Denshattack!

It isn't clear and consistent enough for serious score attack play, yet it's also far too fussy to allow the raw absurdity of moments like controlling a shark or countering giant baseballs with aerial tricks to sweep me up in a wave of comedic positivity. This train has gotten lost somewhere between two diverging tracks.

Denshattack! is a showcase of how indie games can create magical titles that a small-scoped project can successfully achieve. The combination of action sports tricking and high-speed platforming produces exhilarating fun in short bursts. The presentation of this stylised title that evokes the spirit of Dreamcast-era games is extremely on point. The soundtrack is something you’d pay money for how good it is.

All in all, Denshattack is a wacky, over the top experience that demands your full attention and offers plenty of replay value. I will say, though, that for as absurd and fast paced as it is (and believe me, I love my games when they’re completely ridiculous), it throws a few too many mechanics and reflex checks at you all at once, all while expecting you to squeeze in trick combos during a run. It can be a bit overwhelming and frustrating at times, but the game is just so damn charming that it’s somewhat easy to overlook most of its flaws.

In short, there’s something for all arcade game lovers, anime fans, and extreme sports enthusiasts who yearn for the good old days of hybrid sports games with a ton of expressionism.

Denshattack is overwhelmingly joyous, wonderfully vibrant, and far too smart to be dismissed as just that comedy train kickflip game. It is, in fact, the best thing I’ve played so far this year. Did I mention you get to blow up a data centre?

Denshattack! is just that, with enough of the style of Jet Set Radio and the gameplay-first artisanship of OlliOlli to make the whole thing feel refreshing and somehow original at the same time. Irreverent, unpredictable, funny, and unputdownable, Denshattack! is anti-capitalist, pop-punk optimism distilled. For what it is, where it's come from, and what it's trying to do, it feels almost impossible - and I cannot get enough.

Denshattack is one of the fiercest, fastest, and most lovable games I’ve played in quite some time. Once you get past the absurdity of trains jumping thousands of feet into the Japanese sky and performing the sickest tricks this side of Tony Hawk, you are met with skill-based gameplay that rewards as much as it challenges, a profoundly lovable cast of characters, and music so good it deserves to go down in history.

Dazzling and chaotic; Denshattack! is a love letter to Japan that is far from perfect but comes close when it clicks and serves a welcome reminder that video games are not only supposed to be fun but can offer a kind of fun not found in other media. If, that is, your thumbs can handle it.