Denshattack! Review

Like every white boy who travels to Japan, my recent trip had me falling in love with the food, the culture, and the trains. Yes, believe it or not, there’s a lot to love about the rail system. From the unbelievable punctuality and greatly appreciated etiquette, all the way through to the unexpectedly whimsical chimes that denote each different line, I quickly fell head over heels for this civil engineering system. Denshattack! developer Undercoders clearly has a similar reverence for these locomotives, but also asked the question that none of us have been brave enough to ask: what if we took trains and added a bunch of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater?

I know, I know, it’s as obvious a combination as sauce on a pie, so it’s a wonder no one has ever made the connection. If you’re struggling to connect the dots, let me explain.

Following an ecological disaster that allegedly left the outside world uninhabitable, the faceless Miraidō corporation constructed dome cities across Japan, offering a safe, sterile, and boring existence for those living within them. Meanwhile, the outside world continued, adapting to the new normal left in the wake of the disaster.

Emi Araki is a young woman living in the beauty of the outside world, delivering ramen to other citizens with her old yet reliable train. A skilled conductor in her own right, Emi’s reality is challenged once she’s introduced to Denshattack, a dangerous and high-octane extreme battle sport that involves tricking out a train to perform tricks, stunts, and other impossible feats. With little more motivation than to simply be the best and have fun, Emi hangs up the apron and sets off to challenge the leaders of the various Denshattack gangs to hone her skills and have a blast doing so.

My favourite line. I can hear the jingle now…

Light-hearted and upbeat at the beginning, Denshattack’s story slowly peels back to reveal themes of corporate greed, conspiratorial plots, and suppressed culture. That said, Emi and her sunny disposition remain true throughout, with many one-time rivals becoming allies thanks to her unyielding positivity. Battling trains is an innately silly concept, and the story takes some truly wild turns, but through the absurdity, Denshattack has a real heart that put a big goofy smile on my face from front to back.

Now, enough about smiling through adversity; let’s talk about doing tricks with a train.

Gameplay is about as arcady as it gets. Each of the 60-plus levels starts with Emi’s train firmly planted on the tracks, bulleting from the starting position with blinding speed. From here, you’ll need to manoeuvre through various obstacles to reach the finish line as quickly as possible, complete a level’s objectives, and aim for as high a score as you can by nailing some sick tricks.

Basic movement involves breaking around corners to avoid derailing (and to score yourself a boost), changing tracks, and jumping, of course. While in the air, you’ll flick the right stick to initiate one of many tricks, with there being a huge list of patterns at your disposal. As insane as it is for a train to be soaring through the sky, busting out a kickflip in the process, you’ll quickly get the hang of the basics. While a good completion time and score are important, you’ll also be tasked with ticking off several dares that act as additional objectives. These range from performing X number of tricks, picking up collectibles, or finishing a run without wiping out (which is a challenge no matter what). It’s unlikely you’ll manage to do all of these during a single run, so fun dares give you a reason to revisit levels and try again.

Yep, all of this makes sense

Don’t get cocky, though. Yes, the basics are easy enough to master, but don’t think you’re a Denshattack master just yet. Over the course of the rather lengthy 10-hour campaign, you’ll constantly be introduced to new mechanics, from grinding rails and riding walls to diving underwater and manipulating gravity. The sheer number of individual mechanics thrown at you is exceptionally impressive, and keeping track of them all is a feat unto itself. For the most part, each new region will lean on the mechanic introduced there, but the latter stages do throw everything and the kitchen sink at you, and it does get overwhelming, especially when you’re flying by at Mach 10.

Level variety is just as impressive as your skillset. Dozens of levels across multiple biomes will have you racing other Denshattackers, aiming for a particular score threshold, completing multiple tasks, and occasionally dipping back into the delivery game. Every level is unique, both visually and conceptually, so I never felt like I was stuck doing the same thing again and again. Better still, each region is capped off with a climactic encounter with the gang’s leader.

Boss fights in Denshattack aren’t just a test of skill and survival; they’re an absolute spectacle. Duking it out with a girlypop mech made of trains, chasing down a walking castle, racing across sand dunes alongside a mechanised version of the sandworm from Dune. And these aren’t even the truly whacky ones. From a gameplay perspective, these encounters are a blast, perfectly balancing challenge with fun, but from a visual and conceptual level, they might be some of the most entertaining boss fights I’ve ever experienced.

Look at me, I am the captain now

Speaking of visuals, Denshattack is a damn looker. Sporting a cel-shaded art style that utilises every colour known to mankind, this game has an aesthetic that you can’t help but like. Character designs appear largely as 2D models, with each carrying so much style that they could believably take centre stage from Emi. The levels themselves are just as brimming with life, often including bombastic and over-the-top centrepieces like a scalable Tokyo Tower or a whole arse kaiju stomping through the city you’re tricking about in. While I’m truly in love with the aesthetic and its wonderful use of colour, I will say that the visual busyness occasionally hampered my run, purely because I couldn’t make out what I was looking at quickly enough to react. It’s not a huge issue, and it’s worth suffering through for the sake of the game’s style, but it can be a tough blow if you’re otherwise great run is derailed.

The final part of Denshattack!’s presentation package is its pulse-pounding soundtrack that absolutely rips in every sense of the word. Every track is a high-energy banger that wouldn’t feel out of place at a Japanese arcade. The entire OST boasts 80 songs, each as great as the last, but prepare for the main end-level song to get firmly stuck in your head. Don’t worry, it’s so good you won’t mind, but your friends and family might.

Final Thoughts

There’s a life lesson to be learnt from Denshattack. When life gives you a bland, corporately controlled future with no prospects for free thinkers and creatives, jump on a train and nail aerial tricks until they piss off. Putting philosophy aside, Denshattack! is a hell of a fun time, with a kick-arse aesthetic, gameplay with almost too much mechanical depth, and a level of variety that you just don’t see. Its fast-paced action might be a little too intense for some, but for those who enjoy a good arcady challenge, come aboard.

Reviewed on Steam Deck. Review code supplied by the publisher.

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