freeze the camera and highlight the crashing spot, show me what i hit and how, give me a number. When my jump was too high, give me a number and say "Your jump was too high (23m)".


4. Checkpoint system is unfun:
A problem with the checkpoint system is, that its restrictive.
Like a majority of this games fun comes from exploring the maps for better shortcuts.
What i really like about the games design is that you run down a hill with different bikes that are able to do different things good or bad and you can pick your own route.
Except you cant, because inbetween are checpoint lines you have to cross and if you happen to find an incredible shortcut that saves you 20 seconds but you also skip a checkpoint, screw you, you need to redo it and ignore that route.
That means a lot of rundowns are asking you to drive a very specific route and not branch off, killing a majority of the fun you could have.

Theres just one mode that allows for free downhill without any checkpoints.
My solution would be to allow skipping checkpoints at the cost of also skipping the respawner, so instead of being respawned closer to the goal i am respawned further up where my last check was.
Another solution would be to add checkpoints at points i have to cross by 100% no matter my route or add more checkpoints in total to all shortcuts, maybe allow me to skip a certain number or demand that i check through a specific amount of them but not all.
This would be more fun and allow more experimentation for your perfect route.
Calling "freedom" to then restrict you with a dumb line you have to drive over is contradictive design.


What is good:
- Style, it looks good and fresh
- Map design has many routes to completion, you can drive the same map 10 times and still fine new routes that ignore a large portion of the standard path or find new shortcuts. Thats really cool and adds a ton of replayability, as exploration is key.
- Bikes with different stats that can do different things and playstyles.
- Customization isnt overused but still fun. You arent packing your bike with 20 items, you apply a color and thats it.

Recommendation:
Its a yes if cheap, i got it for like 8€. You can have some fun and endure the negatives, but there will be a point of frustration that will likely kill your motivation to play.
A no if the above sounds unfun, because it often enough is unfun.

Im looking forward to their new game as that features multiplayer.
Downhill is somewhat fun solo, but coop or racing would have made this an incredible game and possibly even turned some of its flaws into fun positives.

This is definitely the best of the "wheels unleashed" bundle in my opinion. I have limited exposure to all 3 of the titles but this one caught my attention the most due to it's very low barrier to entry and fulfilling gameplay loop. The camera system enables the game to have a very casual vibe at first, but enables a super high skill ceiling where players have to memorize the maps and explore a for new shortcuts and better lines hidden just out of sight. Crashing is not very punishing due to the design of the checkpoint system and how fast the player can get back on their feet, making the focus of the early-game more about discovery in a fully hand-tailored environment. Big props to the devs for making such a well curated world. Would love to see split-screen gameplay for couch-mode!

Great game. Very fun. There's something addicting about trying to complete all the challenges. It can also be very relaxing when you're not trying to beat a challenge or time record.

i keep falling off hills

i played the demo first and was disturbed by the camera and objects hindering my view. after i accepted it as part of the difficulty i focused more on my riding and had a lot of fun so far. sprinting down the slopes sometimes feels like skiing. the brakes are fairly weak on the ride down but work on the flats. driver sometimes falls to easy for my taste but it's ok. finding new ways to cut more time down is really fun. the level design is smart, interesting and has good variety. play of shadow and light ads to the nature feeling when u ride through forrest areas. the driver sometimes is a bit too weak getting in motion on the flats or light hill climbs but you can manage your sprint resource to overcome these parts of the map wich ads to your strategic play conquering a better time. long and risky jumps ad good fun. there is no music and you only hear nature and the sound of your riding. you unlock different bikes and cosmetics by beating challenges for all the maps. i bought it on sale for 4,99 € and think that's a steal for this kind of game. i recommend it.

Easy game to pick up and have a chill time riding around a pretty landscape. Also an easy game to get obsessed with unlocking all the collectables and completing every challenge.

I like that it meets you where you want to be - if you want a chill time, it's there. If you want to grind against a challenging run for an hour it does that with the best of them.

A game like this just fits into your day. Really excited to see the skiing one that's coming out and hoping they bring the multiplayer functionality to this one as well.

i go zoom zoom

Lonely Mountains is a pretty chill and atmospheric game. I'm not usually a fan of games without a proper soundtrack but this just works for me, rumbling of the wooden bridge as you ride across it, the wind breezing through the whistling grass, and the churning of the waterfall as it crashes into the river below. Even in those tight moments the lack of audio adds to the suspense as the only thing between you and death are the mistakes you make. Admittedly I haven't played this game much, I'm not good at it and I'm a fan of winning. With that said even to those with my terrible mentality it is still a worthwhile buy because of the accessibility. I only end up playing this game on my laptop usually which heavily differs from my main setup in terms of specs but even with the worse equipment it still runs like a charm. Running the game when I'm out of my home is very pleasing as most games I own aren't able to be played. That's why at the very affordable price of £4 (what a steal) right now even if you don't like it you can at least say you tried and maybe gain access to elite group of bikers who have completed at least one free rider trial (I only did mine today), so get it now! What's there to lose? \It even has a demo, very healthy business practices.

