Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders Review

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I grew up in one of the snowiest cities in the United States (if you know where, kudos), and it goes without saying – skiing was very popular in this area. Despite this, I never actually learned to ski. I would say that I regret it, but my late-30â€™s body thanks me for not putting myself through more physical stress when I was younger. Now, thanks to Megagon Industries, I can live out that fantasy of skiing down beautiful mountainsides from the comfort of my office chair in Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders!

Releasing on Steam and Xbox on January 21st, 2025, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders lets you carve the slopes of Tannenstein, Monte Guanaco, and Sierra Gelida in either Single Player or Multiplayer Mode. Each mountain boasts four unique trails with varying paths to choose as you make your way down the mountain. You also have the option to complete the standard Blue Diamond Slope or the more daring Black Diamond Slope. And what would a skiing game be without tricks – show your skills with various grabs that get expanded the more you play the game.

Letâ€™s break the gameplay of Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders down in a little more detail.

Multiplayer (Up to 8 Players)
- Racing – Pretty straight forward! Choose your mountain and trail and see who can make it down the mountain the fastest.
- Team – Pair up with other players and get down the mountain together while collecting points on the trails, with various multipliers available for in-game actions like sticking close together, hitting high speeds, and riding backwards (if you fancy yourself a Daredevil)!
Single Player
- Solo – Think of these as Time Trials! Get down the mountain as quickly as possible (with as few crashes as possible) to obtain Snowflakes and level up! The higher your Player Level, the more pairs of skis you have available to use, each with their own unique strengths, as well as drawbacks.
- Zen – Not a fan of the pressure of going as fast as Sonic? Zen Mode allows you to explore the mountain at your leisure, setting your own Spawn Points as you go explore what each mountain has to offer – maybe youâ€™ll even find one of the elusive Resting Spots (in my several hours of play – I only found one).

Now, I mentioned Snowflakes. What are Snowflakes used for? Why customization of course! Choose from various Helmets, Outfits, and other Accessories, as well as Paint Jobs for your skis and kit out your skier to be the you on those powdery slopes.

The Good

One of the strongest points that I can always give for a game is providing a Tutorial Mode that is more exciting than reading a pop-up box. In Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, your Tutorial Mode teaches you the controls while you are going down what can probably be called the gameâ€™s Bunny Slope. I have to give the credit of posting the control instructions on the side of mountain faces and walls – it makes for a fun and gradual way to teach the player how to play!

Speaking of the controls – they feel very intuitive and make sense (for context, I played on a controller – Iâ€™m still a console scrub at the end of the day). And rarely, if ever, did I experience any hiccups with the controls as they were designed, beyond my own lack of skill and reaction times (getting old stinks).

The customization was very cool, albeit I did not do too much of it (but that is definitely a me thing). I think it definitely can be more of a flex as you engage in the Multiplayer Modes, as well as just a helpful way to differentiate yourself from other players.

I really enjoyed the Zen Mode – nothing but the sound of the wind and skis cutting through snow (which they managed to capture very well) and going at your own pace. It also allowed me to take some moments to check out some of the backdrop scenery from the game which you may miss if youâ€™re tearing down the hill at top speed.

And not related to any specific aspect of the game – rag dolling your skier down the mountain will never not be funny.

The Bad

Honest truth – there are not a lot of bad things that I have to say about the game! There are two slight critiques that I have, but nothing that takes away from the experience that I had, and one final critique that has arisen as I write this article.

First point – as I noted above, the only audio you have in the game is the wind and your skis going through the snow. While this is very relaxing, there were some times where I wished there was some form of music – nothing crazy, maybe just some lo-fi/other calming genre of music. However, at the end of the day – I could have also just turned on some music on my PC.

Second point – right now, the game only has three mountains. Three Mountains – Four Trails – Blue Diamond and Black Diamond – all of this amounts to 24 unique options when you load up. Now, this definitely is a lot for a game launch day! However – as the days turn to weeks turn to months, I can possibly see that this might get stale. My hope is that Megagon has some irons in the fire in the form of new mountains for future updates.

Last point (as I write this review and do my final bits of research) is the price. Steam has the base price listed as $24.99. Now, I know that at the end of the day, game developers have to ensure that their product can sustain the company for future projects. However, this definitely feels like a bit of a steep price, given the amount of content that currently exists in this game today.

Overall

I rarely, if ever, play any kind of racing games nowadays and while one might not consider this a racing game, it still definitely fills that niche for some gamers. That being said, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders was a lot of fun! It strikes a nice balance between those looking to break some time records on a trail and those looking to unwind and take a trip down some beautiful mountainsides. My hope is that Megagon Industries continues to invest in this game and develop more facets that keep future players hitting the slopes as time goes by!