In 1804, the Cornwall-born engineer Richard Trevithick successfully sent the first steam-powered locomotive down a railway near Merthyr Tydfil. 222 years later, his original vision for efficient transport would be completely unaffected by the release of a video game, but at least it has trains in it. Welcome to Denshattack! – a title that can only be effectively described as what would happen if Tony Hawk took up a position working on the subway.
Before talking about kickflips that would make the British Transport Police weep, we should set the scene: you live in a hyper-capitalist society where the ultra-rich have irreparably damaged the planet under the watchful eye of a mega-corporation that serves only its own interests. Now that real-life society has been established, let’s talk about Denshattack! which also takes place in a world like this, but in which the mega-corporation in question has herded the ultra-rich into hermetically sealed dome cities, all connected by a high-speed pseudo-railway – a kind of “hyperloop” system. The game goes to great lengths to tell you all of this before reminding you it’s not important at the moment: in literature we call this “foreshadowing”.
The everyday citizens of the world don’t occupy these domes, instead living in the sprawling world between them and travelling across the dilapidated rail system that remains, with one such train operated by our protagonist on their way to deliver an order of noodles. This tutorial gives us a great introduction to the basics of riding the rails, including braking, drifting and jumping – acceleration is automatic, so it never poses a problem, but as you can already tell, this is no ordinary train.
After a bit of practice with rail switching and a few tricks, you are sent out into the world to become a Denshattacker – a competitive railway driver who will come up against various gangs, obstacles and, of course, that glorious mega-corporation to prove yourself the best conductor since Sir Topham Hatt III; despite my jokes at the expense of international rail institutions, the game takes place on the rail network across Japan, putting various analogues of real-world Japanese trains against one another for supremacy, allowing you to change your engine and style at various points.
Before talking about the gameplay, it’s important to talk about style, as Denshattack! wears every ounce of its inspirations on its sleeve – despite comparisons to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, the game has much more in common with Jet Set Radio and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, even going as far as including guest tracks from the composers of those very games, Richard Jacques and 2 Mello; the soundtrack is also led by Tee Lopes, a modern mainstay of video game music, including Sonic Mania and Penny’s Big Breakaway.
Unsurprisingly, the incredible music sits alongside a vibrant visual style, combining a palette of bold colours with simple but effective visual stings – the honk of the horn, the clatter on the tracks and the crashing of environmental hazards all elicit both a satisfying audio sting and accompanying onomatopoeic visual – it would feel right at home in the world of 1966 Batman visuals; this dedication to an overt graphic style not only helps keep the different elements of the game more clearly visible but also means that each area remains distinct and unique compared to its predecessors.
The need for this visual clarity becomes clearer as you start playing through the levels, with each one moving at an incredibly fast pace as your humble little train races through them – there are visual aids on screen to prompt you when turns or obstacles are approaching – something that especially comes in handy when multiple turns and track changes approach in quick succession. This in itself feels like an accessibility point, whether intended or not, giving people who struggle with the faster pace a perfect set of cues to work from.
However, Denshattack! isn’t just a game about getting from A to B, as each level also includes two additional metrics for success: increasingly difficult dares and the illustrious scoreboard; dares take the form of different challenges in each level, ranging from simply surviving without a single crash to destroying breakable objects – these grow in complexity as you progress, including chaining certain tricks together or doing things that would otherwise defy the laws of physics (as though doing an ollie on a train wasn’t already gravity-defying).
As always, the scoreboard is the most important metric for success – regardless of its relevance in-game, being able to brag to your friends about your high scores will always be more important than any virtual rewards, but rest assured, the virtual rewards are plentiful too, with each level containing a series of collectible items that can be used to purchase upgrades and paint for your train, giving you the freedom to pimp your ride to your heart’s content.
The prospect of pulling tricks and breaking the high score might be appealing, but it’s also important to talk about some of the tougher aspects of the game – unlike many of its wheel-sporting counterparts, Denshattack! is much faster-paced, forcing you to make swift decisions and to balance whether you have the time to do another trick or need to focus on a quick drift – there’s very little room for error, but once you get the hang of the core controls, it can be much easier to build on those mechanics.
Sadly for some this pace may be difficult to handle, particularly given how turns and twists in the rail can be very abrupt, sometimes obscuring upcoming obstacles – there are many points where the game changes your direction or even the surface your train is on with little warning, which can be disorienting without practice. This is further compounded with sharp camera changes and even the addition of wall-riding to further add a layer of confusion.
In spite of this, Denshattack! remains an incredible experience, brimming with funky characters, incredible scenery and the satisfying sound of wheels on rails – if Richard Trevithick were alive today, I have no doubt he would be incredibly proud. He would also be the oldest living human around, but that’s beside the point.
