Denshattack! is an arcadey, platforming, sports-based racer of sorts, infused with high-octane speed, a kickass soundtrack, visuals that rival any of your favorite animes, and it’s impossible to put down. Another way of describing it is an on-rails skateboarding game where trucks are replaced with trains—and occasionally Ferris wheels.
I could describe Denshattack! in any number of ways, and it wouldn’t encapsulate just how manic this game is. Conceptualizing this game had to be due to a concoction of energy drinks, arcade nostalgia, an anime binge, and trying to hit high scores on the recent Tony Hawk remakes.
In Denshattack!, developer Undercoder has created something equal parts beautiful, ambitious, and insanely tough to put down.
Denshattack! Is Tony Hawk’s Meets Jet Set Radio Meets Thumper
Some of my favorite games I’ve ever played feature bite-sized sections of the same gameplay where I have to replay them to better my last performance, to the point it feels like life or death: Think Hotline Miami or Gran Turismo license tests.
The OG Tony Hawk games are also quintessential examples with their time-limit-driven runs. Denshattack! grabs this idea by the horns and steams off into the distance with it. As Emi Araki, you take control of a train: A train that can kickflip, manual, grind, all the while firing along a track at what feels like a million miles an hour.
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2001’s forgotten Airblade—a blatant attempt to cash in on the Tony Hawks hype—didn’t do much to push the needle in the skating genre, whereas Skate did, and Denshattack! feels like the next step-up in creativity (with carriages). Five minutes after jumping into the tutorial level, I quickly realised that the game is as hard as it is pretty.
It has Jet Set Radio’s endearing art style, the Tony Hawks ‘one-more-run’ attitude, and Thumper’s necessity for swift reflexes and reactive thinking to oncoming obstacles, just without the aid of a beat.
I Like Trains
The press demo I was treated to included a handful of the opening levels and a much more advanced Trick Park, usually only available later in the game. Oddly enough, I thought this was a smart decision as it gave me a glimpse into the myriad of other controls and gameplay functions sure to befuddle my brain further.
You need to mentally cycle through a variety of controls, quickly learn what each danger sign means, and what the applicable prompt is. Even after 10 minutes, I was jumping over corners, careening into disaster, honking my train horn when I was supposed to hopping over onto another track, and doing tricks when I was supposed to be plummeting my train straight down from 50ft in the air.
These might be the most durable vehicles ever created.
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One thing that became immediately clear is that you will need multiple runs to fully complete each level, and that’s exactly what I did. Every level has collectibles, forcing you to find hidden routes, shortcuts, and play the level differently; you need to score points and rack up combos, complete it as fast as you can, and try not to crash.
Levels quickly descend into anarchy as your train screeches through a city one second, before mounting a Ferris wheel, engaging in a Crash Bandicoot-style running at the screen sequence, evading lava, and clearing huge gaps over ginormous Tiki heads. If the whole game is going to be like this, how could I not want to play more?
Denshattack! Preview Round-Up
After reading through my own preview, I realise I’ve said virtually nothing bad about Denshattack! There was the odd bug and abnormality, which I was forewarned would be an issue, as the game is still in development as it heads to a 2026 launch. However, my snippet of gameplay has resonated with me for days, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
Denshattack! is a genuine challenge, and it’s fun. Anything I did wrong was my fault, and I wanted to learn from my mistakes to post a better score, smash my previous best time, and complete all the mini-objectives. I’ve barely seen any of what the full game has to offer, and I can say with absolute certainty that Denshattack! needs to be on your wishlist right now.
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Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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