Spine Preview - Gun Fu? More Like Fun Fu

Spine is a gun fu-style action game developed by Nekki, known for the Shadow Fight series. Nekki, a team composed of animation fans, wanted to push its games to the next level by going hard on animations. Deeply inspired by creators like John Woo and films such as John Wick, Spine is an exhilarating one-stop shop for all things action. 

We were able to get some hands-on time with Spine during Summer Game Fest 2025. With a developer sitting by my side during the duration, I learned enough about Spine to have me eagerly anticipating its eventual release. 

A Strong Backbone 

Described as a "rollercoaster of gun-fu," Spine is an adrenaline junky's dream. While much of its inspiration comes from the aforementioned film and filmmakers, the gameplay takes notes from the highly coveted Batman: Arkham series.

Nekki is succeeding creating fluid combat that made Batman: Arkham such a hit. Non-stop, weighty but smooth fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds. Spine's badass heroine takes on dozens of armed thugs without flinching, fulfilling the power fantasy that lingers in all of us. 

The demo essentially guides us through a series of enemy encounters. In a tense cutscene taking place within a bar, shit goes down and heroine Redline jumps into the fray. Armed thugs try to surround her, but her reflexes are superhuman with her "Spine" implant. Like Batman: Arkham, there's a notification when you're about to get hit, giving you time to act.

Though, Spine is very proactive in combat rather than reactive. Instead of waiting for the enemy, you need to jump in and take them out. Beat them up enough and you can do a cinematic finisher involving your gun and/or fists. In many of these brutal executions, she takes these goons out with a close-ranged shot to the head. 

In combat, you're also able to use your pistol on enemies no matter the range. Spine does ask you to suspend your disbelief a bit -- pistols don't seem to do as much damage as your punches -- but it's fun to string a few shots together while beating down on enemies. 

Locked and Loaded

During one sequence in the demo, the camera perspective changes from typical third-person POV to overhead. Fans of John Wick 4 will immediately see the similarities, and it's just an exhilarating sequence as the music ramps up and you utilize a powerful shotgun against your foes. 

This is but one instance where developer Nekki hopes to surprise players by introducing new spectacles. A scene where you control Redline from the perspective of CCTV footage was teased, which sounds like another exciting scene. 

Previously I mentioned shotgun, so know that there isn't just a pistol --  there are other weapons too. Spine will feature four main styles of gun fu, so depending on your weapon, your moveset changes a bit. Though, in the case of the shotgun, its ammo is limited. The pistol, however, seems to remain with you when you run out of shotgun (or other weapon types') ammo. 

Though it doesn't seem like a requirement to do well in combat, Spine also features a parry system. You can parry regular, non-projectile attacks, but for some enemies with guns, you can also counter those. In some instances, you're able to chain together these parries and take out multiple foes in quick succession, which is immensely satisfying.

Spine Preview | Final Thoughts

Our demo ends with a boss battle against a spindly agent with night vision goggles akin to spider eyes. The spider theme is fitting here, as while we dodge the boss's sword attacks, spider mines start coming out, which is another element to dodge around and avoid. 

It's a tough fight, but one Redline is more than equipped to deal with. It's a satisfying conclusion to the relatively quick demo. There isn't a single dull moment in Spine, and I hope the rest of the game is just the same way. The developer is aiming for around 10 hours of play, which sounds like the perfect length for a bombastic game such as this. 

Spine was previewed Summer Game Fest.