Review Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders

@brunosbom
Jul 22
3 min read

Simple, charming, and addictive. An unexpected gift that turns the art of skiing into a memorable experience.

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Megagon Industries is an independent studio known for creating minimalist yet deeply engaging experiences. The studio first gained recognition with Lonely Mountains: Downhill, showing its ability to turn simple concepts into addictive games with refined physics and carefully crafted environments.

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch

GAMEPLAY / VISUAL

It is funny when we receive a game we were not expecting, yet it touches us in such a special way that it feels like a gift. I played Lonely Mountains: Downhill for a long time, and when its spiritual sequel appeared on Game Pass under the name Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, I dove into it for hours. Earlier this year, I made sure to add it to my list of games in which I completed all the base achievements.

The visuals are intentionally polygonal, an artistic choice that gives the game its own identity. This decision does not take away from the beauty; on the contrary, it shifts the focus entirely to the experience rather than hyper‑realistic details.

Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is without a doubt one of the most pleasant and enjoyable games to play thanks to its refined gameplay. There is no aggressive soundtrack. The game focuses on sound effects, like the skis gliding over snow, creating a calm and immersive atmosphere.

The game was built with multiplayer and co‑op in mind, allowing matches with up to eight players depending on the mode chosen. The variety of ski environments is impressive. You can simply play for a relaxed run down the mountain, or you can push your skills to the limit, eventually pulling off backward tricks while others are still struggling with basic turns. It is the perfect type of game to play while listening to a podcast, relaxing, and enjoying the moment, since there is no complex story or dialogue. It is pure gameplay at its finest.

Once you get used to the game’s physics, certain situations might feel unexpected, but that is part of the experience and not a real problem. The only detail that might be slightly bothersome is that in some areas the overlapping objects make visibility harder, but nothing that seriously impacts the fun.

ACHIEVEMENTS

The achievements are extremely satisfying because the goal here is simply to push your skills on the tracks to the limit. Some require a bit of extra effort, like reaching a specific score on a given track, which might mean playing with experienced players or repeating certain tricks multiple times. Even so, all of the achievements are a delight and a great example of how to design objectives that are based on the core gameplay itself. You just need to follow the main paths and focus on maximizing your performance.

TRAILER OFFICIAL

RESUME

I cannot express how happy I was to receive the key for Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders. Even if I had not received it, I would definitely have played it at some point, because this game sits on my personal shelf of favorites. Not because of cutting‑edge graphics or anything spectacular visually, but because it is an excellent example of pure gameplay design. It delivers absolutely everything I could want in a skiing game. I do not know what lies ahead, but I will certainly be keeping an eye on every step Megagon Industries takes from here on.