A wild premise meets serious gameplay
Denshattack!, a game about kickflipping trains across a dystopian future Japan, is as outrageous as it is exhilarating. Set in a post-climate disaster world, people have retreated to corporate-owned domed cities, leaving the rest of the country a mess of broken infrastructure. Rival gangs battle on the ruins of Japan’s rail network, and naive upstart Emi aims to become the best Denshattacker through nosegrinds and tricks.
Inspired by classics
Developers Undercoders combine the best of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater – grinding, flipping, spinning – with Jet Set Radio’s anti-establishment message. Rivals include ageing rockabillies and violent girl gangs, showcasing Japanese misfit culture without judgment. The game also draws from the cult anime Redline, blending silly and substance with overwhelming visuals and a hardcore experience.
Progression and variety
Players start with a single train and simple levels, with mechanics introduced over several hours. The difficulty curve smooths out, allowing early experimentation with tricks. Courses open into races, score attacks, and challenge levels, including boss battles like launching giant baseballs at a tunnelling mole-train or escaping a vinyl record-powered castle on a rainbow railroad.
A zany Japanese tour
The experience feels like Wacky Races meets a Japanese tourist board advert. One level involves honking through a kabuki theatre performance; another delivers ramen bowls inspired by Initial D. The Barcelona-based developers saturate every inch with Japanese culture past and present.
Excellent feel and control
While level design is fantastic, the real pleasure is the gameplay. Fans of classic skating games will recognise the genre hallmarks, but through extreme public transport they feel reinvigorated. Chaining combos while watching a spray-painted oblong dance across the screen is hard to fault.
A celebration of weirdness
If released in the early 2000s, Denshattack! might not have made waves. But in an era of remakes and sequels, weird games like this are satisfying discoveries. They should be celebrated for daring to be nonsensical. Denshattack! is out now for £15.99 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
