Lonely Mountains: Downhill review – adrenaline-pumping adventures in nature - MW

Recently released on Nintendo Switch, Lonely Mountains: Downhill has been attracting attention on other gaming consoles and PCs since October last year. But now, trapped indoors in an urban apartment, I really need this game about lone mountain bike adventures in nature. It is an intriguing mix of serene exploration and the pursuit of challenging reflex speed, and is engrossed from the first moment - each thrilling downhill run begins with a moment of stillness in peak, one foot on the ground, the wind whistles in you ears.

With small adjustments to the bike's trajectory, you plunge down peaceful mountains, follow dirt roads or take the road to cut trails between rocks and trees. It's like Trials, a motorbike rider masquerading as a racing game, except that instead of the roar of the engine and the screaming guitar on the background music, you hear rustling leaves, birds singing and rattle quietly. On the lush Graterhorn mountain, butterflies fly around conifers; The more cunning Sierra Rivera has nothing but wind dust, protruding rocks and occasional cacti.

But this is not a cold time in nature. Few times a minute, you will plunge into a tree, fly off the edge of a cliff, slide from a tree bridge to cross a river, or meet a painful looking death, starting again from the last checkpoint and. The initial routes were difficult to navigate once you grasped the handlebars and managed the bike speed, but some sections of the trails afterwards were bad - once I had to restart 70 times. However, the sense of accomplishment that accompanies mastery is the value of repeated failure.




Whenever a new trace opens, you start with an expedition, with no challenge other than going to the end. Target time comes later. This structure hinders the frustration of these tough courses, allowing you to cross a mountain with a permanent finger on the brakes before attempting freedom, the dangerous descendants yielding high scores. Every time I unlock another bike, the courses feel new, because sketchy off-road shortcuts can suddenly be achieved with fatter tires and better suspension.

The ultimate reward for conquering a trail is the opportunity to drive it at night, in eerie tranquility, picking out a route by bike light alone. This is an evil joke, rewarding you for finally making a tough challenge with something even more difficult, but I felt a chill when I first slid down the Redmoor Peaks in the dark.

I was obsessed with this game last week, with its tranquil, uninterrupted moments, the intense focus it brought me at a time when it was hard to focus. The game has a simple concept, very well done, with precise controls and sophisticated balancing difficulty, but it's the atmosphere of magic and the urge to take control that makes me step back, hurting when falling in the mouth.