Denshattack! (PS5) review

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Narrative

Summary: A bright, beautiful rollercoaster ride packed full of heart that you won't want to put to down.

4.5

Off the rails

Denshattack! feels like a long-lost Sega game from the early 2000s, the kind of thing originally destined for the Dreamcast that landed on the Xbox in 2001. I mean this as a huge compliment.

Set in the near future, one that feels all too real as I sweat in my office during another heatwave, the world as we know it is literally cooked. Complete climate collapse has forced people into domed cities controlled by the Miraidō corporation, connected by an underground railway that keeps citizens safe and ignorant of the outside world.

But Denshattack! isn’t about the people stuck in a literal bubble. It’s about the rabble that survives outside the dome: The artisans and engineers living in a post-apocalyptic world that is slowly but surely healing. Using Japan’s abandoned rail system to get around, deliver ramen, and compete against each other in insane trick-filled train races called Denshattack.

You play as Emi Araki, a ramen delivery girl turned Denshattack competitor who inadvertently begins to unite the rail-riding gangs that live outside the domes and starts a revolution to end Miraidō’s grip on the country and free the denizens of the domes from their corporate overlords.

The easiest way to describe it is that it’s sort of like SSX meets Jet Set Radio… but you know, with trains.

If you have even a passing interest in getting Denshattack! I would definitely recommend playing the demo first because it doesn’t feel quite like anything else I’ve ever played. The controls take a little getting used to, and it’s worth spending time playing around with them to find a setup you like.

At its most basic, you ride the rails in your train desperately trying to stay on the broken track, jumping between different rails and pulling off combinations of tricks as you go. Trying to get to the end of the level in the fastest time and with the biggest score you can muster.

But once you get into it, not only do your means of traversal get far more varied with grind poles, wall riding, a special meter that creates rainbow rails, and even cable car sections. So does the scope and variety of the levels themselves. There are races, trick attack levels, some objective-based stages, and some absolutely bonkers boss battles against a variety of huge mechanical monstrosities, including a space princess-themed mech and a moving castle with the biggest quiff I’ve ever seen.

But even as the moment-to-moment gameplay gets increasingly complicated, it remains incredibly compelling and a whole load of fun. It rides that fine line between engaging and enraging. You will crash. A lot. Especially in the early stages when you’re still getting a handle on the controls. But when it clicks, and you’re pulling off huge combos and tearing around the place with reckless abandon while everything explodes around you. It’s absolute bliss.

In motion, Denshattack! is absolutely gorgeous, employing a wonderful cel-shaded aesthetic that uses bold, bright colours and thick black lines, reminiscent of Jet Set Radio. Every level is brimming with character and life, even if you are racing along at breakneck speed.

The sound design is also superb, with plenty of screeching and grinding noises that give your actions a real sense of weight. While the game’s soundtrack is a stunning who’s who of some of the best gaming composers working today, packed full of high-energy earworms that fit the flow of the game perfectly. It needs a vinyl release yesterday. It’s that damn good. (though it is available on Bandcamp.)

On top of this, every level also has a list of dares to complete, which range from pointless annoying crap like getting through a level without crashing (can you tell I hate that one?) to grabbing collectables, hitting certain tricks and combos, or finding the hidden exit.

Speaking of collectables, each level also contains spray cans, gears, and a film reel to grab.

The spray cans are used to help customise your train with awesome-looking graffiti (it says their stickers, but come on) inspired by the various gangs and regions of Japan the Denshattack! is set in. My personal favourites are the big pink squid, the aliens abducting cows, and Emi playing with fireworks.

Meanwhile, the gears are used to unlock new trains. Each has different strengths and weaknesses that make them more suited to a certain event type, like the cat eared number that increases your combos by ramming your rivals off the track, or creates a greater sense of risk Vs reward like my personal favourite that improves the speed of your jumps and makes your manuals last longer but reduces you ability to balance on rails and makes getting a perfect boost around corners harder.

Finally, the Film reels help you unlock articles and pictures in fanzines that chronicle Emi’s railroad adventure. Fleshing out a lot of Denshattack’s backstory and main characters as well as offering some interesting insights into the culture of each area you race through. I quickly got addicted to hunting for every last reel I could find. I’m a sucker for a good fanzine in general, but also, collecting pages and pictures itches that same part of the brain that sticker albums used to when I was a kid.

The thing that really sticks out to me about Denshattack!, though, is how positive it is. The characters support each other. Whenever you die, the other members of your merry band tell you to keep going, that you’ve got this. However, some of the grumpier ones will ponder how they lost to you. Each battle ends with both sides shaking hands and working together in some way.

The system is corrupt; the corporation trying to keep us separated is the villain. Time and again, reaching out to others and trusting the underlying goodness of others is rewarded in Denshattack!. It’s a lesson the world could really use right now. Even after the disaster, there’s still hope.

Final Thoughts

Denshattack! is easily one of the best games I’ve played this year.

The basics are fairly simple, but it consistently throws new twists and tweaks at a steady pace that never feels overwhelming, but is fun and engaging throughout. No roadblock ever feels insurmountable, but it can be a little infuriating at times, in the way that every trick attack game is when you wipe out after rocking up some insane combo.

Moreover, it feels like a long-lost relic from a time when games could be a ton of fun and still have plenty to say, and trust me, Denshattack! has.

It’s a charming, heartwarming, bright, beautiful rollercoaster ride with a kick-ass soundtrack, about the importance of finding connection, community and joy in an increasingly fragmented world. That’s a message I think we all need right now.

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

Denshattack! (PS5) review