Review: Lonely Mountains: Downhill (PlayStation 4)

Summary

Mountain bike or should I say downhill racing games have had a resurgence as of late. Descenders have set a high bar for downhill racing and now it’s the turn of another indie to take a shot. Lonely Mountains: Downhill is a game that is a mixture of things. Yes, you can do the time limit races to get from start to finish or you can take it slow and finish the trail by not bailing or and this is more fun, go on the free ride and just explore the trail. Trails are not a straight clear track down, it has multiple routes, routes you can find yourself like jumping off a cliff but landing strategically on a slanted rock to avoid bailing. As said you get complete control in how you do it all as you choose the unlocked trail, difficulty and then what challenges to go for. You can do all of them or one at a time. The game offers a bit of variety with the challenges but the game is all about going fast and not crashing out. The sounds are realistic, the levels look fantastic with trails taking in different biomes and weather types. I found the Controls to be really clumsy at first and even returning to the game has this rearing its head, you do get used to it but its a constant thing. Bailing is inconsistent. Checkpoints are really far apart and whilst this does add a sense of danger and anxiety, it is also extremely frustrating. its mitigated somewhat by your time you hit the checkpoint being the time used after you crash and restart. I would say overall its a good little game that has issues but the positives far outweigh the negative.