Image credit: Undercoders; Fireshine Games
When you picture the outcome of the climate crisis, what do you think of? Watelands? A dystopia? Holding lawmakers accountable? How about all that, and repurposed trains now used by outcasts to take down evil mega corps? Read on for Kyusai’s Denshattack review.
Now arriving at Denshattack
Our enthusiastic ramen-delivering protagonist, Emi, uproots her quiet country life when she learns about Denshattack. An electrifying sport taking the world outside of the domes by storm, it’s all raw speed, skill, and style, rewarding the outcasts and vagabonds who take to the tracks with a reputation.
With her spark for the sport ignited, Emi leaves the island on a mission to take on as many opponents as she can. This just as quickly turns into a mission to gather allies from across a near-future Japan, who all work with you to take down the shady megacorp Miraido.
Miraido is placing the privileged into air-purifying domes to protect people from the climate crisis, assuming those on the outside are living off the scraps. But never underestimate what outcasts can do with Japan’s iconic Shinkansens. Too outdated for the rich living in the domes, but perfect for Denshattackers to repurpose into high-speed, unregulated engines.
You’ll take Emi’s Beppu Star, a humble delivery train, onto the tracks to start. The controls for every train are closest to games in the Tony Hawk series, with buttons letting you jump, drift, brake, and switch tracks. You’ll avoid the obstacles blocking the tracks and aim for the best time, while also using tricks with the joystick to earn higher scores in each level.
These controls are easy enough to get the hang of over time, but the lightning-fast speed and creative ideas keep the game’s pace much faster than the players. Perfecting every level on the first try seems almost impossible, but with every quick crash (or six) comes a high-scoring trick combo.
There are plenty of accessibility options to help with the visuals, like reducing speed lines, reducing motion blur, and full button remapping. It’s still incredibly fast and visually stimulating, but adjusting these settings makes a significant change that may help folks who find the visuals a bit too chaotic.
Don’t mind the gap
With such fast gameplay and minimal chances to practice, you’ll have to pick up as you go. Thankfully, you aren’t slowed down by your skill level or the environment. From riding the wind to soaring through the air on ziplines, there’s always a path forward.
When there are no tracks? Go off the rails. When there’s water in your way? Keep comboing tricks until you can ride the Yayorozudo, the magic railroad. Most levels are short, but the different techniques you use to keep riding keep every level feeling fresh.
The environment changes between each level, and each prefecture of Japan is treated as its own zone with its own unique theme. This keeps you always encountering new tracks, whether they’re in the sky or in the middle of an active volcano.
These levels each have their own set of challenges, whether it’s high-speed races against 100 trains or igniting giant bonfires as part of the Daimonji festival at the top of the Mountains. The layout and challenges of these levels consistently felt fresh and unique.
It’s hard to say if it would feel the same on a second playthrough, but some levels would certainly require a second run after you know what to expect. Each has a rank, bronze, silver, or gold, depending on your time, points scored, and how many optional challenges you completed. This ranking system and the short levels mean it lends itself well to anyone wanting to go for 100% completion.
Outcasts of the Rails
The rest of the game is just as stylish as your tricks, crafted with vibrant cel-shaded art with a heavy Y2K aesthetic. It’s unapologetically exaggerated and pop, giving off the same rebellious feel as Jet Set Radio or Hi-Fi Rush.
It’s this vibrant style that breathes life into the characters. The brilliantly rebellious gyaru Yoshie oozes confidence and style, while the steadfast Yamagata is a natural-born leader and a rock for your other crew members.
Emi is the lightning rod that draws them all in, and she makes every race enjoyable with her endless enthusiasm. She sometimes moves too fast for her own good, but her high ambitions and ability to knock some sense into others match the high energy of the game perfectly.
Getting Bronze rank in levels unlocks more material for fanzines and magazines that you’ll fill out, which tell you more about the world and its characters. Just like a real fanzine, many talented artists brought the in-game fanzine to life, so learning the lore is a treat for the eyes. The different trains have just as much character, and it’s not long into the story before you can start switching to different rides.
They all have strengths and weaknesses, like the Road Fighter negating your first crashes but lowering your trick score, and you can switch between them between levels. Their inspirations shine through in each of their models, and they’re even more fun to use when decorated with different sets of stickers and colorways.
This isn’t the case for the occasional 3D character model or setpiece, a few of which didn’t capture the vibrant art style quite as well. This is only noticeable during the few times that you stop for too long, but the game is often moving so fast that this isn’t an issue. Most of the environment works brilliantly with the pop art style, making each level a delight to ride through.
These delights are all topped off by a stellar soundtrack that’s filled with a huge variety of artists. From Sonic Mania’s Tee Lopes to Shoji Meguro and Lotus Juice of Persona fame, each song is wildly different yet catchy and suited to the pop style of the game. It keeps up the already high-energy of this fantastic thrill ride.
Denshattack is always pulling out new obstacles to encourage you to find new ways to use your tricks, even if it throws you headfirst and tells you to enjoy the ride. Hop on board, and you’ll be on a thrilling ride that will get you to your destination in no time.
FAQs
As of July 2026, a physical release of Denshattack has not been announced.
Densha is Japanese for Electric Train.
This depends entirely on what you want out of the experience. While Denshattack has infectious energy and high-speed train races, experience, train games like Railroad Tycoon 2 offer a more relaxed station-management experience.
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