When Denshattack! was first announced, I immediately wanted to get my hands on it. The unusual blend of skateboarding mechanics and train driving, plus the eye-popping anime style, ticked a lot of boxes.
But it’s also the type of game that would live or die by how well it controlled. Now that I’ve played the Steam Next Fest demo, Denshattack! certainly lives up to the tantalising promise of its train-skating premise.
Tricks of the Train
Rather than skateboarding games, playing Denshattack! most reminds of the 2016 rhythm game, Thumper. Players take control of a self-propelling train, reacting to obstacles to reach the end of each level. These range from needing to drift around corners, to skipping across lanes, and jumping over gaps.
While in the air, you can also rack up points by performing tricks with the right analog stick in a style reminiscent of the Skate series.
Because these mechanics all use a different control input, it can all feel very overwhelming at first. But the more time I invested in the game, the more I found myself completely locked in, cruising through levels in a satisfying flow state.
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You move from level to level across a map of a dystopian Japan. Some levels have you travel from point A to point B, while others take the form of a boss battle. In the demo, I took on a rival train driver, surfing a body of water atop a detached ferris wheel and dodging fireballs inside a volcano.
This isn’t a game that does things in half-measures. Each level also has score and time targets, as well as bonus goals, to encourage replayability.
Grinding Rails
Where the complexity of the gameplay truly shines is in the ‘Trick Park’ levels, where you’re unleashed in a massive open-ended level to set a high score within the time limit. You can also grind and wall-ride to off-limits areas hunting for collectibles. Comparisons to the Tony Hawk’s series immediately come to mind as you use manuals to chain together massive trick combos.
It’s a head-spinning, adrenaline-pumping experience that shows the full potential Denshattack! might offer.
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Set in a futuristic Japan, split into domes due to climate change, it hints at a deeper story than you’d expect from a game about ‘train-skateboarding.’ The narrative is mostly delivered through character portraits and dialogue, but there are a few fully-animated cutscenes that look terrific
The entire game is a visual feast with a maximalist, colourful anime aethestic.
Get On Board!
The charming personality and intriguing premise of Denshattack! wouldn’t matter without tight controls and rewarding level design to back it up. Now that I’ve had hands-on experience, I’m confident that the team at Undercoders is driving along the right track.
We’ll need to wait until later in the year for its full release, but the Steam Next Fest demo is available now.
Early access to the Denshattack! Steam Next Fest demo was supplied to Quest Daily for the purposes of this article.
