Spine is a stylish, combat-heavy action game that channels the spirit of John Wick with fluid gun-fu mechanics, cinematic flair, and a rebellious graffiti artist lead named Redline. Backed by Unreal Engine 5 visuals, a killer soundtrack from Le Castle Vania, and set for release on all major platforms, it’s shaping up to be a standout experience.
Over the past two decades, it’s fair to say that the Batman: Arkham series has had great influence on modern character-driven action games. The rhythmic, free-flowing mechanics of attacking, dodging, and countering have become a genre staple – evident in blockbuster titles like Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man series and martial arts epic Sifu. Nekki, a Cyprus-based developer known for their popular Shadow Fight and Vector mobile games, is taking those action-adventure foundations into a wild gun-fu direction through Spine. After a ten-minute demo at Summer Game Fest 2025, I was left very impressed by its potential.
In Spine, players step into the shoes of Redline, a revolutionary graffiti artist who gets a sentient spinal implant that grants her some serious combat abilities. Think of it as something similar to when Neo learns kung-fu through software in the Matrix films. Redline’s journey gets complicated when an authoritarian AI regime called Tensor gets hold of her brother, whom she then sets out to rescue.
Gun-fu gaming
While many games have tried to capture the cinematic intensity of close-quarters gunplay inspired by Equilibrium and the John Wick series (like Wanted: Dead, for example), Spine nails it from the start with combat that feels satisfying, looks incredibly stylish, and with real depth to its mechanics. Outside of controlling Redline with the left analog stick and camera with the other, anyone who has played the Arkham games or Marvel’s Spider-Man should be able to jump in pretty quickly.
There are buttons for attacking, dodging bullets, parrying, countering melee attacks, and shooting your firearms, which are effective at briefly stunning enemies. Some may find the lack of manual aiming to be an issue, but it makes sense within the context of the gun-fu gameplay as Spine isn’t strictly a shooter.
The director of Spine also mentioned that there are four classes of guns, including pistols, shotguns, and assault rifles. When things get tight, Redline can pull out a spray can to stun enemies for quicker takedowns.
Similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man, Spine lets players pull off flashy, context-based finishers. This time, it also depends on what the enemy is holding. If an enemy has a usable item like a firearm or melee weapon, Spine allows you to seamlessly integrate it into your combos for a limited time, adding an extra layer of creativity and chaos to the action. It’s just so fun controlling Redline as if she’s a futuristic John Wick.
This feels pretty satisfying when players take a shotgun, for example. During our demo, Redline fought up to around 15 opposing combatants at one time, and it felt awesome dispatching enemies with fists alongside guns. Enemies typically range from bog-standard grunts to larger, beefier targets that require a bit more thought to take down.
A fine blend of challenge and style
My time with Spine ended with a boss battle against a ninja-like enemy dressed in all black, having a spinal implant similar to Redline and an assault rifle. To make matters worse, the ninja had small robot spiders that could explode once close to the player. Though they were small in numbers, they grew larger and larger as the boss battle progressed. This served as an ultimate test of understanding when to dodge, counter, and attack, as the boss was just as fast as Redline.
The ninja could even teleport away, which only served to complicate things. Outside of some camera issues that had a difficult time keeping up with the action, fighting the boss was a cool experience as well. It did a great job of blending dodging mechanics alongside gunplay at both near and far distances. The developers mentioned that the length of the game should be around 10 hours, and right now, it looks like there’s plenty of fun to be had.
Visually, Spine looks as great as it plays. It utilizes Unreal Engine 5 while offering the polished visuals of a high-end mid-budget game. Performance feels great so far, as the rig we played on allowed for a solid 60fps without noticeable dips. The game’s visual style is deeply influenced by Redline’s roots as a graffiti artist, resulting in a bold, distinct aesthetic that sets it apart. Offsetting the more realistic visuals is a UX that incorporates graffiti, like the health bar, ammo counter, and how enemies are targeted.
Neon fights
There are even some cool moments where the camera changes to a top-down perspective, and this cool neon look when the lights go out during a few combat scenarios. Audio was just as cool with a pumping electronica soundtrack that matches the setting perfectly. It doesn’t hurt that John Wick composers Le Castle Vania are creating music as well. Meanwhile, the sound design enhances the intensity of both melee combat and gunplay with sharp, punchy audio that makes every hit feel impactful.
Set for release sometime next year for PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2, Spine is looking to be the gun-fu game players have been waiting forever for.
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