A new mountain biking video game is in the works, but this one looks a lot different than any other action sports game out there. Lonely Mountains: Downhill is unorthodox, to say the least – the goal isn’t so much to win races, do tricks, and set downhill records, but to find the most unique route down the mountain and to go as big as possible. Especially when you wipe out.
The three-man German design team, Megagon Industries, created the project with a unique goal: just go big. No holds barred. Only, in this game, you can go anywhere, see anything, and when you eat it you won’t feel it the next day. In fact, the developers specifically designed it to make it fun as hell to crash.
“You will crash and you’ll crash a lot,” Megagon says. “But you can instantly restart at the last checkpoint (which is never too far behind), and due to our ragdoll system, crashing is actually quite fun—especially for the people watching you crash.”
The video game space is crowded. There’s not a lot of new stuff going down. That’s why these guys are trying so hard to bring something fun and unique to the world of action sports gaming. Can they succeed? We’ll see.
“We want to offer the player a different kind of experience than regular sports games,” Daniel Helbig, of Megagon Industries, told me. “While other games are often about participating in tournaments and winning money or fame our game is simply about you, your bike and the mountain. It’s about the joy of exploring wild and unspoiled nature and finding the best trail down the mountain.”
Currently, Lonely Mountains: Downhill isn’t available for purchase. Its release is being funded by a Kickstarter campaign that is running for the next month. Megagon industries plan to release the game in mid-2018 if they can raise $41,195 – so far they’re over $16 grand. From my perspective (and I’ve played a few games in my time) it looks really fun, and it’s clear that the creators have their hearts in the right place. The graphics will certainly improve from this demo version and they could care less about scoreboards and competitions. They’re more about kicking back and having a good time from the comfort of your couch… or high-tech gaming chair if that’s your style. Time will tell if Lonely Mountains: Downhill bombs into local game stores near you.
