Let’s pause for a wee break, like inLonely Mountains: Downhill.
Lonely Mountains: Downhill is a singleplayer game about bombing it down mountain tracks on a bicycle.
It’s very friendly to start.
On your first trip down a course, you simply need to reach the end.
No timer, no list of objectives, just explore and go.
The escalation of challenge is satisfying to rise to.
Quickly I realised I could cut corners off the obvious well-worn path.
you’re able to go anywhere as long as you hit the checkpoints in order.
As I become more confident with the fundamentals of its cycling, I become bolder with my routes.
you should probably pull all this together for the trickier challenges.
It’s scratchingthat Neon WhiteorTrackmaniaitch for me.
I enjoy getting to know a mountain by learning nooks and crannies as I repeat routes to shave seconds.
Yet the greatest reward of exploration isn’t speed, it’s outright stopping.
At hidden ‘resting places’, you might press Y to have your character dismount for a nice sit-down.
They pick somewhere scenic to stretch their legs, shake out their arms, and take in the view.
Lonely Mountains is very pretty, built of angular low-poly models, stippled textures, and square particles.
Without mediocre detail cluttering the view, attention is focused on what is there, amplifying its presence.
It sounds great too, a lively soundscape of nature.
The world is often louder than the bicycle; we are but one being sharing this space.
It feels like an adventure, especially with each course ending at your tent.
I should pause for interesting sights more often on my real-world rides.
I’ll make moony eyes at her while eating a banana then turn back downhill once it’s gone.
Bit of a waste.
I did pause often when these routes were less familiar.
Sadly I think I have fallen into routines during a difficult and aimless year of my life.
It can feel difficult to seize the little pleasures which require a curious and calm mind.
It takes more effort to become still than to cycle 80 kilometres.
If a video game about deadly downhill mountain biking can make time for it, so can I.
We should get back on the cybertrail.
I think the next game will close out our Tour De Jeux.
