Look, I like trains. I also absolutely adore weird and wacky games, particularly because of the way they toss aside all sense, reason, and – above all – realism in pursuit of the essence of games: Fun. Pure, unapologetic fun.
Denshattack! is a score attack game set in a pop-punk dystopia where you travel a post-apocalyptic version of Japan filtered through the colourful optimism and absurd escalation of shounen anime. You step into the shoes of Emi Araki, a ramen delivery girl who gets drawn into the Denshattack sport-slash-movement, leaving behind the town she grew up in to participate in dangerous races, perform all sorts of impossible tricks (with her train!) in a variety of courses spread across nine regions, and rebelling against the megacorporation Miraidon… with style.
I was already pretty darn excited about this when I first saw it at Gamescom last year, not to mention when I spent way too much time with the demo recently, and I’m absolutely baffled by the attention to detail, so I’m hyped to talk about why I just love this game so much today.
Choo Choo!
Developers: Undercoders
Publisher: Fireshine Games, Boltray Games
Genre: Indie, 3D Platformer, Skating, Score-Attack, Arcade
Release Date: July 15th, 2026
Reviewed on: PC
Available on: PC
Copy was provided by JF Games.
So, the elevator pitch of “it’s a skating game but with trains!” may sound like a joke but the developers over at Undercoder somehow committed to the bit so thoroughly that it becomes one of the most inventive arcade experiences in recent memories for me. Rather than treating trains as these heavy and unwieldy machines restricted by the physical limitations of this very realm, Denshattack! imagines a world where trains kickflip, wallride, loop tunnels, and chain together a plethora of wild trick combos to soar through the bright Japan-inspired landscapes with infectious confidence.
As a result, it feels like SEGA made a comeback to its roots. It’s a modern game that very much reminds me of titles I loved as a teens from Jet Set Radio to Crazy Taxi. Every level encourages mastery rather than simple completion, rewarding you for taking risks, mastering its incredibly satisfying movement tech, optimising routes, and just having fun with it. In each level, you’ll also be able to complete dares and collect various objects for an additional challenge. Collecting spray cans lets you customise the crazy train you’re riding with new stickers, whereas gears allow you to attain new trains altogether, each with their own set of abilities.
It takes some time getting used to the controls, but once you get there it’s incredibly rewarding. Denshattack! has you jump over obstacles, switch tracks to avoid crashing, flick switches using tricks, groundstomp to land early, and even grind long pipelines while balancing your train. Using a controller is something I heavily recommend for this as it allows you much better control but also an easier time overall with performing the many different tricks.
What this game does incredibly well, though, is the onboarding process. Tutorials introduce new mechanics gradually, teaching you everything you need to know without overwhelming you. That’s great, but with some levels requiring a minimum score threshold to be completed, I do wonder what less skilled players would do in those cases. Beyond that, I’d like to point out that the developers added a bunch of options to help with accessibility as well. That’s a great thing, as it allows more folks to enjoy the game than just the able-bodied.
Look, drifting into corners to take turns without slowing down, hopping between rails, dodging lightning, chaining flips together, and doing manuals never stops feeling fun and amazing. Getting constantly pushed to think ahead, looking several seconds into the future to preserve your combo while reacting to hazards scattered across the levels, from fireballs to rival trains to huge seamonsters, is exhilarating and amazing.
And being a score attack game, you can redo levels over and over to improve your best time, attain a higher score, and just challenge yourself to do better. The levels are designed not only to be incredibly fun with their many unique and weird gimmicks but also due to their conciseness. Some levels, of course, take longer to complete, but on average, you spend 3-6 minutes on each level if you simply wanna experience each level, not to mention the amount of time you can save with shortcuts, the various boost pads, and good planning.
Beyond the movement, Denshattack!’s other strength very clearly lies in its level design and the many silly and very anime ideas that made it into this absolutely delirious journey. I was just sitting there at the edge of my seat with my locomotive breath, excited to see what crazy thing would come up next. Ride a Ferris wheel, kick-flip a boat, fight a huge mech consisting of groups of trains fusing together, shoot back baseballs with your train, and survive the onslaught of a moving castle! It’s very “anime” in all the great ways, just like other bizarre and over-the-top games that I adore, including the Yakuza series and Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. The levels only ever get surpassed by the boss battles they precede. Yes, boss battles… with a train… that skates… Yes!
It’s the kind of ridiculous spectacle that makes you grin because you can’t believe someone actually built an entire game around this idea.
Visually, Denshattack! embraces very bold colours, exaggerated animation that immediately recalls classics like Jet Set Radio, while still carving out its own identity. Characters ooze personality and drip, environments are packed with energy, and the absurd premise somehow feels perfectly natural in an otherwise incredibly chaotic environment.
Underneath the bright, bubbly exterior, however, lies a surprisingly bleak setting. Corporate authoritarianism, social segregation, and environmental collapse usually make for an oppressively grim dystopia, but Denshattack! refuses to wallow in misery. Instead, it treats rebellion as exhilarating. Its dystopia feels less like a warning and more like a playground for stylish resistance.
You topple corporate monuments, cover entire districts in paint, and smash through office windows with such unrelenting optimism that the game never lets its darker themes weigh it down. It’s a refreshing change from stories where everyone responds to a broken world with endless cynicism and gut-wrenching nihilism.
Ironically, that fascinating setting ends up being more compelling than the story itself. The narrative largely exists as an excuse for the gameplay rather than an exploration of interesting themes, which works well enough to propel you forward into action, but I just wish that it capitalised more on the world’s potential. The world-building is excellent, after all. There are flashes of interesting lore and cool backstories, the dialogue is consistently funny, and the cast is undeniably endearing.
My biggest criticism for Denshattack! is simply that the plot mostly exists so you can get back into the train and perform ollies and kickflips. Honestly, though, that’s probably fine. I mean, it is fun to perform tricks with your train and it just doesn’t get old either.
In the end, I love the way the game makes me feel, and I just sort of wish that it had made me think more beyond the core gameplay and how I wanna chain tricks together. The learning curve can be a bit steep, arguably, but I found myself getting the hang of things pretty quickly once it clicked for me. I enjoyed every single second I spent in this world and highly recommend it for anyone looking for their next score attack obsession.
Verdict: Denshattack! transforms one of gaming’s strangest concepts into an exhilarating arcade-ish experience that rewards practice, creativity, and style. Its unique movement system, infectious energy, and nostalgic Sega-esque and anime-inspired presentation make it one of this year’s most memorable and fun indie releases. It’s probably not for everyone, especially due to the skill ceiling it comes with, but players who enjoy high scores and mastering expressive movement systems are likely to find it more than just special. Choo Choo!
This post was originally published on Indiecator.
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