In the midst of Steam Next Fest, Denshattack! is an explosive affair that can’t be missed. Coming from developer Undercoders, the chaotic trick busting train action game is a chaotic blast, bringing together pieces of what made so many skateboarding games so special, while slapping on a train aesthetic. It feels fantastic to play, and if this snippet is any indication, Denshattack! is one to keep an eye on when it launches later this year.
The demo is short, but fast and furious, running through the first few levels of the campaign. We follow Emi as she ventures into the underground train battle network known as Denshattack. The world has fallen into ecological disaster, with the rich and elite hiding in domes in populated areas. The rest of humanity suffers outside, and Denshattack arises as rival gangs compete to out-trick and grind their way to the top. It’s a fun setup that feels ripped straight out of a 2000s anime, and it sets the stage for the wild train rides to come.
The demo runs through the first three levels of the campaign, introducing the player to the mechanics. The train rips forward, careening tons of metal as it flies down tracks that wind, disconnect, and loop, busting out sick tricks along the way. The movement feels natural, and all connects, as you aim to hit the perfect drift around a corner for a higher speed boost. Jumping off a track offers a precious few seconds to hit plenty of skateboard tricks made into train maneuvers, sticking the landing on the next track without losing even a second of speed. Levels have various objectives, from racking up high scores to getting to the end as fast as possible.
All three of the levels are a ton of fun and offer hints at what’s to come. The final level of the demo is the most exciting, with the train popping off the tracks at one point to fly across the water atop a Ferris wheel. It’s frenetic and boisterous, an all-out assault on the senses that had me grinning from ear to ear. It ends up careening into a volcano, outrunning the rising lava levels all the while dodging fireballs erupting from below. It’s this larger-than-life action that had my mind flashing back to the shonen noise that rewired my brain decades ago.
There’s also a trick park that unlocks after you finish the run of levels, offering a more open environment with a deeper assortment of tricks to bust out. Wall riding, rail grinding, and more enter the conversation, opening up new potential for higher scores and skill expression. You also unlock train customization, trading the wood grain of a skateboard for the metal sheen of a train compartment, with the same level of colour and sticker expression. What else could be hiding around the rails of Japan remains to be seen, but I can’t wait to find it.
Denshattack!‘s demo ends just as the pieces start to fall into place, leaving me itching for the next level. I can’t wait to see how much deeper the customization goes, what trick unlocks in the next level, what levels of ridiculousness await in the next boss fight. Denshattack! instantly became one of my most anticipated games of this year in a handful of minutes, an explosion of colour, noise, and gnarly moves unlike anything else.
Denshattack! is set to release sometime in 2026 on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series.
