Chill yet challenging mountain biking game Lonely Mountains: Downhill is getting a skiing themed sequel, and it's set to release later this year.
Titled Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, it'll see players navigating a range of chilly mountain descents, performing tricks and seeking out shortcuts as they compete for the best times on each course.
The original game was praised for its blend of relaxing outdoorsy vibes and deceptively authentic mountain-biking simulation. Despite the extreme sports theme, it was very much a game about taking its challenges at your own pace, enjoying the atmosphere of your surroundings as much as posting the sickest times.
The reveal trailer above shows the sequel in action, and at the very least, it looks like Snow Riders will capture the same engrossing sense of place that the original did. It'll be interesting to see how developer Megagon transfers its knack for physics simulation to skiing, and how the addition of snow and ice alters the challenges players face on the game's precipitous courses.
Alongside the change of scenery/sport, Snow Riders also introduces online multiplayer to the series. Supporting 2-8 players on a single hillside, the game's Steam page says players can "work your way down the mountain as a team in co-op, adding save points as you go" or "compete in a breakneck race to the base in versus mode". It seems like a natural evolution for the series, although the addition of multiplayer does somewhat contradict the 'Lonely' part of the title.
This is, weirdly, the second downhill winter sports game to be announced this month, following the reveal of Descenders Next last week. More curiously still, both games are sequels to well-received, downhill mountain-biking games, which both released in 2019. Descenders Next is about snowboarding rather than skiing, however, so the two studios aren't on the exact same wavelength.
While there's no fixed release date yet, the announcement trailer states Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders will arrive at some point in 2024. Expect more information soon.
