“Mortal Kombat 11” was officially released in 2019 (same year Uncut Gems came out) on PlayStation 4 & Xbox One. It earned positive reviews from critics, fans and gamers alike. In addition to praise, the game made enough revenue worldwide. The game’s also available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. NetherRealm Studios’ highly anticipated reboot “Mortal Kombat 1” will be released on September 19, 2023. Before it comes out, I wanna share my thoughts on the eleventh installment.
This review contains no SPOILERS whatsoever.
Alive & Dead Aspects
Alive: Ed Boon and his developing team all did a decent job making the game.
Voice Actors including Steve Blum, Phil LaMarr, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Vanessa Marshall, Ronda Rousey, Jennifer Hale & Kelly Hu all did an excellent job for their respective voiceover performances.
Main Story takes place after “Mortal Kombat X.” Past and Present versions of the main characters unite to battle a god’s grandmaster plan to reset the timeline.
You can improve your skills in Training Mode on a fighter’s moves, memorize his/her combos, input buttons to trigger a specific fatality and brutality.
Arcade Mode under “Towers of Time” encourages you to pick your favorite fighter. Ensure difficult challenges, beaf several opponents, reach a final battle with Kronika, if you’re the victor, you win a specific character’s ending. Depending on the difficulty, various towers can be easy or tough. Do you have what it takes to beat ‘em? Time Towers have a time limit. Plan carefully, augments come in handy.
Fatalities and Brutalities escalate one heck of a blood bath giving you many options to take down your opponent in a gory yet awesome way.
Graphics improve character models, stages, fluid movement, lighting among other things as the best looking Mortal Kombat game to date.
Online Matches are optional. I never played against people online.
There’s a total of 25 playable fighters. If you bought all 12 DLC characters, you get a grand total of 37.
Seven DLC Fighters from previous games.
- Shang Tsung
- Nightwolf
- Sindel
- Funjin
- Sheeva
- Millena
- Rain
Five Guest Fighters
- Spawn ( my favorite non-Marvel/non-DC superhero.
- Joker
- Terminator
- RoboCop
- Rambo
Keith David, Peter Weller & Slyvester Stallone reprise their roles as their iconic characters.
Fighters I played the most are Liu Kang, (my favorite character) Spawn, Joker & Terminator.
To put the icing on the cake, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa reprises his role as Shang Tsung from the 1995 live-action movie. Although a clunker, his performance was the best part. If you beat somebody without a fatality/brutality, his outro is the infamous line. “Your soul is mine!”
Christopher Lambert reprises his role as Raiden as an exclusive skin based his likeness in the 1995 live-action movie. To quote “Highlander.” There can only be one.”
A new mechanic “Krushing Blow” fills your meter giving you an advantage to damage your opponent’s health. It only works if your health’s barely low.
Before a fight begins, two fighters engage in a hilarious banter.
Taking cues from “Injustice 2,” a gear system’s introduced. Allowing you to personally customize your favorite fighter’s costumes, accessories, special attacks, brutalities, intros and outros.
Krypt Mode’s gonna keep you invested gathering various currencies and tools you need unlock gear, costumes, concept art, special attacks, intros, outros, fatalities and brutalities. Good Luck spending countless days seeking what you desire. Whether you want your fighters to look fashionable or acquire deadly attacks.
DLC expansion “Aftermath” adds a new storyline, stages and friendship finishers.
If you’re a mega fan of the Mortal Kombat series, there’s a ton of Easter Eggs.
My total playthrough is over 100 hours.
Aftermath’s ending sets up the 2023 reboot.
Dead: Pesky Microtransactions try to make you buy cosmetics & “Easy Fatality Tokens.” I prefer earning a hard-earned award the old fashioned way.
The Final Verdict: A-
Mortal Kombat 11 is a near-perfect game that’ll immerse you for countless hours. If you’re stoked for the upcoming reboot like me, buy the game and every single DLC.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 