GSY Review
PC
PS4
Xbox One
Switch
With a visual art style a bit similar to that of art of rally, Lonely Mountains: Downhill have made quite an impact on those who gave it a try on Xbox One or PC. It is now finally available on Switch so we figured you'd be curious to see what it looks like on Nintendo's console.
Verdict
Just like Void Bastards, we wish Lonely Mountains: Downhill didn't have to suffer from occasional micro-freezes although in our experience, they never had any impact on gameplay and playability. We expected the game to look a bit less sharp than on PC, PS4 or Xbox One for sure, but we were hoping it would be perfectly smooth, which it is not. Talking about the visuals, beware that in-game shadows also lack details and look pixelated in this version. It's not a big deal obviously, espcially when you play the game in handheld mode, but it shows in some of the tracks where there are more trees. Other than that (and the lack of content which was also criticized in the other versions), Lonely Mountains: Downhill is truly an excellent title. Because of its isometric view, it takes a bit of a while to get used to how it plays, but once you get the hang of it it becomes really fun. When using the Switch as a portable console, it's probably a bit trickier to see all the treacherous obstacles which can come in your way, but it's more than manageable and the problems we had to anticipate some turns (or trees) were more due to the camera angle than the small size of the screen. There are 2 controls schemes available, one which allows to move in any direction (a 360° approach in which directions are governed by camera angles) and one which is more reminiscent of the old Resident Evil games (meaning that inputs are tied to the rider's direction regardless of the camera angle). As for us, we chose the latter as it felt more natural, but maybe it will be different for you. If you can get past the few technical issues of this port, Lonely Mountains: Downhill will deliver an undeniably fun ride off the beaten track, but expect a bit of frustration when trying to complete a challenge after failing so many times before.
- On the upside
- It's a lot of fun
- Charming visuals and relaxing ambient sounds
- Good learning curve
- Looking for shortcuts
- Pocket mountain biking
- Bikes control differently
- On the downside
- Not a perfect 60 fps on Switch
- Visuals are less polished than on XB1/PS4/PC
- Unlocking content takes time
- 16 tracks only
- Camera angles aren't always the best
- Controls take a bit of getting used to
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