Denshattack! is the kind of game that sounds like a joke until you actually start playing it. A high-speed arcade adventure built around anti-gravity trains performing skateboarding tricks across a stylized, dystopian Japan shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does, yet Undercoders has turned this absurd premise into one of the year’s most refreshingly original experiences. Rather than relying solely on its novelty, it backs up the concept with a surprisingly engaging adventure, memorable characters and a colorful world that gives you plenty of reasons to keep racing beyond simply chasing high scores.
At its core, Denshattack! combines the accessibility of an auto-running arcade racer with the trick systems of classic skateboarding games. Your train is constantly accelerating along the rails while you switch tracks, drift through corners, launch into jumps and chain together increasingly elaborate tricks to build massive combos. New mechanics are introduced at an excellent pace, constantly expanding your toolkit with wallrides, grinds, alternate routes and increasingly creative ways to interact with each environment. The result is a gameplay loop that remains fresh throughout the campaign, rewarding experimentation as much as precision. That said, the sheer speed of the action can occasionally become overwhelming, with busy visuals making obstacles difficult to read until you’ve memorized a stage.
What impressed us most is how much variety Undercoders squeezes out of its central idea. Standard score-attack stages are joined by races, more open-ended objective-based levels and some wonderfully inventive boss encounters that regularly reinvent the rules. These battles deliver some of the game’s biggest highlights, blending anime-inspired spectacle with mechanics that constantly surprise you without abandoning the core controls you’ve been mastering throughout the adventure. Combined with optional collectibles, customization options and numerous challenge objectives, there’s a strong incentive to revisit completed stages even after the credits roll.
The controls deserve particular praise because they manage to make something as inherently awkward as controlling an acrobatic train feel remarkably satisfying. There’s definitely a learning curve, and the opening hours require patience while your hands adapt to the unusual control scheme. However, once everything clicks, the movement becomes wonderfully fluid and chaining together long combos feels incredibly rewarding. The game strikes a smart balance between being approachable enough to finish the story while leaving plenty of room for players who want to chase perfect runs, gold medals and leaderboard-worthy performances.
Visually, Denshattack! wears its inspirations proudly while still establishing an identity of its own. Cel-shaded environments burst with vibrant colors, exaggerated anime influences and unmistakable early-2000s arcade energy, creating a world that’s constantly fun to race through. The variety of Japanese locations helps keep the scenery fresh, while the impressive technical performance on PS5 ensures that the fast-paced gameplay remains smooth even during the busiest sequences. The soundtrack is equally successful, delivering energetic electronic tracks that perfectly complement the game’s momentum and often elevate the biggest moments into unforgettable set pieces.
Denshattack! succeeds because it never settles for being just a clever gimmick. Every new mechanic, boss encounter and level twist builds upon what came before, creating an experience that continues to surprise from beginning to end. While the story mainly serves as a vehicle for the action rather than delivering deep emotional storytelling, and some sections can become visually chaotic at top speed, these are relatively minor complaints in a game overflowing with creativity, confidence and personality. For arcade fans – and especially anyone nostalgic for the experimental spirit of the Dreamcast era – this is an easy recommendation and one of the most distinctive releases we’ve played this year.
Score: 8.6/10