{"id":7455,"date":"2026-08-21T22:36:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T22:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7455"},"modified":"2026-08-21T22:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T22:36:54","slug":"review-denshattack-goes-off-the-rails-and-thats-a-great-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7455","title":{"rendered":"Review: &#8216;Denshattack!&#8217; goes off the rails and that&#8217;s a great thing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>Skating games offer a canvas of unbridled creativity. It\u2019s a genre where players can string together moves and score high points by showing off their talents on a virtual skateboard, kickflipping around fictional warehouses or parks.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7453\">An 18-year-old with a sword attacks a school in Sweden, leaving 1 dead<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In \u201cDenshattack!,\u201d developer Undercoders takes concepts from games such as \u201cTony Hawk Pro Skater\u201d and \u201cskate.\u201d and marries them to the constraining idea of trains, machines that are the opposite of skating. They are rote and confined to a predetermined route with no freedom in it.<\/p>\n<p>It sounds like a disaster \u2014 akin to a marching band playing improvisational jazz \u2014 but somehow, the developers combined two diametrically opposed worlds and fused them into an explosively fun game. \u201cDenshattack!\u201d is what happens when opposites do more than attract: They amplify the best out of each other and work harmoniously.<br \/>\n<span><iframe allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"youtube-player\" height=\"360\" loading=\"lazy\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JkZ3VE5k8Fo?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en-US&amp;autohide=2&amp;wmode=transparent\" style=\"border:0;\" width=\"640\"><\/iframe><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>A JAPANESE DYSTOPIA<\/strong><br \/>\nSo how did Undercoders do it? The team crafted a game with unrelenting waves of imagination, which begins with the setting. \u201cDenshattack!\u201d is set in a postapocalyptic Japan, where most of the population lives in domes and the country is run by a megacorporation called Miraido. Those who live outside eke out a living in different areas run by train gangs.<\/p>\n<p>The protagonist Emi Araki is a train driver who delivers ramen in the Kyushu region, and on one run she impresses a local Denshattack enthusiast who encourages her to show off her talents. That first step begins a journey that takes her across Japan as her impressive talents at train conducting help her dominate the local gangs, who join her movement.<\/p>\n<p>Although train conducting doesn\u2019t seem exciting, Undercoders imbues it with a skateboarding personality. The campaign does an excellent job of teaching players the basics. Emi can make the train ollie and then twist and turn just like a skateboard. In this dystopia, the tracks don\u2019t exactly all connect and sometimes they end, and that\u2019s when those moves come in handy as she forces the train to leap from one track to another like the mineshaft chase in \u201cIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>HOW IT PLAYS<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat Undercoders did was create a \u201cskate.\u201d on rails with players jumping with the right trigger and slamming down on tracks with the left trigger. Flip tricks are tied to the right analog stick. The levels are mostly linear, with players going from Point A to Point B, but the team occasionally changes it up with more free-form stages in which players have tasks to perform or must hit a scoring threshold within a time limit. Other sections have Emi racing laps around racetrack levels.<\/p>\n<p>At first, Undercoders offers unexpected flourishes to every level. Emi dislodges a Ferris wheel and rides it down a mountainside, but as she progresses, players learn new skills and physics-defying techniques, expanding what a train can do. She learns to ride the wind and the walls. Her vehicles gain a swinging function that lets her hang from beams and magnet abilities that allow her to travel upside down on ceiling-tied rails. When tracks aren\u2019t available, she can still grind on rails.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7448\">Mailbag: Future schedules for Oregon, Washington and USC; playoff expansion; my AP ballot; a PR nightmare and loads more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The developers masterfully introduce these wrinkles in each world, giving players a chance to master them, while also delighting players with amazing levels, where Emi faces the unexpected. She can ride rails underwater, which changes how it moves. She has to dodge falling buildings or use a factory to make a giant doll. Emi even takes part in a jail break, hopping atop blimps and zooming around skyscrapers.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>CREATIVITY AT ITS BEST<\/strong><br \/>\nEach region has a gang boss, and that\u2019s where Undercoders digs into its bag and offers battles that ooze inventiveness. The team comes up with scenarios in which Emi fights a mech or battles yakuza in the clouds, and the fights defy expectations. When players feel like they\u2019ve seen everything that the developers can do, the team tosses a curveball that throws the gameplay for a loop.<\/p>\n<p>The constraints of the premise give \u201cDenshattack!\u201d a creative tension. The limits seem to have forced the team to constantly think outside the box for solutions for new gameplay mechanics and level designs. The campaign features nine chapters and 67 stages, but it has plenty of replay value as players master each technique and return to older levels to find secrets and complete side-mission dares they may have missed. They can also unlock new types of trains that have their own perks and cosmetic designs to give their vehicles character.<\/p>\n<p>Like \u201cTony Hawk,\u201d the game hooks players and keeps them coming back to beat old scores and complete all the side quests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDenshattack!\u201d is an indie gem that shows how studios don\u2019t need enormous teams and multimillion-dollar budgets to create a great game. Like Emi, sometimes it just takes dedication, creativity and an unexpected idea to conquer the world.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>\u2018Denshattack!\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>4 stars out of four<br \/>\n<strong>Platform: <\/strong>PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S and Nintendo Switch 2<br \/>\n<strong>Rating:<\/strong> Teen<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7446\">Two hospitalized in Pittsburg house fire<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Undercoders brings two opposite ideas of skateboarding and trains to create a ridiculously fun game<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review: &#8216;Denshattack!&#8217; 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