BY JOHN CARTER JR
With the release of Mortal Kombat 1 in 1992, fans across the world were enthralled and submerged into a world that went on to become a phenomenon in the fighting game genre. Mortal Kombat, originally developed by Miday Games’ John Tobias and Ed Boon is synonymous with titles like Street Fighter and even Pac-Man as being some of the biggest arcade titles to ever be produced in gaming.
Now in 2019, Netherrealm Studios, the current producer of Mortal Kombat, has released a new title Mortal Kombat 11. This game is a successor to the hit Mortal Kombat X and follows the 2017 release of Injustice 2 (which was also very well received by its fan base and by game critics alike). Upon release Mortal Kombat 11 has received high scores in terms of its critical acclaim, but has had a few bumpy roads in terms of how the gameplay works according to its fanbase. Overall, however, the game is simply a delight and will continue to be all over the competitive and the Downloadable Content (DLC) seasons respectively.
Netherrealm Studios often makes exciting and unique choices when it comes to the DLC characters that are released with their games. The first DLC character to have been announced is the series first major antagonist and a long-time veteran, Shang Tsung (The soul-stealing sorcerer whose origin was originally not known, whether it be Outworld or Earthrealm). The first four in six DLC characters in the Kombat Pack 1 have been revealed. A recent trailer revealed Shang Tsung would be joined by Nightwolf, Sindel, and (The comic book Anti-hero) Spawn. There are many other speculated characters according to rumors including Sheeva, Fujin, Cyrax, and other guest characters that may surprise fans.
The game’s story mode uses the concept of time as its plot device to bring all these characters who have died and characters from the past to be able to fight in one game, allowing for plenty of opportunity with future games in the franchise. There are plenty of interesting gameplay components that Mortal Kombat 11 seems to take directly from NetherRealm’s other big game franchise Injustice, this includes this Multiverse concept and that would play into the mechanic that Towers of Time work off. This also allows for other characters to meet with their past selves, allowing for a multitude of variations and customizable skins for players to unlock. This is also adapted from the Injustice 2 model, in that Injustice 2 included a multitude of skins and gear augments or variations that crossover in a similar fashion to Mortal Kombat 11.
These characters meeting their past selves brings opportunities for interesting interactions, including Kung Lao and Liu Kang meeting their future selves, seeing what they become after the original Mortal Kombat tournament. Many characters throughout the franchise’s history make returns including Shao Kahn who died in Mortal Kombat 9. Other villains also return including Kano and D’vorah. It is predicted that other major villains will show up as DLC and with Shang Tsung being on the way we can only guess who will be the next reveal DLC character.
One point that we can look forward to is that with each of the new models released we can see how far Nether Realm has come in terms of its grasp on modeling characters and it’s aesthetic. Looking at how some of the characters from different ethnic origins differ from their original counterparts definitely shows the strides Mortal Kombat 11 to be true to the character’s design and backstory.
In conclusion, Mortal Kombat 11, is definitely a great addition to the franchise and raises the standard for the franchise overall. Only the future will tell as to how the game will be supported with DLC but the future seems bright with the excellent choice of Cary Tagawa’s Shang Tsung to join the fray. Content from character design to story mode components, and using the successful assets from Injustice 2, allow for this game to flourish in ways that haven’t seen before. The multitude of modes that allow for variating gameplay will entertain and excite players for hours on end. We only can hope to see more and more great content soon from the Nether Realm Studios.
I give Mortal Kombat 11 a 9 out of 10 for great content and great design.