SPINE, a game by Nekki, promises to be a title between videogame and film that will revolutionize action games as we know them, according to the producers
Today we’re talking about SPINE, a story-rich, single-player action game for PC/PS5/Xbox Series X/S. The futuristic cyberpunk world of SPINE will arrive on PC and Console in late 2025. More over SPINE will be adapted as live-action feature film by the company Story Kitchen. This company managed live-action like: Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and upcoming Sifu adaptation.
By the way, let’s discover all the wonders of this title!
SPINE: A city within a city
When the world falls apart and violence spreads everywhere; there are those who follow the herd and those who would like an alternative. If you pray long enough, someone might actually listen to you and give you what you have always asked for: a peaceful place where there is no hunger, poverty and violence. The Tensors have made it possible, not for everyone, but some lucky ones have left behind the horror of living in fear, giving themselves the freedom to live in a cyberpunk-style utopia.
The chosen few now live in the city within the city. This city within the city; is born from the thirst for power and control that its moneybags has. Every aspect, action and breath of citizens is under the dominion of this elite. That’s because they exploit, a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence.
What are you willing to accept for a little peace? Maybe a little too much and forgetting the real world falling apart. But this doesn’t seem to matter to anyone… maybe not for a while yet!
SPINE: Who is Redline
We follow the story of SPINE, in the role of the rebellious street artist Redline. She’s accompanied by her combat AI implant, called Spine. In our troubled and complex history, we will challenge the autocratic regime of the Tensor Corporation’s artificial intelligence. All while we learn to trust the Spine; in short, a walk! In fact: “At the beginning of the game, Redline only unlocked a small number of Spine abilities”, said Dmitry Pimenov, producer of SPINE. It will be great to find out what we will be able to do with the SPINE at the beginning of the game and how the potential “skill tree” will develop.
In any case, Redline is looking for personal revenge. Those of the Tensor Corporation have kidnapped her brother, and now with her we are looking to free him.
Like any hero, Redline will not have an easy life. We’ll have to deal with street gangs, armed Tensor troops and many other enemies before we can find our brother. We will be involved in firefights worthy of the best animated films. We will thus relive our favorite epic action scenes and create new ones. This is thanks to the skill of the team of specialists who take care of these action movie fight shots and choreographies. All powered by Unreal Engine 5 and the original Nekki: Cascadeur animation engine, making players the protagonists of their own action movie.
What the game offers
● Close-quarters combat: SPINE introduces a unique fusion of cinematic shooting and close-quarters fighting. All emphasized by elaborate camerawork that offers players dynamic and engaging gameplay
● Cinematic Action: Collaborating with action film specialists and paying homage to iconic action films. Nekki promises a truly cinematic adventure where every moment feels like a scene from an epic blockbuster
● Compelling narrative: Explore an immersive cyberpunk world as Redline and Spine challenge Tensor’s autocratic regime. Discover a story of rebellion, trust and survival, as you explore the risks and rewards of artificial intelligence
● Cutting-edge technology and graphics: Powered by Unreal Engine 5 and Nekki’s proprietary animation engine: Cascadeur. SPINE boasts smooth, realistic combat animations within a detailed cyberpunk environment, pushing the boundaries of gaming graphics
Find yourself in the center of the action – kick the gun out of your opponent’s hands or parry a bullet with your trusty katana! Grab your weapons, improve your reflexes with a SPINE upgrade, and prepare for an experience where no two fights are the same.
Q&A with the SPINE Devs
A few days ago the SPINE Devs took some time to answer some questions from the community passionate about the game. Rest assured that these will not be the last! In fact, the team will answer questions periodically. So as to keep the community updated and exchange feedback. We have selected for you the most interesting and gameplay-oriented ones:
1.
Q: How much focus will the game have on story?
A: Let’s put it this way: SPINE is all about the action movie feel of cool fights with guns and cameras. Everything else is pure narrative 🙂 The story is always essential to also capture the atmosphere of the film, especially when we intend to expand our universe.
I hope this answers your question.
2.
Q: Will SPINE be playable on Steam Deck?
A: Yes, since I have a personal interest in it – it’s one of my favorite gaming devices right now. I also play early development versions of SPINE from time to time. We will pay special attention to comfortable gaming performance when released.
3.
Q: Will we be able to upgrade our combat skills and level up our character? And will we also be able to customize our weapons?
A: We think this is a very important topic for our design, so we will definitely talk about it in more detail soon.
4.
Q: Are there multiple playable characters?
A: We’re very focused on telling Redline’s story. She’s the character we’ve always wanted to tell a story about: charismatic, adventurous, with an “act now, think later” approach. However, we created the SPINE universe so that we could tell multiple stories of various characters across different timelines. For example, you can check out our webtoon, which is an indirect prequel and tells the story of a slightly different group of characters: Bullet Dancers
5.
Q: Does the AI that helps Redline have other uses besides narrative ones?
A: The city, where everything takes place, is governed by an AGI called Tensor, and Redline has her sentient AI combat assistant: Spine. The theme of human-artificial intelligence interaction is at the center of our narrative. As designers, we believe that if you want to tell a story in the game, use everything the game can allow you. So expect Spine to work on all levels: narrative, gameplay, and the main character’s skill progression system.
We want to conclude this part of the Q&A with the words of the devs: “We look forward to showing more gameplay later this year, as well as revealing more about SPINE’s deep story and world building, character backgrounds, films and film production. Players can follow SPINE on Discord where we regularly reveal new content, captured directly from the game.“
With these suggestions we have reached the end of the News on SPINE. For now, we know we can add it to our Steam Wishlist. Furthermore, we can redeem on the official website, our digital copy of the #1 Webtoon “Spine – Bullet Dancers” dedicated to the game – How?, simply by subscribing to the newsletter. Bullet Dancers, will offer a background to the events narrated in SPINE. So, stay with us so as not to miss the next game developments and as always let us know your opinion by commenting below on our social networks! And in the meantime…
Good Game everybody!