There are so many things that can draw us to a new video game. Perhaps watching a gameplay trailer gets you excited, or you think the visual style is just drop dead gorgeous. If you’re anything like me you might be intrigued by how utterly weird or unique a game looks, and get excited at the prospect of something totally different. Well if you’re lucky you’ll find a game that ticks all of the anticipation boxes, like for example Denshattack!
I was already seriously looking forward to sinking my teeth into Denshattack!, and then I got to play the demo. It surpassed all my expectations, thanks to its compelling arcade score chasing and the ridiculously over the top stunt trains. Plenty of other Next Fest sickos agreed, and now we all have to be patient as we wait for June 17th. Until then though I was lucky enough to chat with David Jaumandreu, the Studio and Denshattack! Director about what we should expect from the game, and why they decided to make an extreme sports game with trains.
David Jaumandreu, the Studio and Denshattack! Director
Denshattack! released a demo as part of Steam Next Fest. How has the reception been?
We honestly couldn’t be happier and grateful with the reception! Reviews have been really positive and people seem to be enjoying a lot their time with the demo. We’ve also received some very interesting feedback that will help us polish and improve the experience from now to the release of the game.
How did you decide to make the first ever train stunt game? Where did that idea come from?
The idea actually came out in a very silly way, while playing childishly with a Japanese train toy model as if it were a finger skate. We thought how cool it would be if trains could grind or flip, so we started to create a game design based on the premise. At first the team was a bit skeptical, but when we created a couple of prototypes and experienced how fun the concept resulted to be in motion, we decided that it was a project worth investing our time in!
The apocalyptic setting is very novel for an arcade score attack game, what made you choose it?
It actually came out naturally as a sequence of thoughts. From the very beginning we knew the game had to feature the Japanese railway system, since we’re huge fans of it. In particular, we imagined the tricking train to be one of the single-wagon services that are controlled by only one person (and, hence, named “waman”).
These types of trains usually operate on local lines, which boast some of the most beautiful scenery along the tracks, but frequently have a low and decaying number of passengers due to the population progressively moving to big cities.
We kind of projected a future from these situations, in which these local lines have been completely abandoned for some time and could be used for underground races. Following global trends and concerns, that took us to create this sort of apocalyptic future in which the cool stuff is actually out of the overpopulated cities.
Do we get to meet the rich people hiding under bubbles later in the game, or are we too busy doing cool tricks for that?
We do! During the adventure players meet a lot of interesting characters from different Denshattack gangs, but, as they need to progress throughout the map, they’ll also encounter not-so-friendly foes from the domed cities that are not so keen on tricking trains crossing their domains.
Denshattack! feels like a mashup of a lot of my favourite extreme sport games mechanically, what games inspired it?
From a “trick-based” gameplay point of view, we had a lot of inspirations! From the classic Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, which basically defined the genre and blew our minds off from the very first installment, and its follow-ups, spin-offs and related titles, such as Dave Mirra’s BMX or SSX, to more modern interpretations of the genre, such as Olli Olli World or Rollerdrome.
The demo had us switching tracks, honking the horn and doing mad flips. Are there other tricks left to discover further into the game?
Yes, quite a few of them! During the adventure players will be facing different gang leaders that have some unique and slick moves. Just like a classic shonen anime, we will have to learn and master these techniques to be able to face the different bosses and continue making progress,
I only got to try one train in the demo, but it looks like there’s going to be others to drive. How do they differ?
There are quite a few trains to unlock in the game. Each of them has a unique set of characteristics that slightly alter the way they’re driven and some have also passive abilities, making them more suitable to face some particular challenge or more convenient for some types of players. For example, we can find trains that have less balance and are harder to control during grinds but, as a tradeoff, their manuals last longer.
The different objectives on each stage made for plenty of replayability, how did you come up with these?
When we design the levels of the game, we always try to make them unique and distinct from each other. We use elements such as setting, the challenges, the environment, the landmarks, the player interactions, the enemies etc. to create a different story and experience. Since we end up with a varied combination of interesting elements, we use these as a base to design challenges that feel tied to the levels themselves (even if we also have a few that repeat for consistency!)
In the demo I was blown away by the section where you ride a Ferris Wheel on a train. Are there more ridiculous moments like this to come?
Yes there are! Denshattack! features over 50 levels and we have put a lot of effort into not only making them feel unique, but also to keep surprising players throughout the whole adventure. When designing the different set pieces we took an approach of asking ourselves “why not?” whenever a cool idea came up, so we believe that the game features a large collection of memorable moments.
The audio and visuals of Denshattack! are very striking. Was it important to make a game that really stands out from the crowd?
Yes! When creating Denshattack! we wanted to evoke a feeling of joyfulness, style and excitement that could be felt just by looking or listening to the game. To achieve this we took inspiration from classic SEGA titles, such as Jet Set Radio or Crazy Taxi, as well as more modern gems, such as Bombrush Cyberfunk or HiFi Rush. All of these games are instantly recognizable and you can even feel their vibes with your eyes closed, just listening to their soundtrack.
Denshattack! is coming to PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox, and Switch 2 on June 17th.
