My favorite sports game of all time has a Steam Next Fest sequel with 8-player co-op, more brutal deaths, and a new extreme way to speedrun

Steam Next Fest is back with literally thousands of sweet and short demos, including an extreme sports sequel that will kick your butt and clear your brain of constipation in minutes.

Lonely Mountains: Downhill easily became my favorite sports game of all time – and one of the best sports games, no matter who you asked – when it came out five years ago. Your blocky biker’s sole purpose was to run down huge mountains, weave through rows of trees, drift around giant rocks, find shortcuts, and shave precious seconds off your run. The sequel, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, now replaces the bikes with skis, swaps the zen forests for serene wintry mountainsides, and has an equally sprightly Steam demo that drew me back to “one more game” about six times.

What’s striking from the start is how brilliantly “Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders” is able to replicate the same thrills as its predecessor. You’re still making exciting last-second turns as you look for potential hidden routes or a jump on the screen Only A landing is possible, even if this was not planned by the developers, in order to achieve a new record time.

However, this time the mountains feel even more magnificent. Maybe it’s the way the shiny snow expands and covers the path far into the distance. Maybe it’s because the roads are even curvier and curvier this time. Sometimes there isn’t even a clear, “intended” path forward. Luckily the checkpoint system is back, so this game is still about learning and iterative improvement. You smash your brain against a rock and then respawn at a checkpoint a few seconds ago, so you’re never stopped from experimenting.

The snow landscapes also help with this experiment. Once you respawn, your old tracks are still embedded in the thick snow, meaning you can retrace your steps (skid marks?) until you scatter or crack your kneecaps again. And this tactic becomes even more dangerous in Snow Rider’s new 2-8 player multiplayer mode, where you race to the finish line. Sure, you can follow whoever’s in front of you or their own tracks in the snow, but that could lead you off a cliff or face-first into a tree.

As for the race mode, I was a bit mixed at first because the checkpoint system usually means you’re nowhere near other players or, at best, just walking past them. But then I realized that the multiplayer was simply massaging what Lonely Mountains was always about: speedrunning. Following the footsteps of others has the same effect as the news of Dark Souls – it is a signpost, a golden path to routes you would never have discovered yourself. The goal is to make you a better rider and faster speedrunner. Even as you cross that final checkpoint that takes your breath away, you can observe what other drivers are doing, from the mistakes they make to the tricks they try to pull off. At its core, Lonely Mountains is still an educational game that’s equal parts zen and brutal, and a new multiplayer mode only reinforces this.

There is no shortage of that upcoming indie games which you should definitely keep an eye on.

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