Denshattack! Next Fest Demo - A Wacky, Delightful Experience

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There’s a particular kind of joy that only a certain strain of indie game can deliver, the kind that throws subtlety out the window, cranks the dial past ten, and dares you not to have a good time. The demo for Denshattack! firmly lives in that space; it’s loud, kinetic, proudly ridiculous, and within minutes, it becomes clear that this is a game utterly committed to its glorious, bordering-on-ridiculous bit.

At its core, Denshattack! is a fast-paced, movement-driven arcade experience built around pure, high-energy movement, momentum, timing, and navigation through increasingly chaotic stages. The demo drops you straight into its core loop: fast-paced stages that emphasise traversal, timing, and reacting quickly to environmental challenges. Movement feels snappy and responsive, letting you zip, bounce, and redirect with a satisfying sense of control that makes simply navigating the space enjoyable in its own right.

The real magic lies in how the game structures its levels. Obstacles escalate in complexity without ever feeling unfair, layering hazards and timing-based challenges that push you to stay sharp. It’s less about brute force and more about flow, finding the rhythm of a stage and committing to it. When everything clicks, Denshattack! feels almost musical, with your inputs syncing naturally to the chaos unfolding around you.

What stands out most is clarity. Despite the vibrant colour palette and exaggerated visual style, the play space remains readable. Environmental cues are clear, hazards are well telegraphed, and failure feels earned rather than arbitrary. When you mess up, it’s usually because you misjudged timing or overcommitted to a movement option, and that makes it feel exciting to retry immediately rather than frustrating.

Tonally, Denshattack! is completely and utterly unafraid to be silly, confident in its vision and apparent absurdity. Animations are expressive, interactions feel playful, and the entire presentation leans into its bizarre identity. There’s an infectious enthusiasm running through the demo, as if the game is constantly daring you to keep up with it. It’s exaggerated without being messy, chaotic without being confusing.

Perhaps most importantly, the demo feels confident. The controls are tight, the level design shows intention, and the pacing never overstays its welcome. It ends just as you’re fully locked into its rhythm, leaving a strong impression and a clear desire to see what else it has up its sleeve.

On Steam Deck, the demo runs impressively well and feels perfectly suited to the handheld’s pick-up-and-play nature. Framerates remain stable throughout, even during the busiest sequences, with no noticeable dips or stuttering to interrupt the game’s all-important sense of momentum. Load times are short, controls feel tight on the Deck’s sticks and buttons, and the vibrant art style pops nicely on the smaller screen. Power draw is modest, too, making it an easy recommendation for portable sessions, Denshattack! feels right at home on Valve’s littlest machine.

Based on this demo alone, Denshattack! is hugely enjoyable, a wacky, fast-moving, delightfully over-the-top experience that understands exactly what it wants to be and commits to it completely.

Denshattack!'s demo is available right now to try out on Steam, and we highly recommend checking it out for yourselves.

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