A lot of games attempt to revive my nostalgia for the ‘good old days’, be it in chunky Saturn polygons, or detailed sprites washed over with a CRT-like filter. But while playing Denshattack!, I can’t help but recall the glory days of the wonderful Dreamcast, filled Sega-blue skies, fast action, and that one more go appeal that a lot of games have eschewed in favour of grinding, battle passes, or whatever else is the buzz of the minute. There’s nothing wrong with these ideas (outside of just how overused they can feel today) but man, is it refreshing to just play a fun videogame, one that revels in what it is rather than shoehorn in ways to keep us coming back – or pry open our wallet. Denshattack! Is, put simply, a fucking joy to play.
Gameplay takes a form best described as ‘Sega Blue Meets Tony Hawk’. Each stage sees our train (the Densha of the title) following tracks loosely based on real life Japanese train networks. I’ve not been to Japan, but I assume the vert ramps and jumps are not a common sight on the daily commute. As we careen along, we’re able to jump, stunt, grind, wall ride, manual, and boost to up our score. The action is relentless, the pace lightning fast, and the fun simply top tier.
Each stage offers a few Dares; optional challenges to complete on top of simply reaching the end, much like the challenges in Tony Hawk, as well as rewards for completion time and score. I’m not much of a goal chaser in these scenarios, but I have had a blast trying to complete as many as I could first time out. We might have to collect 5 of an item, or do a specific trick over a certain landmark, and it’s to Denshattack!’s flow feeling that generally these are easy enough to find if we spend even a few minutes looking.
One thing I can’t quite express enough is the sheer speed of the action though. The train hurtles along, and when we’re comboing tricks while boosting a corner into a grind, only for us to be launched on top of a ferris wheel that we can then ride before heading back to the track…well, it’s quite the sensory overload.
Luckily the controls are up to the task, and there is a generous leeway for some of the more extreme stunts to still land unless we really push our luck. We can stomp down mid air, or honk our horn to interact with the environment at points, offering up alternate routes or simply saving us from a failure. One section of a track kept tripping me up with a jump and grind, but by stomping down I was able to avoid a reset by landing on the track below and trying again (which I totally didn’t discover by accident).
Sure, to reach higher scores and the like will require a good amount of skill, beautiful you just want to jump in with something that is pure joy at all times regardless of your ability, then Denshattack! is a very easy recommendation indeed.
Along the way, we follow the story of Emi, a train delivery driver turned Denshattacker as she travels Japan in search of other drivers to race and learn from. The animation work alone makes it worth following along, but it’s actually a decently told story with good writing and acting.
And the music, oh man, the music. Once again, it recalls the glory days of the Dreamcast era, all funky Japanese pop tunes and high energy beats. Which should come as no surprise considering the likes of Tee Lopes (Sonic Mania) and Richard Jacques (Sonic R) lend their talents to the list among many others. It’s a glorious soundtrack, one we’d expect to hear blasting in our local arcade if that were still a thing. Just wonderful stuff.
In fact, the only real minor points we have are fairly small. It can occasionally feel a little loose when trying to transition between rails or walls, leaving room for failure, and there is no multiplayer or way to compete with others easily. But these are minor nitpicks in the grand scheme. Denshattack! offers up joyously energetic gameplay from moment one, and is something to jump into in short bursts when we need a pick me up or just some simple fun.
Conclusion
Fun, bright, packed with challenges and with one of the year’s best soundtracks, Denshattack! is a joy to behold at all times.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
