Spine
Image: Nekki

If you cast your mind back to 2023's Wanted: Dead, a game this writer just couldn't really get along with on Xbox, you may remember that, despite myriad issues, it still came close to being quite good. Well, sort of.

Soleil's action effort combined guns and fisticuffs into "Gun-Fu" of a sort, and to rather special effect in places, giving us plenty to enjoy visually, whilst also letting itself down overall with shoddy controls and some terrible enemy placement.

And so, as soon as we laid eyes on Nekki's Spine, which has just been announced as "now targeting" Switch 2 and looks to employ the same sort of mechanical devices in its fighting, we couldn't help but get a little excited that maybe this time the Gun-Fu will come through.

As you can see from the trailer, the vibe here is very, very similar to Wanted: Dead, with players assuming control of Redline, a cool female assassin who, judging by the footage, is quite good at beating people up.

The focus is on combining gun and physical attacks into very flashy combos, and utilising parries and timings in order to move seamlessly between foes, as the official press release from Nekki details;

“Freeflow Gun Fu combat means constant tactical awareness—both of your enemies and of the surroundings in which you fight...For us, everything comes back to that cinematic experience, while always giving players complete control. We want to make players feel like both the star and the director of their own action movie, rewarding them with opportunities for creative takedowns by mastering the combo system and the environment, and showcasing their combos with dynamic camera angles to immerse them in the action.”

Ah yes, there are environmental aspects too, with makeshift melee weapons, hard surfaces to crack foes off, and open windows to fling any trash out of. We reckon the gameplay looks pretty great so far, if a little rote, and if Nekki can nail the fundamentals, this certainly looks like it could scratch the itch left by Hannah Stone and her Wanted crew.

The game also features a novel hardcore mode, which sees Redline pop on a pair of delicate sunglasses. Get hit once, the glasses are broken, and it's game over. Now, that's an intriguing prospect.

Spine's release date is still to be confirmed, so we'll be keeping an eagle eye out for that info as it drops.

Does Spine look like your cup of very violent tea? Let us know in the comments.