Lonely Mountains: Downhill Switch Review

A couple of months ago, I reviewed Lonely Mountains: Downhill on PC via Steam. The game was great back then on PC and I thoroughly enjoyed playing through it. Developers Megagon Industries and publisher Thunderful Publishing have finally brought it on over to Nintendo Switch. Does the Switch counterpart hold up to the PC version? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding yes.

Just like with the PC version of the game, in Lonely Mountains: Downhill, players will customize a male or female mountain biker, select a bicycle and trail and get right to it. Players will ride down an easy to identify trail on a mountain. Players will breeze past checkpoints and eventually reach the goal at the bottom. It’s simple, yet oh so enjoyable. There’s 16 trails to unlock and each one has varied terrain throughout. Players will have to traverse grassy patches, gravel roads, dirt roads, forest trails and more as they bike their way through the lonely mountains.

Players will have to learn to control their bike as well as their speed effectively to make it to the bottom. Pedal too fast and you’re in for a world of hurt as you end up crashing into a rock or tree or even worse, falling off the mountain to your certain death. The game lets you disable blood effects for a fully wholesome family friendly experience but having it switched on makes your inevitable failures on a trail feel a lot more visceral. The accompanying sound effects amplify this too.

The control system for Lonely Mountains: Downhill on Nintendo Switch has received a bit of a tweak. There’s two options available here. One where your movement involves the direction your biker is facing and the other which is from the player’s view perspective. I found the former to be a lot easier to control but user preference may vary. It’s best to give both options a try, and then stick to the one that you prefer.

The game is still as hard as it was on PC and newcomers will definitely crash a few dozen times. However, once you get past the learning curve, Lonely Mountains: Downhill on Nintendo Switch is the perfect game to pick up and play for a short therapeutic burst of gameplay.

As with the PC version, progression in Lonely Mountains: Downhill involves beating specific times on certain trails and unlocking new ones. Players can also unlock bike parts which are used to unlock new bikes which handle completely differently to other bikes. There’s plenty on offer in the game so unlocking the new bikes is something you’ll definitely want to do to experience different playstyles throughout. There is a minor gripe to be had with this though and that’s because you’ll need to unlock all the specific parts before you get awarded with a brand new bike. This can be annoying or tedious at times because some mountain trails are downright dastardly in their difficulty and you’ll be stuck on them for ages until you manage to perfect your riding. However, when you do eventually perfect a trail, the feeling of satisfaction you get is extremely rewarding.

The Nintendo Switch version also inherits a minor gameplay flaw from the PC version. The top down third person camera angle can obscure the paths you’re travelling. This happens in certain spots in the game on specific trails but overall, it’s nothing game breaking. Finding hidden paths or shortcuts is rewarding and players can even unlock hidden resting places where the game treats you to some really scenic views. Trying to find these however will take up quite a lot of time and you might end up crashing a lot, so it’s best to do this while not attempting a speedrun of a mountain trail.

Graphically, Lonely Mountains: Downhill features vibrant colours and lovely low-poly graphics. It looks great on Nintendo Switch and runs buttery smooth throughout. The game is artistically gorgeous and the varied environments are definitely visually appealing. Cosmetic unlocks add to the longevity by allowing you to further customize your mountain biker with different outfits as well as your bike itself with different paint jobs. There’s just something about the game’s aesthetic and arcade style pick up and play gameplay that will keep you coming back for more.

Overall, if you’re a fan of games that are both relaxing yet still challenging, and don’t mind grinding through time trials for progression, Lonely Mountains: Downhill is for you. This is easily one of the best indie games available right now and we highly recommend playing it at least once just to see if you’ll enjoy it or not.

Lonely Mountains: Downhill is Developed by Megagon Industries and Published Thunderful Group

The game is available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC

You can purchase the game here for £17.99

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