This game has a low poly art style that is different from most games that have that type of style and I like that about it. I really don't know how to describe this difference but if you've played it I think you can get what I mean but I'm not sure. The gameplay is really fluid and surprisingly more difficult than I thought it would be I'm glad there's a layer of customization, in my opinion a lot of games could use more customization. it's short and concise and doesn't really overstay it's welcome. Although it's not really boundary breaking and it's nothing special in my opinion but it's a great game that I feel, if it looks interesting to you, you should definitely give it a shot. (7/10)

Paisajes naturales y una bicicleta. La naturaleza es la verdadera protagonista del título, pues sus entornos son montañas, bosques y cañones áridos que no se sienten como constructos específicamente realizados para nuestro avatar, además de que cada inclinación de los lugares a recorrer tienen un impacto físico muy bien conseguido sobre él. La cámara se posiciona en vista aérea para que contemplemos los paisajes por los que navegamos y nos sintamos pequeños en comparación a todo lo que nos rodea, y en lo sonoro destaca el sonido ambiente como refuerzo a su enfoque naturalista. Y, sinceramente, no necesita música de ningún tipo.

Lo negativo del título es que tiene algunos saltos a tomar que no nos permiten saber dónde aterrizaremos debido a que la cámara misma no nos deja ver previamente los lugares en los que vamos a caer. Termina recayendo, por ello, bastante en el ensayo y error y en la memorización previa de los escenarios durante las primeras tomas de contacto, en las que no hay límites de tiempo para así recorrerlos con tranquilidad, o intentando tomar caminos arriesgados con la posibilidad de tener accidentes cada dos por tres hasta que nos salga bien. De esta manera, nos quedaremos con las zonas por las que es mejor atajar para hacer mejores tiempos en los desafíos a contrarreloj.

I loved the feel of the physics once I swapped to bike-based controls instead of screen-based. Bombing down a treacherous curving slope feels great, as does landing the perfect shortcut drop without dumping the bike. The low-poly outdoor art is charming, and the range of biomes all look great.

As much fun as the core gameplay is, the design of the challenges makes the game needlessly repetitive. I’m fine to crash 100+ times in pursuit of the best run I can put together, but it feels awful to post a time on the beginner challenges that blows away even the expert challenges and then be asked to re-do the exact same course again with no changes except time requirements I’ve already beaten are now unlocked. Just open them all from the start or else count my already posted leaderboard time!

The title 'Lonely Mountains' perfectly describes the feelings this game invokes. The background noise of nature in a mountain and your mountain bike is all you hear. Its almost meditative. The visuals are blocky and simple but still kinda beautiful. Controls are not that great, which is a shame in game where they are all there is. But still, it's a lot of fun going for some of the high scores and trying to perfect routes after you've seen all routes once. It's a game that's fine for the in between, but I don't see myself coming back to complete it 100%.

Petit jeu de descente de pistes en VTT, je l'ai acheté un peu au hasard, juste parce que je trouvais le jeu très joli, avec son côté low poly.
Et du coup, alors que je m'attendais à un jeu relaxant, où on descend la montagne tranquillou en profitant de la nature, je me suis retrouvé face à un jeu assez frustrant dès lors qu'on essaye de remporter les défis de chaque piste.

Parce que tout le jeu s'agence autour du système de défis, répartis en plusieurs niveaux de difficultés. Les plus abordables sont élémentaires, sans aucune contrainte : descendre la piste.
Mais pour débloquer des nouvelles pistes, des nouveaux vélos, ou des éléments cosmétiques, il faut dévaler les circuits en pétant les chronos, et en limitant le nombre de chutes.

Et autant vous dire que j'en ai bouffé, des chutes. Des arbres dans la tronche, des gros rochers, ou tout simplement des sauts mal dosés au-dessus d'un ravin... Dès lors qu'on essaye de remporter les défis, ce jeu se transforme en un pur die and retry, mais de la pire espèce. Le genre qui te fait mourir car la caméra, qui est fixe, n'affiche pas la suite de la course. Typiquement, on dévale une pente à toute vitesse, et la caméra, placée dans le sens inverse de la piste, ne permet pas d'anticiper les virages à venir, et on finit dans le décor.

Il y a aussi le fait qu'il est très compliqué d'évaluer la perspective, notamment au moment de franchir un précipice. Il est fréquent de sauter trop au "premier plan" par rapport à l'endroit visé.

