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 - . Ever since the first movie released in 2014, fans have been begging to jump into the brutal world of Derek Kolstad’s mas♛terpiece, but those cries have fallen on deaf ears so far.

The one official John Wick game a🅷vailable to date is tactical strategy 𒅌game John Wick Hex, which isn’t what most people imagine w🌌hen dreaming of an adaptation of the series.

Although , there’s no telling if or when we’ll see that pr🤪oject 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, .

As a big fan of🌠 s🔯tylish 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. and incredibly slow-paced, which didn't exactly sell its fast-paced and brutal intentions.

, a direction that has mercifully beenཧ ditched in favour of single-player action.

After getti꧅ng the chance to see a hands-off demo of Spine at 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 protagon🉐ist 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 ga🔴me. 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 wa𝐆s 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 games and th🅺eir signature Freeflow style.

Spine’s gun and melee combat reminded me of 🌟a more refined versꦗion 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 an💟d opens them up to combos.

The handguns aren’t the only firearms that players can wield. The highlight of the preview came when Redline merci🌠lessly 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&rsquo♛;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 th🔯an I was after its slow, CGI reveal trailer.