Spine Looks Like The John Wick Game We’ve All Been Waiting For

Summary

• John Wick fans have been waiting for a game adaptation that isn't John Wick Hex for quite some time.
• Spine looks set to answer that call with its brutal and fast-paced gun-fu combat.
• A hands-off demo at Gamescom showed how far Spine has come since its CGI trailer from last year.

There are a ton of films that seem like they’d be perfect for a gaming adaptation, but there’s one that makes way more sense than the rest - John Wick. Ever since the first movie released in 2014, fans have been begging to jump into the brutal world of Derek Kolstad’s masterpiece, but those cries have fallen on deaf ears so far.

The one official John Wick game available to date is tactical strategy game John Wick Hex, which isn’t what most people imagine when dreaming of an adaptation of the series.

Although Lionsgate did suggest that a triple-A John Wick game was in the works last year, there’s no telling if or when we’ll see that project come to fruition. If, like me, you can’t wait that long to get your gun-fu on, then developer Nekki has the next best thing with its upcoming 3D action brawler, Spine.

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As a big fan of stylish action-focused games like Sifu, Midnight Fight Express, and Absolver (props to Sloclap for holding the genre up), I was instantly interested in Spine based on its gun-fu concept alone. It's just a shame that its reveal trailer was entirely CGI and incredibly slow-paced, which didn't exactly sell its fast-paced and brutal intentions.

Spine’s original reveal in 2021 painted it as a three-on-three fighting game, a direction that has mercifully been ditched in favour of single-player action.

After getting the chance to see a hands-off demo of Spine at Gamescom last week, I’m happy to report that the first showing was a just misfire. Although the version of the game I previewed was so early in development that it had text-to-speech instead of voice-acting, I still walked out impressed with its brutal gun-focused combat and stylish pop-punk world.

John Wick And John Woo - A Tale Of Two Johns

The section of Spine I saw took place a few hours into the game where street artist and gun-toting protagonist Redline has kickstarted her journey to rescue her brother and already become familiar with the titular Spine implant that gives her gun-fu skills that would make John Wick blush.

Although it was a little tough to get a read on the characters since the game is so early in development, Redline and Spine’s relationship was compared to a buddy-cop movie, with the two constantly bickering and quipping to one another throughout the game. Think Ratchet & Clank but with real guns instead of Disco Gloves.

That angle combines with a neon pop-punk aesthetic to give Spine a more lighthearted tone than I was expecting after the relatively deadpan and action-focused reveal trailer. Considering the main inspirations behind it are John Woo and John Wick, it’s encouraging that Nekki is putting its own spin on things and aiming for more than bullets, bashing, and blood.

Batman Arkham Gun-Fu

There’s plenty of that to go around, too. While I was happy to see that Spine has its own flavour, what I was really interested in was its main selling point - the gun-fu combat. After being disappointed with the reveal trailer’s pace and lack of impact, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Spine is taking a lot of cues from the Batman Arkham games and their signature Freeflow style.

Spine’s gun and melee combat reminded me of a more refined version of Gotham Knights’ Red Hood.

When Redline is close to her enemies she uses her signature handguns as pistol-whipping melee weapons, but she can also treat them as actual firearms whenever someone’s too far away. The mix of long-ranged and close-quarters attacks is almost rhythmic in execution, especially when combined with groan-inducing executions and a unique spray-paint attack that blinds nearby soldiers and opens them up to combos.

The handguns aren’t the only firearms that players can wield. The highlight of the preview came when Redline mercilessly executed a shotgun-wielding enemy and took the boomstick for herself as a temporary weapon. I only got to see a little bit of the shotgun in action, but it seems to offer a completely different moveset to the handguns, which adds even more spice to the already awesome-looking combat.

Although Spine’s main focus is on its guns and kung-fu, the preview I saw also emphasised the parkour and chase sequences. How very John Woo of you, Spine.

While I was very impressed with what I saw of Spine, I do still have some reservations since I didn’t actually get to play it for myself. The gun-fu looks fast-paced, stylish, and satisfying, but what’s really going to matter at the end of the day is how it feels. I’m not sure when I’ll find that out for myself, but I’m at least a lot more confident in Spine than I was after its slow, CGI reveal trailer.

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