Denshattack! Review: Tony Hawk Meets Jet Set Radio on a Skateboarding Train [Metacritic 90]

Spanish indie studio Undercoders launched Denshattack! on July 15, 2026 for PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Reviewed within days of release, it holds a Metacritic score of 90 and 97% positive Steam user reviews — numbers that place it among the strongest indie releases of 2026. IGN called it "a joy" (9/10), Eurogamer awarded 5/5, and Polygon ran the headline "2026 finally has the best 3D Sonic game of all time." A 10% introductory discount on Steam runs through July 29.

Sources: Steam Store · Metacritic · Polygon Review · Indie-Games EU Review · Gamebrief Review

Quick Facts

About Undercoders and Fireshine Games

Denshattack! is Undercoders' first major international release. The Spanish studio had operated quietly before landing a slot in the Nintendo Indie World Showcase on March 3, 2026, where the release date trailer went viral almost immediately for its readable, absurd premise. Publisher Fireshine Games — the UK indie label behind Tinykin and The Mermaid Mask — secured simultaneous multi-platform release with no timed exclusivity. Co-publisher Boltray Games handled additional distribution.

The game was originally scheduled for June 17, 2026. A one-month delay for additional polish pushed it to July 15. Gamebrief's Finn Calloway noted that "the wait mostly paid off in polish rather than added scope: nothing about the platform list or content changed between the June and July builds." That's exactly what a polish delay should look like.

What Is Denshattack?

Instead of a skateboard, you ride a customizable, gravity-defying train, and everything that a skateboarder can do in a Tony Hawk game, your train can do here. Ollies, kickflips, grinds, manuals, shove-its — all executed through stick-flicking inputs inspired by the Skate series. On paper, "Tony Hawk but on a train" sounds like a one-week game jam entry. In practice, it earns every comparison it invites.

The setting carries its own weight. In a climate-ravaged near-future Japan, the powerful Miraidō Corporation controls the national rail network, keeping cities sealed under environmental domes. Players take the role of Emi, a delivery driver who joins the Denshattackers — an underground community of train-trick performers who use their modified locomotives to push back against corporate control. The story is thin and cheerfully aware of it; the anti-AI thread woven through the plot gives it a contemporary edge without trying to be a message game.

As Polygon's Giovanni Colantonio summarized:

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"A game about skateboarding trains should not work; the fact that Denshattack! lands as one of 2026's most exciting indies is a testament to how much it captures the spirit of cool." — Polygon

The Trick System

The trick system has two layers. The base layer will feel familiar to genre fans: a move vocabulary of 57+ tricks introduced gradually enough that each new mechanic is comfortable before the next arrives. By the midgame, what began as a simple kickflip is one link in a chain that can carry through an entire level.

The second layer is what separates Denshattack! from simple genre homage: a fighting-game-style timing input sits on top of the standard trick chain. Hit the correct input window during a combo and the chain extends; miss it and it drops. This layer is the most demanding to internalize, but it's also where the most satisfying mastery moments come from — the session when the timing clicks is the session you stop playing a trick game and start playing this trick game.

Customization adds a third dimension. Trains receive both cosmetic and functional upgrades as the campaign progresses. The starter vehicle — the yellow, star-covered grind car visible on most promotional artwork — looks nothing like what you're piloting by the midgame. None of the upgrades alter the underlying trick math, but they give completionists something to pursue beyond raw score records.

Accessibility received genuine attention: a Camera Comfort setting for motion sensitivity, per-channel audio volume controls, and a keyboard-only control scheme are all included. That said, reviewers across the board and Undercoders themselves recommend a gamepad for anything involving longer trick chains.

Level Design and World

Denshattack! covers 67+ stages spread across a journey through future Japan's major regions:

Individual stages typically run 5 to 10 minutes, with target scores, time goals, and optional side objectives. Failure never blocks progression — generous checkpoints mean the default response to a bad run is an immediate retry, not a loading screen and a setback. Indie-Games EU described this as an "addictive 'just one more run' loop that's perfect for replaying in search of better scores."

Polygon's review credited level design as the game's structural foundation, comparing Undercoders' approach to 3D Sonic: "a series of speedy roller coasters that still require you to pay attention and make quick decisions. You're rarely just riding along one straight path."

Boss Fights

Every chapter closes with a boss encounter that functions as a standalone creative set piece rather than a scaled-up health bar. The Steam description's "from mecha magical girls to moving castles, and mechanical worms to a Denshattacker army" is accurate promotional copy, not hyperbole. Encounters include a stage built around dodging a baseball-launcher, a mecha rival duel, and a fight inside a collapsing structure where the environment deals as much pressure as the opponent.