Camera SUCKS!

Game is pretty fun. have to change the steering controls in the options menu to make it less frustrating. once thats changed it much more enjoyable. only wish it had Coop multiplayer or split screen. sadly it has neither, hopefully that will be patched in. needs more locations. buy all the DLC to get more out of it.

結構難易度は高い、しかし雰囲気がとにかくいい作品
コントローラー操作を強くお勧めする　キーボードだと相当難しい

Really nice downhill biking game with atmospheric low-poly graphics and background sounds. You can play it as a chill, casual game or as a competitive sport trying to beat your own and others times, swearing at the screen as you smack into a rock again.

I've only played a little bit so far; but it's solid and fun. If you are a fan of downhill BMX it must be a no brainer.

Super fun and easy to figure out. Feels awesome when you hit that perfect line.

Simple but addictive. nice gameplay and scenery

This is one of those games where you wish there was a maybe option.

When it's going well it's good fun but bad camera angles and twitchy controls make me rage-quit.
So yeah its recommended if you think you're good enough, If you want to chill... maybe look elsewhere.

So hard thats not funny at all!

Awesome game!! Can't wait for the next one

in lonely mountains downhill you ... well, ride lonely mountains downhill on a bike.

the game is exactly what it should. controls are smooth, the polygon artstyle is done very well, all terrains feel unique, the ambience sfx, the camera angles, and the blur create an immersive experience, there's no endless list of wacko challenges - it's just a super focused, well executed and polished little cycling game.

whether you want to have a relaxed experience tiptoeing downhill, or chase PBs is completely up to you.
either way, rolling down the scenic routes quickly becomes addictive

definitely recommend, 9/ 10

It's a lot of fun. I've only scratched the surface and completed each trail on beginner difficulty. You can explore so much and get faster times. Issue with exploring is that it only saves at checkpoints. Trying to find shortcuts midway through the checkpoints can be hard cause if you fall you gotta start all the way back.
Talking about falling, the guy is made of paper and literally falls on the lightest of hits at times. Some of the jumps can be annoying to pull off.
Good thing is that it can be both competitive and relaxing depending on how you approach it.

This game beautifully encapsulates the spirit and pure, unadulterated joy that comes with exploration and optimisation. When I was first introduced to this game, my family and I wrote it off as being a cheap game that baited you into feeling upset and enraged at the strangeness of the controlling scheme and physics engine. (e.g., you fall from a cliff and sometimes you are killed, and others you land perfectly fine, just in time to ram headfirst into some stone or tree or something of that nature). After you sit down and really play the game, however, boy do those first impressions really betray you from the masterpiece that this game truly is. A masterclass in optimisation, as it feels invigorating to try and grind down your best times on each course... something I have not been able to feel in a game since my glory days in Mario Kart 7 . It is blissful to improve and find new routes that may only be milliseconds faster... or could skip the troubling section in it's entirety. Which leads me to the point of exploration... for if you think something may seem a bit off or suspicious, it probably is a route you can take that either is faster, or leads to a secret area. And that is what really makes me love this game. Every nook and cranny... there is something new to find. It may not be particularily great... but a payoff nevertheless.

A first person mode would go really well with this game. While I absolutely love the game it tends to be a little too difficult with difficult to anticipate terrain

I was looking forward to L O V E this game but the forced camera angle kills it for me. Developers, why would you make such a decision? :(

The perfect mix of fun & frustrating!!

Great game, very chill and I love the physics. By why god can we not bunny hop or do tricks?! It would be soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool. Pls dev.

actually, i enjoyed this game immensely but what i enjoyed even more was the new skiing demo you guys have. i can't wait til the full game comes out!!

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Should be named *Lovely Mountains, not Lonely! :D

Excellent game to play during boring online meetings and to chill after a long day! <3

Played this quite a bit on XsX while it was on Gamepass and when it left I bought it on Steam to play on my Ally.

