Lonely Mountains: Downhill is the best-feeling game I've ever played. And, while I'm still in my relative infancy as a reviewer of video games, it is a title well-earned. Because every sprint, drift, and hairpin turn in this game is tactile, powerful, dangerous, and - due in large part to that element of danger - exhilarating. It's meditative, challenging, and chill and - as you can definitely already tell - awfully list-worthy. It's the mountain biking game the world didn't know it needed until German developer Megagon Industries cooked it up oh so nice for us in its 2019 release. And we've been ripping down Lonely Mountains: Downhill's venerated slopes ever since.

The game's core loop is as follows: ride trail, complete trail-based challenges, earn outfits and purchase upgrades with challenge loot, unlock new trails and mountains, repeat. Trail challenges can usually be broken down into time trials and/or crash limits. Time trials prompt players to optimize time between checkpoints down the mountain to complete a trail under a specified time limit. Meanwhile, crash limits encourage safe riding, requiring players to make it to the finish line with under a certain number of crashes for the entirety of their ride. When you crash, you reset to the last checkpoint you reached, unless you're playing in "free-rider" mode - which requires a crash-free ride to unlock each trail's special night level. To succeed in time-trial challenges, players are incentivized to explore, experimenting with each trail's level-design while trying to land tough and creative short-cuts that lead to far more crashes (and laughs) than a breezy ride down the beaten path.

This design naturally encourages exploration and the development of player vision as one progresses throughout the game. By player vision I mean the ability to recognize subtle clues in the game's terrain that signal the potential for time-slashing short-cuts. For instance, the first one of these clues a player will pick up on is the way that gray rock paths signal quicker yet more dangerous routes than its brothers and sisters clad in the forgiving hues of green grass and well-traveled dirt. This functionality in level design is a large part of Lonely Mountains: Downhill's genius, especially because of the gorgeous visuals the game serves up at each and every turn.

The game's low-poly art style and flawless third-person camera work combine to provide players with a singular cocktail of stunning landscapes, interactive obstacles, and joyful discovery. Each rock and tree, however pesky, has been placed with care, coming together to create a unique playground that inspires excitement with each crash, rather than dejection. A restart in Lonely Mountains: Downhill is another opportunity to take in rare vistas, get technical through a myriad of entertaining landscape elements, and find joy and exhilaration in a world made just for you - the intrepid gamer - with one purpose in mind: to rip down some absolutely sick trails. And the game succeeds at this very purpose time and time again, from mountain to mountain, trail to trail, crash to horrifying, frustrating, and - yes, often hilarious - crash. It's a very beautiful game that I have no doubt you'll enjoy looking at almost as much as you enjoy playing it.

Lonely Mountains: Downhill*'s controls are simple and elegant. I would highly recommend using a controller on this one and sticking with the game's default settings - designed for you to steer from the rider's perspective. They feel a bit backwards at first with the third-person camera view, but once you get the hang of them, it's extremely satisfying to put yourself in the rider's shoes, zipping in and out of obstacles, drifting so close to cliffs that your tires kick dirt into neighboring valleys, and riding all out for the hell of it.

My main knock against Lonely Mountains: Downhill is that it's so incredibly good at doing one thing only - giving players a striking mountain biking experience - that it can get a bit repetitive, especially when you feel compelled to go for crashless runs to unlock the night mode of each trail. Additionally, in this same vein, unlocking new bikes can take a while and feel a bit grindy. For these reasons, the best way to experience the game is to just whip around and explore. You'll be so glad you did.

Pick this one up. It's a masterpiece. 9/10.

Where it shines:

• Feels amazing
• Beautiful low-poly art
• Natural exploration incentives
• Perfect for scaredy-cats like me who would never do this kind of thing in a million years in real life; makes you feel like an absolute badass with no bruises, death, or exercise

Where it fades:

• Grindy bike unlocks
• Timing of play sessions limited by inherent repetition