Denshattack! review – Jet Set Radio with trains

A kick-flipping ode to the Japanese underground system is gaming’s least authentic train simulator, and all the better for it.

The first thing to know about Denshattack is that it makes absolutely no sense. The second is that it is ridiculously good fun.

Created by Spanish indie developer Undercoders, the game takes place in a dystopian future version of Japan, where climate collapse means society has retreated into air-conditioned bubble cities connected by high-speed trains.

But, as the intro quickly adds, who cares about those guys? They’re boring and, actually, wouldn’t you rather just turn off that brain and enjoy kick-flipping a train car across some derelict bits of railway track?

This love letter to the Japanese underground system stars Emi, a protagonist whose face we rarely see outside of the game’s cut scenes. She’s a lowly ramen delivery driver but, fortunately for her, she soon meets Fernando, an aspiring photographer who pegs her potential as a Denshattacker – that is, a daredevil capable of doing gravity-defying ollies and sick tricks with her battered old train car.

So begins a quest for glory, as Emi travels across a climate-ravaged Japan, collecting allies as she goes, like some sort of deranged Pokémon trainer. Her goal? To become the ultimate Denshattacker, which of course means defeating all of her rivals. The end result ends up feeling something like Tony Hawk’s, crossed with the 9.50 service to London Liverpool Street.

The gameplay is fairly simple, with each level taking the form of a course that Emi must complete according to various objectives – whether that’s simply finishing the run, attaining a certain score, or doing things like knocking down buildings (by crashing into them, of course) and defeating enemies. Emi must jump across gaps in the track and avoid obstacles as she tries to complete the maximum number of tricks possible – which means rotating the joystick wildly to make the car spin whenever it’s mid-air.

Is it repetitive? Mildly, but the developers wisely change things up just enough to keep it entertaining. One moment, Emi’s car is delivering soba noodles to local residents, the next it’s racing against rival gangs and knocking their cars off the tracks.

Perfectionists, eat your heart out, because there’s a lot to complete here. Each level is timed and comes with a final score (and a medal) based on the amount of tricks done, dares completed (these range from acquiring collectibles to scaring pigeons or breaking satellite dishes), and manoeuvres done right.

Climbing up the rankings and attaining that elusive gold medal is addictive but be warned: the controls themselves are also deceptively tricky to master. Making it through a course without flying off the tracks or speeding headfirst into a wall requires keeping an eye on about three or four different buttons all at once.

It can prove mind-melting, especially given that each new level introduces a new gimmick. There are switches which can only be unlocked by hitting them in just the right way (i.e. with a trick), there are single rails to grind, and billboards to wall-run across. In many of these situations, the laws of physics prove more of a suggestion than an out-and-out rule.

Going around a corner is a question of braking just at the right time, but there’s also a button for tooting the horn, one for jumping, and of course, tricks to master whilst airborne – from finger ollies to 360° flips. Dangerous? Absolutely. Fortunately, Denshattack is a forgiving game, which seems to expect a lot of crashes from its players; going off the rails merely means resetting to a save point a few seconds prior.

As the game progresses, the world begins to open up and fun new mods come into play. Emi can buy new railcars, collect stickers and designs with which to customise them, and contribute to Fernando’s fanzine, which gains a new edition for each new region the pair travel to. There are even onsens (hot springs) set at intervals through the game, where Emi and her expanding gang can talk about everything from tactics to backstory – which is nice, even if there isn’t really a whole lot of plot to mull over.

At the end of each region, there is (naturally) a boss battle, which transcends the realms of train cars and heads deep into the valley of pure silliness. The animation style – bright, colourful and comic book style as it is – lends itself perfectly to the patently absurd things happening on the screen.

There are mecha-men made out of trains, baseball-themed encounters, and monsters made out of living castles. Even better, there are magical railway tracks made out of pure rainbows that materialise once a certain trick score has been reached.

It also helps that Denshattack is so resolutely sunny in outlook. Emi’s friends consistently hype her up (‘This is the making of a legend!’ Fernando exclaims at one point) and even if she has enemies, more often than not they’re swayed by a few kind words and a demonstration of Emi’s skills on the track.

Banish any thoughts of playing this and not coming away feeling better. Denshattack is not deep or profound but it doesn’t need to be. Instead, it offers an entertaining and addictive way to soak up a few hours of time and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
Price: £15.99
Publisher: Fireshine Games
Developer: Undercoders
Release Date: 15th July 2026
Age Rating: 12

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