| Spine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Nekki |
| Publisher(s) | Nekki |
| Director(s) | Dmitry Pimenov |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Spine is an upcoming action-adventure beat 'em up game developed and published by Nekki for Windows, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The game follows Redline, a street artist who is fitted with a sentient combat implant called Spine, as she fights against an oppressive AI regime to find her captured brother. The game combines elements of gun fu, third-person shooter, and cyberpunk, and is inspired by the John Wick films. It is scheduled for a 2025 release.
Gameplay
Spine is an action-adventure beat 'em up game set in a dystopian cyberpunk world. Players take on the role of the female protagonist, Redline, a rebellious graffiti artist who acquires gun fu skills after receiving the titular spinal implant, which serves as her sentient AI companion and gives her new combat abilities throughout the game. Redline must rescue her captive brother from the autocratic AI regime known as Tensor, while fighting street thugs, mafia bosses, and trained assassins, some of whom are also similarly augmented by implants.
Spine's gameplay is centered around close-quarters combat with firearms, as Redline performs various combos based on the weapons she wields. It comprises around 20 missions, each designed like a standalone short film and set in cinematic environments. The player can snatch and use enemies' weapons and use Redline's spraycan to blind enemies. The game also incorporates parkour and acrobatic elements.
The game will feature a hardcore mode wherein the player must complete all missions without taking a single hit.
Development
Spine was announced in August 2021 by Nekki, the creators of Shadow Fight series and Vector, and was originally conceptualized as a PvP game. In December 2023, Nekki announced that the game would be repositioned as a single-player narrative action game based on fast-paced combat, and released a trailer of the gameplay.
The game runs on Unreal Engine 5, and also uses its own custom data shaders and Nekki's proprietary 3D animation software called Cascadeur. Art director Alexander Nemov stated that while the game's story and visuals are based on the cyberpunk genre, the game adopts a modern feel instead of the typical retrofuturistic theme. He added that the game is intended as "a warning of sorts against a digital dystopia."
The developers have cited the John Wick film series and the works of John Woo, who popularized the gun fu genre in Hong Kong cinema, as main inspirations for the game. A gameplay trailer released at the Future Games Show at 2024 Gamescom contained references to various films that inspired the game and featured music composed by Le Castle Vania, who had previously worked on the aforementioned John Wick series. Early reviews likened the gameplay to the 2022 game Sifu and Batman: Arkham Knight series.
Adaptations
In late 2023, a nine-episode webtoon, which serves as a prologue to the game's storyline, was released. In April 2024, Variety reported that Nekki, in collaboration with Story Kitchen, was planning to develop a television series adaptation of the game. Game director Dmitry Pimenov remarked that Spine would be a transmedia project, with web comics, merchandise, board games, and potential film and television adaptations being planned alongside the game.
Notes
- stylized as SPINE or SPINE – This is Gun Fu.
References
- ^ Hon, Jason (30 November 2023). ""A Cyberpunk Sifu With Gun Fu": Spine Preview". Screen Rant. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- "John Wick-Like Cyberpunk Shooter SPINE Receives Release Window". 80.lv. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Wald, Heather (28 August 2024). "Spine looks like a slick as hell action game that channels John Woo movies and the freeflow combat of the Batman Arkham series". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- Duckworth, Joshua (28 August 2024). "SPINE Has the Potential To Be the Next Sifu [PREVIEW]". Game Rant. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- Harrold, Kate (1 September 2024). "Spine preview: An impressive cinematic Gun Fu brawler". GAMINGbible. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Randall, Harvey (4 September 2024). "Spine – This is Gun Fu is shaping up to be a high-octane John Wick simulator and a lot of fun, but it'll all hinge on how its team sands down the rough edges". PC Gamer. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Allsop, Ken (28 August 2024). "New cyberpunk action game Spine fuses elegant Sifu style combat with Mirror's Edge parkour". PCGamesN. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Foster, George (28 August 2024). "Spine Looks Like The John Wick Game We've All Been Waiting For". TheGamer. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- Romano, Sal (27 August 2021). "Team-based action game SPINE announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PC, iOS, and Android". Gematsu. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- "Nekki (re)announces gun-fu action game SPINE". www.mondoxbox.com. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Packwood, Lewis (17 May 2024). ""We have a lot of stories to tell," says SPINE director Dmitry Pimenov as he talks about the game is being spun into comics, web series and more". Creative Bloq. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- Packwood, Lewis (15 May 2024). ""Unreal Engine 5 offers unprecedented creative freedom" - the art director behind gun fu game SPINE loves Epic's tech". Creative Bloq. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- Majumdar, Rahul (22 August 2024). "Spine Gets a Slick New Gameplay Trailer Showing Off Gun Fu Goodness". Men's Journal. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- "SPINE: Bullet Dancers". Webtoon. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- Otterson, Joe (16 April 2024). "'Spine' Film, TV Adaptations in the Works From Story Kitchen, Game Developer Nekki (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 1 October 2024.