This is one very fun relaxing game. The tracks are impressive. They are stunning and filled with rich details that will have you land on rocks on more than one occasion when you try to look at the beauty of the graphics rather than keep your eyes on the road lol. The steering mechanics are very pleasant and simulate the movements of an off road bike pretty well. You can race on the main road or try to squeeze through shortcuts, as each track can be completed in many ways and part of the fun is discovering alternative routes downhill. This doesn't detract from the sports aspect of the game, as there are also plenty of challenges to be completed for rewards and cheevos unlocks. The first run is not rewarded with anything, so you can ride calmly for pleasure and familiarize yourself with the track, and with the next ones, increasingly difficult tasks are added and you can toughen up a bit. The time is counted from the next checkpoints and if you get too deep in the middle of the run, you don't have to start the whole track from the beginning. At the checkpoint, we will start from that point with time. Thanks to this, you can master specific sections of the track that interest you without stress.

For me this one is a very pleasant surprise. If you liked the Art of Rally, you will be familiar with the art style and direction. When it comes to gameplay, this game is ace too. Well recommended.

Fun game to try to find ridiculous lines. Look forward to what they make next

great, wish they would make it multiplayer.

the ambiance is so soothing, the graphics so cute, it is a silly/soothing time

So far I'm liking this a lot. I like how there's so many shortcuts and it's quick to restart at the checkpoints when you inevitably crash.

Perfect game, I'm surprised it doesn't have 10x more positive reviews. Perfect score attack game. Trying to beat your previous high score. Added bonus that it actually reduces stress.

To the developer, I like the free ride style, but I think it would be cool if you added a free ride mode but you need to hit all the checkpoints. So that you can race your own previous high scores without taking too extreme "short cuts."

I know technically, I could just keep track of that by doing the 'explore' race, and keeping high scores in a spreadsheet, and if I crash, just restart from the beginning manually. An option to race your ghost would be cool too. So that you can get the best of both worlds as pure score attack game but also the many genres the game already overlaps.

Otherwise the mood and vibe is perfect. Actually stunned. This is more therapeutic stuff than stardew valley but here you get faster dopamine without adrenaline of like a hotline miami or doom. So extreme satisfaction after playing 10 minutes or 1 hour.

10/10 gameplay, ambiance, audio, progression. Great for relaxing or time attack competition. Insane variety of hidden routes and spots. A piece of art.

crash crash crash- oh is that a cut? CRASH

What is wrong with you?

Very positive on Steam and 8 on Metacritic simply isn't good enough. It isn't even niche and has no bugs.

Why is this almost a perfect game? because it's first of all gorgeous. The art style, graphics, lighting and performance all are crafted perfectly together with the smooth sounds of birds and the bike's breaks. This is a game of immense replayability. Essentially you have 16 tracks to cruise through, and just enjoy. It's seriously peaceful. They're generous enough to give us another 4 (damn nice) tracks as free DLC. The last 5 tracks are from paid DLC which isn't pricy at all. 25 tracks in total.

With so many tasks/ challanges, hidden things to find and so many paths to discover, it is a game that takes a long time to 100% and you can choose to play what you want without fomo. If you just want to speedrun, this game is perfect. If you want to cruise and make a run look cool, it feels great. The mechanics and the gameplay feels so good that it makes you happy with every turn, every new area and every change in terrain. It's got so much variation that it never feels boring.

For me it's a near perfect game and it's almost impossible to give it any critique. I'm trying to think of something but nothing comes to mind.

Really tight controls, fun courses, lots of free DLC. Excellent game!

Absolutely awful shit, the camera always turns its back to the route ahead, and because of this, obstacles become visible only when you are 5 meters away from them. idc if thats "game feature" or whatever, I want to see obstacles and avoid them, and not memorize the entire route in order to know in advance where I need to turn unexpectedly to avoid a stone, this game ruined my day

bike

This would have been an enjoyable game if it didn't come up with the worst possible camera ever in a videogame

If you are a mountain biker, get this one without hesitation. It won't fail you.

Great game! So entertaining!

Great game. good controls, very peaceful with the birds chirping. Camera does pretty good job of giving a clear view while still being slightly blind (not much different than biking in real life). It's not completely linear, there is some risk / reward of choosing a shortcut to save time but its usually a more difficult path that can easily lead to a crash. I can see wanting to buy the add-ons once you finish the main game.

Hermoso juego. Es muy relajante y tiene un diseño de sonido maravilloso. Las rutas están muy bien diseñadas y es muy satisfactorio ir encontrando atajos con cada intento para recortar tu tiempo y superar las pruebas. Recorrer las rutas de noche le da al juego más rejugabilidad y es un reto muy distinto que se agradece (además de que, una vez más, los sonidos atmosfericos son increibles). Es verdad lo que otras reviews mencionan sobre la cámara, pero yo lo veo como algo que agrega más desafío al juego, de una manera positiva.

Cute and peaceful, while lots of room for skill expression as you push yourself to do harder shortcuts and get better times