With Denshattack!, developer Undercoders has released an arcade racing game that immediately evokes the feeling of a Dreamcast throwback. Both the gameplay and the graphics and soundtrack show clear parallels to games like Jet Set Radio, as well as more recent titles like Hi-Fi Rush. Whether this game, in which you race trains through a futuristic Japan, has more to offer than pure nostalgia, you'll find out in our review.
Resistance on old tracks
Denshattack! is set in a future Japan. A climate catastrophe has split the country into two separate social classes. While the wealthy inhabitants live in air-purified domed cities connected by underground vacuum trains, the poorer population tries to reclaim the Japan outside these isolated metropolises.
The so-called Denshattackers also make their way here, racing their brightly colored trains along the country's abandoned railway lines.They form rival gangs and settle their scores through high-speed races and spectacular trick duels.
The story centers on the young delivery woman Emi. Through a fateful encounter with the journalist Fernando, she herself becomes a Denshathetter. Over the course of her journey, she hones her skills, battles various gangs, and, true to the shonen genre, slowly works her way to the top of the scene.
With one move through the halfpipe
As a player, you control Emi's train and try to complete each course as quickly and flawlessly as possible. At the same time, you chain together tricks, fulfill optional objectives, and collect items to unlock new decorations for your train.
Emi can switch between parallel tracks, grind on additional sections, drift through curves, ride along walls, and spin her train in mid-air. These different maneuvers can be combined, resulting in longer trick sequences and correspondingly higher scores.
Medals are awarded for completing the courses, and their ranking depends on your performance. Most courses take no longer than two to three minutes on the first attempt. Initially, however, you should focus less on achieving the longest possible combinations and more on a clean run. Every collision and every failed jump can reset you to the last checkpoint, costing you valuable time.
Occasionally, you can also influence the track's course with the train's horn. This allows you to, for example, destroy rocks or glass panes. At other points, you can select between several tracks by inputting a direction, thus taking an alternative route.
Since the races generally take place on fixed tracks, you'll initially achieve the greatest time improvements through flawless driving and a better knowledge of the respective course. Occasionally, however, there are particularly risky jumps that allow you to switch from one track to another and thus skip entire sections.
During my playtime, I only managed to use these shortcuts two or three times. They aren't necessary for a normal completion of the campaign. They are primarily interesting for players who want to place on the leaderboards or focus more on speedruns.
Not every jump lands on the tracks.
My main problems were with some of the jumps. Emi is catapulted high into the air, especially on vertical rails. This offers the opportunity to chain together numerous tricks and score a correspondingly high number of points.
The game tempts you to jump at the last moment to gain extra height and thus more time for the ongoing combination. However, if this jump is made at an unfavorable angle, Emi can be launched so high into the air that she can no longer return to the track.
In this case, the only option is to reset to the last checkpoint. This is especially frustrating if you've previously built up a good time or a long trick combo. While such situations didn't occur constantly during my playthrough, they felt less like an understandable bug and more like a problem with the motion physics.
More than 50 short challenges
Denshattack! features over 50 levels, each with its own unique challenges. You can expect races against rival gangs, free missions, optional side quests, and numerous collectibles.
The core gameplay loop, however, consists of learning new tricks and techniques, as well as returning to previously completed levels. With increasing experience, you can improve your times, achieve higher scores, and use alternative routes that were too difficult on your first visit.
The short distances are well-suited for repeated attempts. After a failed run, you can restart immediately and try to shave off those crucial seconds at a specific point. Denshattack! is therefore primarily aimed at players who enjoy gradually improving their performance.
Those who simply want to experience the story and complete each course only once will hardly utilize a large part of the game system. While the campaign can be completed without chasing best times, Denshattack! truly shines upon repeated playthroughs.
Speed at the expense of clarity
The biggest problem for me is the readability of the tracks. Denshattack! does its best to highlight rails, obstacles, and changes of direction early on through its colorful presentation. However, combined with the high speed and numerous effects, many sections of the track remained difficult for me to follow.
Especially during the first run-through, it wasn't always clear in time whether a jump, a track change, or another action was required. While this problem lessened with increasing familiarity with the track, it didn't disappear completely.
Learning the courses is a fundamental part of the game's mechanics. However, mistakes should ideally occur through incorrect reactions or improper execution of tricks. In some sections, though, you'll likely fail because crucial information gets lost amidst the colors, speed lines, and particle effects.
Denshattack! sometimes treads a fine line between challenging track design and unnecessary memorization. Those willing to replay individual sections multiple times will likely find this less bothersome. However, the limited overview can be frustrating on a first playthrough.
Back to the Dreamcast era
Graphically, Denshattack! is heavily inspired by games from the Dreamcast era, specifically titles like Jet Set Radio and Auto Modellista. In the cutscenes, the characters are presented in a rather angular and blocky style, while the races are characterized by vibrant colors, graffiti, and numerous special effects.
This presentation fits well with the game's high-energy approach. Denshattack! doesn't attempt to depict a believable futuristic Japan. Instead, the game world feels like an exaggerated blend of anime and street culture.
Musically, the game also draws inspiration from its genre predecessors of yesteryear. The soundtrack can be described as a blend of punk, funk, electronic music, and Y2K hip-hop. The music perfectly complements the fast-paced gameplay and enhances the flow that develops when you're racing through a track without interruption, linking together multiple tricks.
Graphics and music are among the game's greatest strengths. The various influences are always recognizable, yet Denshattack! develops its own unique identity. It doesn't feel like a mere copy of Jet Set Radio, but rather transfers its style and energy to an unusual arcade racing game.
