Sick of Soulslikes? Denshattack is the Madcap Magic Gamescom Needed
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Amidst the serious tones of Gamescom 2025, the quirky indie game *Denshattack* emerged as a delightful, physics-defying surprise, turning trains into extreme sports vehicles for an utterly joyous, albeit intensely chaotic, experience.
You know that feeling when you're expecting another grim, brooding adventure, and then a rogue spell blast sends a train careening through a volcano? That's basically the vibe I got from *Denshattack* at Gamescom 2025. Honestly, mate, the whole expo felt a bit like someone had forgotten to bring the party poppers.
Right, so Gamescom 2025 rolled around, and while it wasn't quite the deluge of grumpy, grey soulslikes we saw at Summer Game Fest (remember that? My soul still hasn't recovered), it certainly favoured moodiness over levity. We had *Silent Hill f* (not exactly a barrel of laughs, that one), *Dawn of War 4* looking all grimdark and serious, and *Hollow Knight: Silksong* – brilliant, I'm sure, but those poor bugs don't even have mouths to smile with! It was all very respectable, very… *serious*.
But then, amidst the dignified gloom, a glorious, brightly-coloured glitch in the matrix appeared: *Denshattack*. And bloody hell, it was like a jolt of pure, unadulterated joy straight to my expo-ravaged brain. This isn't just a game; it's a mad scientist's fever dream, a half-racing, half-score attack trickster that basically asks, "What if a train… was a skateboard?"
Sounds daft, doesn't it? But stick with me, because this isn't some throwaway gag. *Denshattack* gleefully – almost derangedly – subverts the stuffy, anorak-wearing image of a passenger locomotive by making it an enormous, rail-grinding, air-boosting trick machine. You're still *mostly* on rails, sure, but these aren't your grandpa's commuter lines. Oh no. These rails lead to vast, chasm-leaping jumps, wallridable billboards that would make Tony Hawk blush, and axle-grinding pipe networks that defy every single law of physics I thought I knew.
You can actually *boing* off and between rails at will, which is where the real magic happens. Fancy some *THPS-esque* carriage flip combos? Go for it! Need to dodge an escalating series of track obstructions that look like they've been pulled straight from a shonen manga? Think falling rocks, fireballs, giant mecha attacks – hazards old Isambard Kingdom Brunel definitely didn't have to contend with. It’s glorious, chaotic nonsense, and I loved every second.
Now, here’s where my clever observational wizard brain kicks in. While it’s profoundly silly, *Denshattack* never feels like a disposable "Haha, train go upside down" moment. There's a genuine sense of care and craft gone into making these joyrides feel genuinely *fast*. The camera shake is just intense enough to convey speed without making you motion sick, and the soundtrack sounds like it ground the wrist bones of several session drummers into dust – in the best possible way, naturally.
Even braking, usually the most boring part of any racing game, is treated like an opportunity for spectacle. Time it right, and you'll pull off a railbound powerslide that slingshots you into a powerful boost. It’s all about maintaining that momentum, that rush of reality-defying speed, which makes you feel like you’re tearing through the world so quickly that reality itself starts to bend and break around you.
And the spectacle, mate, doesn't end at sick flips. The demo I played ramped up into utter madness. One minute, I was commandeering a ferris wheel to unicycle the train across a trackless beach (yes, you read that right), and the next, I was desperately scrambling through the core of an erupting volcano, leaping between tracks to avoid magma blasts. And judging from the trailer, those might just be some of the *less* fantastical moments the final game has in store. What makes it all so joyous isn't just the visual drama, but the fact that you’re right there, at the heart of the chaos, often *causing* it. It’s a beautifully orchestrated ballet of destruction and high-speed hijinks.
My only slight worry, my one gentle flicker of skepticism, is how well I'll cope with *Denshattack’s* sensory overload beyond a 15-minute demo. Don't get me wrong, it's bloody good fun, but my word, do you need to concentrate! Hazards bear down on you in a blink, and even a single botched corner will send your precious locomotive careening off the track. So, you've got to be constantly aware, ready to jump, dodge, and brake at precisely the right moments – all while ideally busting out those twisty, point-scoring tricks. It's a lot, for sure. It feels like trying to cast three spells at once while riding a magic carpet through a thunderstorm.
Still, despite the brain-melting intensity, this was probably my favourite Gamescom game of the whole show. It was definitely the one that plastered the biggest, silliest grin on my face. Here's hoping I'm up to the challenge when it lands in 2026. Because if there's one thing the gaming world needs right now, it's a bit more madcap, train-kickflipping magic.
Tags: indie games, action, racing, arcade, Gamescom
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun