Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of those games that’s had a profound effect on video games, particularly in the way its mechanics have been copied over and over. Detective vision feels like it’s in nearly every video game now, and Arkham’s combat system has essentially become the blueprint for melee-based action games. But despite the sheer number of games that carbon copy Arkham’s combat, very few manage to actually do something compelling with it. Spine isn’t one of those games, combing the crunch Arkham combat with the balletic action of films like John Wick — layering a grungy cyberpunk world on top. After getting my hands on it, Spine is one of the surprise standouts of Summer Game Fest.
Spine comes from Cyprus-based developer Nekki, largely known for the Shadow Combat series. But this time around Spine is a completely single-player narrative experience laser focused on one thing, creating a cinematic combat game that can stand alongside the action film greats.