Gamebrief's Finn Calloway identified the design discipline behind this:

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"Each [boss fight] functions as a distinct reflex test built around its own gimmick rather than a bigger version of the standard trick chain." — Gamebrief, 8.6/10 (Finn Calloway)

No boss is a difficulty wall, but each serves as the chapter's creative capstone — the moment that ensures the campaign doesn't blur into a sequence of indistinguishable score stages.

Presentation

Visuals: The anime-adjacent art direction uses speed lines, bright color pops, and expressive character animation to complement the game's pace rather than compete with it. Visual clarity is a highlighted strength across reviews: even during the fastest sequences, the screen remains readable enough to make real-time decisions. Each region holds its own visual identity — Kyushu's pastoral greens and Hokkaido's ice-white don't share a palette, and the more surreal later environments lean into their own logic.

Music: The soundtrack features contributions from Tee Lopes (known for Sonic Mania), Andrew One, and Sean Bialo, built to match the game's rhythm rather than sit underneath it. Indie-Games EU called the score "exceptional," noting that "nearly every level feels elevated by its soundtrack, and several songs stayed with me long after I finished playing." Tee Lopes' involvement will resonate with players who remember how transformative the Sonic Mania OST was for that game's reception.

Voice and Style: English and Japanese full audio are both available. The Denshattackers' irreverent banter, a collectible zine system, and graffiti-covered train skins work together to establish the world's counter-cultural DNA without requiring exposition.

Where It Falls Short

Two criticisms appear consistently across independent reviews and are worth flagging:

1. 1HUD legibility during complex combos: The trick-prompt overlay — icons indicating whether to lane-change, jump, or trick next — can blur into noise at speed when three prompts queue in rapid succession. Gamebrief noted that "more than one review independently landed on the same complaint," suggesting it's a systemic UI limitation rather than a per-reviewer sensitivity.
2. 2Camera behavior on late tracks: The game uses dramatic angles for spectacle, and those angles occasionally obscure upcoming junctions at exactly the moment when visibility matters most. This compounds the HUD problem on the game's larger, more sprawling stages.

Together, these create friction between the trick system's peak potential and what first attempts actually land. Neither kills the experience, but both are real.

Critical Reception

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"One of the fiercest, fastest, and most lovable games I've played." — The Gamer, 5/5

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"Irreverent, unpredictable, funny, and unputdownable." — Eurogamer, 5/5

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"I enjoyed every second I spent in its world ... a joy." — IGN, 9/10

Community Reception

Steam user reviews have held above 95% positive since launch. Community discussion has converged around a few consistent themes: the trick-chaining click moment (the session where the timing layer becomes instinct), the spectacle of the boss encounters, and the soundtrack. Score-attack clips are circulating across the game's Steam community hub and related subreddits, building an organic competitive layer the developers appear to have built toward.

Before launch, Denshattack! accumulated over 160,000 Steam wishlists after its Nintendo Indie World reveal — a number that reflects sustained interest across the months between announcement and release, rather than a spike from a single viral moment.

Who Should Play This

Strong recommendation for:

• ▶Fans of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, Jet Set Radio, Sayonara Wild Hearts, or Sonic the Hedgehog (3D entries) looking for a genre that hasn't had a new standout in years
• ▶Players who enjoy fast-paced score-attack games with real mechanical depth
• ▶Anyone who wants a polished 9–15 hour campaign with built-in replay via score chasing, collectibles, and 39 achievements
• ▶Nintendo Switch 2 owners: simultaneous multi-platform launch with portable sessions that suit the 5–10 minute stage structure

May not suit:

• ▶Players who want a strong narrative alongside their gameplay — the story is intentionally thin
• ▶Anyone who finds fast camera movement uncomfortable without accessibility options (Camera Comfort is available but may not be sufficient for everyone)
• ▶Players looking for something longer: the campaign is 9–15 hours and doesn't extend much beyond full achievement completion

Buying Options

Buy on Steam →

GamePeak Take

Denshattack! achieves the hardest thing in game design: it makes an absurd premise not just work, but feel obvious in hindsight. The "Tony Hawk on a train" pitch survives a full campaign not because the novelty sustains it, but because Undercoders built enough mechanical depth beneath the novelty that the trick system holds up entirely on its own — which is, per the quality contract reviewers keep citing, exactly what a short game with thin story needs.

A Metacritic score of 90 on a first major release, with 97% Steam user positivity, suggests this isn't critic consensus outrunning player reception. Both groups landed in the same place. For the sub-$20 bracket, Denshattack! is one of the clearest recommendations of the summer. The introductory discount ends July 29.