NekkiBatman: 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. Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future, in Spine you play as a street artist named Redline, taking on an autocratic regime calle the Tensor Corporation with the help of your sentient cybernetic implant — named “Spine.” While the typical cyberpunk themes of social disparity and oligarchy are all there, are director Alexander Nemov tells Inverse that the rise of AI is also a major theme. Redline’s relationship with Spine is a direct parallel of the turbulence artists, like Nemov, have faced as things like generative-AI have become more prevelant. But the killer app of Spine is its Gun Fu combat, which even in this early build felt silky smooth. If you aren’t familiar with “Gun Fu,” it’s a sub-genre that revolves around highly stylized action that mixes acrobatics with martial arts and exceptional gun handling. The most obvious modern example is John Wick, but the idea extends from the classic films of John Woo, like Hard Boiled. Spine uses the same Arkham style format for its combat, you have your combos, an icon that appears above your head indicating a dodge, and the same for blocking attacks. If you’ve played any Arkham-esque game you know how to play this — but there are some interesting complexities layered in. Spine nails the Arkham-esque combat, but adds on its own twists. | NekkiBy the nature of Gun Fu, you do constantly have firearms, giving you ranged options to blow away enemies. Redline also carries a can of spray paint with her that she can use to stun and blow back enemies, even having a skill where she can whirl around in a circle to stun anyone close. These two options already make combat more diverse, but Spine also plays some tricks with camera angles and styles — some of which are direct nodes to the game’s inspirations. In one case the camera whipped to an overhead view and the game gave me a shotgun to massacre a bunch of enemies in a series of tightly packed room. When I asked Nemove confirmed that, yes, this section was a direct nod to the similar scene in John Wick 4, which was in turn inspired by the game Hotline Miami. By combining some neat mechanics with these kind of visual twists, Spine feels like it stands out from the pack of action games with the same combat. But the other key is the fluidity of the game’s animations. Nemov says animation has been a huge focus for the team on Spine, and they want it to feel as cinematic as possible. While the game is still clearly early and needs some refinement, the animations already feel top-notch. Redline twists and turns around the battlefield as you dodge, viciously executing enemies with finishers that feel crunchy and weighty. Your guns have limited ammo, so using them at the right time is crucial. | NekkiThe best Gun Fu movies have an almost balletic feel to their action, a coordinated dance of violence. I can see the threads of that forming in Spine, and with a bit tighter controls and polish I think this could be one of the most excpetional action systems we’ve ever seen. It’s genuinely astounding we haven’t gotten a proper John Wick video game, and only have a couple, middling, instances of John Woo game adaptions. Gun Fu is such a vibrant genre that’s the perfect fit for video games, and Spine could be the game that finally delivers on that promise. I’m genuinely excited to see how this game comes together next year. Spine releases in 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.