Exemple typique ci-dessous : j'ai mal aligné la trajectoire de mon saut, qui atterrit donc trop "au premier plan" par rapport à la piste...



J'ai aussi débloqué un mode "Nuit", qui propose de revisiter chaque tracé de nuit, mais on y voit encore moins...



Bref, trop de frustrations, je me suis donc contenté de débloquer et de descendre chaque piste.

One of a select few games where you'll find just as much fun ramming headfirst into the same rock 300 times as speed running a course first try. The core gameplay here really is just that strong, even with a very grindy progression system and little else to do besides jumping off every cliff the 4 maps have to offer (minus DLC). It's only a shame that it becomes dry within the first 5 hours and overstays its welcome if you're looking to go for 100%. For those first few hours though you'll be hard pressed to find a more addictive indie game out there.

Initially, I was completely enamored by the gameplay and addicted to the loop. I repeatedly returned to the first trail, shaving seconds from my splits until I completed my run in under 90 seconds and made it into the top 1% on the leaderboard; it was the hardest I fell for a game since Celeste, and I think that's because it strikes the same balance between challenge and gratification.

However, as I progressed, the sheen lost some of its luster. When the levels got longer and more complicated, it was a little too demanding to juggle unlocking the mountains and returning to courses to improve my times. I could only commit so much to memory. This forced me to focus on one trail at a time, which made the experience a little more rote and the punishment started to outweigh the reward. I don't think that sentiment is unique, either, since nearly 35,000 players are listed on the leaderboards for the first trail while only 1560 finished the last (so while I had a higher lower ordinal ranking on Mount Riley than Graterhorn, I had to settle for the top 9% on the last course). It's unfortunate that so many people fell off, because the trail scenery is routinely exceptional and shortcuts a blast.

Under different personal and global circumstances--where I still traveled a lot--, I could imagine this being an evergreen title for me. As is, I enjoyed my time with it, but may or may not revisit regularly (who knows)... it's it hit either way though.

- Logged somewhere between 30 and 35 hours on Nintendo Switch. Completed 64% of the game, including unlocking all trails and all bikes. Fine: ★★★★★

Game about riding alone downhill on mountains.

Pretty Ronseal there.

I agree with most of the reviews posted here - this is a lovely meditative game with a beautiful graphical style and incredibly sparse audio design that really nails the vibe.

However, I found myself falling into the Skate trap of throwing myself down unreasonable routes to see if I could - which gets pretty old pretty quickly.

I was initially turned off from this game by its lo-fi aesthetic. Don't make the same mistake! The physics are perfect, the controls are tight and responsive, and the tracks are all masterfully designed to reward repeated runs and exploration. Some of the challenges get quite difficult, but you don't have to do them if you don't want to. It is as chill or as demanding as you want to make it. I've been going through a stressful time so I mostly used this game to unwind, but I'd occasionally push myself to do a run as fast as possible or without crashing and it was so rewarding. I have no complaints to speak of, really a phenomenal game all around.

Don’t let the simple aesthetics fool you, this game is well worth your time. Its gameplay is outstanding with fantastic physics, well designed mechanics and responsive controls. Learning tracks and how to take advantage of the different bike’s design takes practice, but luckily the game lets you tailor the challenge to best suite you. Each track starts off with an exploration stage where you just need to make it to the finish line, allowing you to really soak in the sights and get a feel for the course. Then you can take on beginner and expert challenges where you are either trying to finish with less than a certain number of deaths or within the time limit. The beauty here is that at any point you can move onto the next course, meaning you don’t have to frustrate yourself if the challenges are getting too difficult, but if you persevere, you’re rewarded. You can unlock new bikes that drastically change how you approach courses, as well as cosmetics and even an alternate mode if you can complete the entire course without crashing. It’s really up to you whether you want to have a zen experience or push yourself more and become a bit of an adrenaline junky.

The courses themselves have lots of shortcuts and alternate routes which encourage experimentation to get the best time possible. Not only are they well designed, but they are stunning with a fantastic colour palette and some beautiful biomes with eye-catching vistas and backdrops. The chill and immersive sound design adds to this to make this a really relaxing experience. I wish some of the courses were a bit more adventurous, but with 16 courses across 4 mountains and daily challenges, it’s difficult to complain with this much great content for the price point. To be honest there is very little I have to say wrong about the game. It’s such a polished experience and was a joy to playthrough, being perfect for me to just chill and escape from reality.

2019 Ranked
Indie Recommendations