Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Action, Arcade, Racing, Extreme Sports, Japan

These days, so few games channel the same energy as an extreme sports game with unique art stylings, like the Jet Set Radio series from Sega. In fact, the last game that has that flair was Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and that was 3 years ago. But don’t fret; we have a new indie title from developer Undercoders and publisher Fireshine Games that has the same aura but is clearly putting its own spin on things. Figuratively and literally.

Last Stop To Shibuya

Denshattack! is what happens when you combine an extreme sports title from the PlayStation 1 days with a group of creators’ overblown-yet-elaborate vision of Japan and its culture, complete with a pop art graffiti art style & funky music to complement its over-the-topness. Think Tony Hawk Pro Skater meets Jet Set Radio, but instead of skateboards and rollerblades, it’s Japanese electric trains.

Yes, electric trains. Trains that can spin and do ollies and fancy skateboarding tricks with its whole carriage. They still ride on rails, and you still go full steam ahead and fast most of the time. But you can also drift and speed up (ala Mario Kart drift boosts), wall ride, do front or back manuals once you land, grind on rails while not going over the red zone of the grind meter and fall off, and even ride on halfpipes off the track at certain intervals.

See, every stage in Denshattack! is either an obstacle course with its own ramps and trick spots, a tricks course where you have 2 minutes to amass the highest score possible, and races where you have to get a podium finish by eliminating all rival trains by bumping them off the track, or just outracing them. You even have stages with multiple objectives that have branching paths you need to take, as well as Denshattack! style boss fights with a plethora of anime stereotypes with their own style of racing-slash-combat. If you thought the mecha fight in the trailer was big, you ain’t seen nothing yet in this game; loads of these punctuated chapter-ending stages have a ton of fun new mechanics to challenge you, and take a page or two from beloved classic arcade titles.

However, you can’t win by just aimlessly going forward and doing cheap tricks for quick scores in Denshattack!’s usual stages. Getting ahead means using special tools in the wacky Denshattack! universe. If you do enough high-level tricks early on, you fill up a rainbow meter that open up new rainbow tracks and rails once it’s full. There are even gusts of wind that will carry you forward and above pitfalls if you do tricks at the right spot. Some areas even require you to hang onto ceiling rails like a monorail, or even switch gravity.

If this all sounds overwhelming for an arcade game, that’s because it can be. Denshattack! does a great job at introducing new mechanics bit by bit, but you will still have a tough time figuring out its mechanics and how to land certain moves right since it plays pretty unique on its own terms. After all, there isn’t any other game out there that has you riding a single carriage train like Bam Margera and the Camp Kill Yourself ensemble. It may control similarly to existing skateboarding titles, but Denshattack! is still its own beast. While I got the hang of most of its mechanics, I did have trouble hitting that sweet spot when consecutively wall riding from one wall to the opposite next. Later on, I had issues handling the anti-gravity mechanics as half the time, I instinctly do a train stomp instead of just being disciplined and pressing just a single trigger for it. The term “mental stack” does come into play here; once you’re comfortable with certain techniques, adding new ones to your repertoire may switch things up for the worse.

This is a skill issue, of course, as Denshattack!’s gameplay is all about replayability and mastering each stage. While yes, you can wrap the game up in 8 or 9 hours and enjoy the colourful plot involving main train rider Emi and her quest to be the best, you’ll get a pitiful score just ploughing through it. In fact, the toughest part about Denshattack! pops up once you roll credits: the real battle to get good begins.

To get the best possible score and gold medals, you need to be the fastest, pull off as many tricks for a high trick score where opening up rainbow tracks are mandatory, and hitting all the dares before the stage ends. Oh, and also don’t crash once. The game is pretty free and easy when it comes to handling “lives” for the basic story bits (barring some fail states like getting below third place in Denshattack! races). But to get Gold medals, you have to go through it spotless. That’s tough to do and requires a ton of replay, memorization, and reflexes. Just the way arcade gamers and extreme sports games enthusiasts crave. Denshattack! delivers that and then some.

Besides, you can equip trains (bought via using gear coins laid out in different stages) that can help boost certain aspects of your scoring and add specific modifiers so you get a leg-up in races. My favourite train basically does not count my first 3 crashes as a stage crash, but gives me a lower score for doing tricks than usual. Another cool train makes my tricks pop up faster but at the cost of reducing my manual duration. This sort of train is better on tracks where I get more air time than usual. Different trains are better for different types of courses, and there are a boatload of them each with their own funky gimmick and obstacles. You’d be hard-pressed to find your favourite, as all of them are creative and fun with little to no duds. Mine involves a ton of half-pipe sections so I can go off the rails and get some big air for extra tricks.

On Track

I’m personally glad I get to experience an arcade action title like Denshattack!; it brings hope that there are truly good ideas in the indie gaming space if you put your mind to it while getting inspired by your favourite classic arcade-slash-retro-console romps. Developer Undercoders took their love of the Jet Set Radio and Tony Hawk Pro Skater series, as well as Japan, and put it in a game that amps it up a notch while also being unique with its fast-moving train and literal on-rails theme. It’s fast, frenetic, fun, and replayable as all hell.

It can also be a bitch to master and get good at, assuming you want to get all gold medals for all stages. In short, there’s something for all arcade game lovers, anime fans, and extreme sports enthusiasts who yearn for the good old days of hybrid sports games with a ton of expressionism.

Besides, you can’t say “no” to a game’s banger soundtrack featuring guest vocals from Lotus Juice and Takenobu “Daytona USA” Mitsuyoshi. You seriously can’t.

Pros

• Fun storyline and characters.
• Extreme sports gameplay and trick-based mechanics are addictive.
• Lovely aesthetics
• Expressive stages and tracks with new obstacles to challenge players.
• Replayable due to scoring, dares, and medal system.

Cons

• May not entice score hounds for a replay.
• New techniques like anti-gravity, double drift, and monorail-hanging can take a while to get used to.

Final Score: 90/100

Review copy provided by publisher.