Strange Girl Gaming

Mortal Kombat 11 has finally hit shelves four years after the release of MKX and fans worldwide could not be happier. Any time NetherRealm studios have a new game scheduled for release you can be sure that it is one to keep your eye on, particularly when it is the next instalment in one of the biggest franchises in not only the fighting genre but gaming as a whole.

Some old favourites have made their long awaited return to the series, seeing Kabal and Barraka again was certainly welcome, Jade was also a nice touch. It has been 8 years since these three made an appearance in Mortal Kombat, Frost has been absent for even longer than that so I think it would be fair to say NetherRealm studios have pleased some fans there. On the flip side however there has been quite the backlash at the absence of several fan favourites, Rain and Reptile being two of them. But the biggest loss of all that a huge amount of fans are feeling is Mileena, everywhere you look online the fans are asking for her and quite frankly I have to ask….WHY ISN’T SHE INCLUDED IN THE FIRST PLACE? Mortal Kombat without Mileena doesn’t feel right. I know that not all fighters can make the cut but she is a legend of the series, she is to Kitana what Scorpion is to Sub-Zero.

The story for Mortal Kombat 11 is nothing short of fantastic, it feels like you are watching an interactive movie with how brilliant the cutscenes are. The fights are well placed in each chapter of which there are twelve giving you plenty of story scenes to enjoy but not so much that you will get fed up with waiting for the next fight.

The length depends entirely upon whether or not you plan to watch through all the cutscenes, though why you wouldn’t on your first run is beyond me. The story is around 8 hours long, plenty for a fighting game. As with previous MK games you will be playing a different character for each chapter of the story so be sure to get familiar with a vast amount of move sets. As far as a story mode for a fighting game goes this is phenomenal, possibly the best story mode featured ever in a fighting game, then again MK11 is possibly the best fighting game to date all around. You may struggle to put the controller down and walk away, from the opening cutscenes to when the credits roll. The story itself is a follow on from Mortal Kombat X though you can still understand what is going on even if have missed the previous events.

The ending certainly leaves us open for another direct follow on in Mortal Kombat 12, there are several directions in which the story can go following the ending. NetherRealm Studios have done themselves proud, MK11 has been out two days yet I am already imagining where the plot is going in the next title. Kronika made for a fine antagonist, certainly an improvement upon the previous antagonist Shinnock. An ever present threat with a fairly relatable motive, it was an epic showdown and every subsequent fight with her in the towers is just as intense, that feeling of having to defeat the odds. Just a shame we don’t actually get play as her, yet at least.

As with all Mortal Kombat games there are klassic towers for you to partake in, each one giving a unique ending for each character. The time towers are new, special towers that will offer rewards upon their completion much like the multiverse in Injustice 2.Of course there is the story mode. The krypt is new and improved, a pleasure to explore, with many chests for you to purchase granting you different rewards, from useables in the tower to gear and fatalities for each fighter. AI battles have been added, a feature first seen in NetherRealms previous title Injustice 2. If facing the AI isn’t enough for you then the classic online modes are still around such as the king of the hill mode. 

To say this game is stunning would be an understatement, I was blown away by the visuals immediately from the title screen, so you can imagine my sheer joy at the sight of the fighters particularly in the cutscenes for story mode. It felt as though it was more like an interactive movie at times, it runs so smoothly. The combat is of course perfection, after all what is a fighting game with bad combat. All fighters have their unique signature moves, which can actually be swapped around and moved about to better suit your play style, new moves can be unlocked in the krypt and equppied in the kustomisation section. As with all fighting games some characters are easier to use than others with simpler combos but for those more tricky fighters the visuals of their combos and the bad ass feeling you get are more than worth the effort.

FINISH HIM! One of the main draws to a Mortal Kombat game has always been the fatalities, every time a new title is announced fans are eager to find out how brutal, disgusting and just plain crazy the fatalities of their favourite fighters are going to be. MK11 has not disappointed in this department, the new fatalities are not only brutal and comical but they are all true to the fighters that they belong to, for example Cassie Cages fatalities fit her character beautifully. Not to mention there are some gorily fantastic brutalities just waiting to be unlocked and unleashed upon your poor opponent.

To be perfectly honest I am underwhelmed by the gear system, why on earth isn’t it as in depth as the one from Injustice? It feels like a dumbed down version, while I can appreciate its presence as it hasn’t been used in a Mortal Kombat title before I am more than aware of how good it could have been, the system we have been given can be considered lackluster. Different skins are great but how about different armour pieces like Injustice 2 where they have bonuses and stats rather than just looking the part. That’s another thing the vast majority of skins are simply different in colour, it would have been nice to have each piece of clothing be customised just like Injustice 2. However let me stress that I do consider both the gear and skins to be great and they are a wonderful addition I am purely stating they are not as good as they could but that doesn’t mean they are bad by any stretch of the imagination, just means it can be built upon for Mortal Kombat 12. With this being the only thing I can truly make any sort of complaint about that means the game as whole is amazing, the new components in this game have elevated the much loved franchise to new heights.

As a side note for all of you trophy hunters out there this game is going to be a relatively easy one to platinum, there are only a couple of trophies that require online play but none of them actually require a win. The rest of the trophies consist of simply playing the game a fair amount and unlocking stuff in the krypt.

Mortal Kombat 11 is an incredible experience, any long-standing fan or perhaps a newbie to the series will appreciate this instalment. Maybe the best fighting game yet, it certainly ticks every box possible with the only complaint being the gear system could have been more in depth. If you are a general fan of fighting games I urge you to add MK11 to your collection, thank you NetherRealm and Warner Brothers for this fantastic game.