SPINE Takes Cinematic Action To An Extremely Fluid Level - Gamescom 2024

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You know those cinematic trailers you see for action games where the main character is doing these insane parkour moves and flips to take out enemies in these insane ways? I think we all know by now that this is just the trailer and, unfortunately, not actually how they behave when you are playing the game. I thought SPINE would be one of these games since the trailers show the protagonist constantly flipping, shooting guns, and executing enemies in graphic and exaggerated ways. I was wrong, and this may be the first game I have seen where this type of trailer accurately depicts what you can do in the game, and I am in love.

When watching the hands-off demo of the developers playing SPINE at Gamescom, there was one word that popped into my head over and over: Fluid. The way you run around and combine melee attacks and guns (as well as paint cans since you’re a street artist) and doing these types of over-the-top executions all flowed so seamlessly that it created a spectacle that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. The way each animation flows into the next to create insane combos made it feel like every move you made was something epic you’d see in movies or these trailers, yet in this game, we can actually do it! Calling what the character does “Gun Fu” is quite accurate.

It all feels so cinematic, which is something the developers wanted to make sure was at the forefront of the experience. This was obvious when looking at the combat, but the world and surroundings helped with this, too. The lighting, models, and how you interact with them all felt elevated because of the focus, making it gorgeous to look at and entertaining to watch. And I am still a sucker for Cyberpunk-esque settings as well, which SPINE has in spades.

I also like the general story being told. You are a street artist who’s working with a combat implant to take down an AI regime that is oppressing the people. Throughout, there will be some banter between the two, which didn’t seem too cringey in the demo, but I’m interested in the story being told.

The game will have about 20 missions, each lasting 20-25 minutes. The developers wanted each mission to feel like a little movie in itself, with all of them connecting in one way or another. I like this approach, which makes each mission feel worthwhile to complete and something new to experience. It reminds me a bit of how Left 4 Dead structures its campaigns, each being like a movie with different levels inside of it.

It’s hard to put into words how much I adored what I saw with SPINE. I expected this to be another grandiose game that exaggerates what it is actually like through the trailers, but the hands-off demo proved me wrong. I couldn’t be happier, and I can’t wait to see the game come together as we get closer to release.

You can wishlist SPINE over on Steam right now.

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