Steam Next Fest is in full swing and it's the perfect opportunity to pad out your wishlists for the coming year.
I already covered the superlative Zero Parades: For Dead Spies as a part of the preview roundup, and next on the list is an equally audacious and irreverent Denshattack!, which is bound to please fans nostalgic for the days of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Jet Set Radio.
The premise is simple and irreverent to the point that Denshattack! even tells you the plot doesn't matter. In the future, the world is unrecognizable due to climate change, and remaining cities exist inside domains that protect them from the elements. There are also megacorps, rival gangs, and people who can manipulate entire trains as if they were skateboards, who battle against one another on increasingly mad tracks.
No, it doesn't make a lick of sense, and yes, it's a whole lot of fun. Denshattack! has the manic energy of 90s pop-anime like Project A-ko and Sailor Moon. It isn't meant to be logical.
Luckily, it makes perfect sense on a gameplay level. Despite the numerous mechanics and intense speed, Denshattack! is surprisingly easy to pick up and play. Controls are intuitive and the tutorial is highly accessible. By the time you get into a full session, you'll already have the hang of the most important mechanics. That way, as Denshattack! throws in even crazier elements, like sandworm trains and Katamari-style impacts with the surroundings, they feel like more of a good thing instead of an overload.
The demo, which is available right now, features the tutorial and first few tracks in the story quest, where you set off to fight the first in a series of increasingly unhinged bosses. It gives a nice understanding of the basics, plus you get a real sense of the scope that Denshattack! aims for.
In one of the levels, your brightly colored train leaps off the track and straight on top of a carousel, which turns into an impromptu method of plowing through the landscape. It's the kind of wildly inventive insanity that made me miss a few jumps because I was so busy trying to catch every detail whizzing by.
Which does lead to a concern: Every element of Denshattack! is a lot. A lot. For someone like myself, with cognitive disabilities and a difficulty focusing even on a good day, it was quite difficult to keep up the pace for extended sessions. While the controls are simple, they do require memorization of complex movements and a surprising amount of finger dexterity. For those looking for casual fun, Denshattack! might just be too involved in its current form.
But it is early days, and this is a demo, so there's hope yet.
Complaints aside, I had a blast with Denshattack! even in its limited form. I'm so glad someone else misses the heavily stylized madness of Jet Set Radio and doesn't care for physics much.
There's an elegance to the game mechanics that makes Denshatttack! such a thrill. It understands the core concepts of not just skating games, but platformers, puzzle mechanics, and even dancing simulators. While superficially Denshattack! appears straightforward, I can only imagine that its design is anything but.
Watch, for example, how the rail system emulated an infinite runner before turning into a timed platformer, all the while demanding precision for the tricks and spins, and then throwing in collectible loot and bonus objectives for each track.
Despite such an overload of ideas, Denshattack! doesn't feel overblown in the slightest. If anything, it is remarkable how coherent and whole the big picture remains.
For fans of indie hybrids and bright and poppy anime, Denshattack! is a must-play title and one of the most exciting games slated to come out this year.
Check out the demo on Steam here.
