I was obsessed with Lonely Mountains: Downhill, the minimalist mountain-biking game from 2019. Obsessed with it. I ran those courses over and over until I knew just when to brake, when my tyres would skid over a rock and when theyd catch and send me flying, when to power down a straight, and when to cautiously pick my way over ledges like a goat in Lycra. I found it deeply soothing, partly because of the soundtrack of tweeting birds and rustling leaves (punctuated only by the sickening thwack of a rider colliding with a boulder), but mostly because of the zen-like state of concentration needed to get down those mountains at speed without dying 300 times. I developed a perfect feel for the infinitesimal adjustments in trajectory that made the difference between shaving a second off a run and sailing off the path to land in a crumpled heap.I have been looking forward to this snow-sports-based successor for years. Instead of sun, rocks and dirt, we have glittering snow; instead of a bike, we have skis. It couldnt be that different, surely. I thought it would take me no time at all to find my ski legs. But the first few runs on these mountains were humbling. I skidded backwards down slopes after trying to brake and turn at the same time; I smacked continually into trees; I flubbed jumps and skidded, puzzled and slowly rotating, across frozen lakes. The challenges on each course felt impossible. I dont even want to talk about what happened on my first multiplayer race. It was humiliating.Just you and nature single-player mode. Photograph: Megagon IndustriesA few hours in, though, and I was carving beautiful curved lines down the harder courses, listening to the perfect swoosh of snow, banishing all thoughts from my head. When youre perfecting a run, its like youre flying down the mountain with the wind in your ears. It is a beautiful feeling. And then you screw up a turn, cartwheel into a chasm, and the spell is broken. Back to the checkpoint. Start again.Such is the rhythm of Lonely Mountains, and I still love it. The minimalist soundscapes, the beautiful low-poly interpretation of natural landscapes, the feeling of achievement that you get from conquering a course all of that is as good as it was. Some things are better: you can dress your skier up in colourful gilets and give them a beard. Some things are, however, slightly worse. Its more difficult from the start, and the controls feel even more precise and exacting, which will make it hard for new players to complete enough challenges to make progress through the mountains. And the addition of multiplayer races and team skiing is not without its downsides.Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders trailerAt the moment and this is right after release multiplayer does not work brilliantly. The game judders and freezes momentarily when several players are on screen at once, such as at the start of a race. In a game where milliseconds matter, losing control even briefly makes it feel unbearable to play. Its crashed on me multiple times while trying to load a course. Ive been kicked out of multiplayer games, or other players mysteriously lose their connection. All of this will probably be fixed soon thanks to the developers efforts, and Im willing to put it aside. But still there remains a fundamental problem: players wildly variable skill levels.In a race with eight players, three of you may make it down the mountain within 3 or 4 minutes; the rest may take a lot longer. When you cross the finish line, you can either continue to ski pointlessly about or spectate the players who have yet to prevail. This means that everyone spends entire minutes watching the last-place players fail the same mini-section of a run, which is genuinely a heart-rending experience, especially if you areBig freeze the multiplayer option needs a fix. Photograph: Megagon IndustriesIn team mode, youre all supposed to help each other down the mountain, sticking together and placing checkpoints and reviving the fallen, but nobody I played with seemed to get this idea. Id be patiently scooting down the mountain trying to revive people like a field medic while others whizzed over my head. Id eventually get down to base camp to find several other players whod been chilling there for ages. Thanks, guys! Appreciate the help.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Pushing ButtonsFree weekly newsletterKeza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gamingPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionNone of this feels particularly smooth at the moment, and theres a lot of wasted time hanging about for other players. It is fun, though, just the right amount of chaotic, and the slapstick comedy of watching a small crowd of skiers continually screw up the same corner and fly into a rock face sometimes made me laugh out loud. Im not sure this flavour of game is the best fit for multiplayer, but Im glad the option is there.After a couple of frustrating hours trying to play with other people, it was a relief to return to the solitude of solo mode: just you and the mountain. Here, the only competition is yourself, and the only company is nature. A sense of calm descends. Everything is how it should be. Until you fall foul of a rock, again.