Mortal Kombat 11 Review
Netherealms Studios has always kept to what brought them to the dance with their fighting classics such as the Mortal Kombat series and their Injustice fighting games. While most of the earlier Mortal Kombat titles failed to actually bring anything new to the table in terms of gameplay mechanics, that is certainly NOT the case with MK11.
Sure it is still classic beloved Mortal Kombat, with the bloody and gory Fatalities and Brutalities in full swing, as well as the Tower tournaments that whence beaten reward players with unique or special gear. But this year, Mortal Kombat has took a few pages out of the books Injustice 2 wrote, offering players the chance to score some attire & gear/weapons for their favorite fighters, which enables you to customize the appearance of all your faves. Sure, this may not sound like anything never seen before, but after analyzing the whole package as a game here, you will see that this surpasses Injustice 2 in many ways for replay and loot. One of the best features that is absolutely a step in a broad and clever direction is the way the Krypt has improved. VASTLY building upon the premise of last MKX's Krpyt, where players could literally have cleaned special treasures and enhancements out within 2 weeks, this years Krpyt is gonna take far longer and many more hours put in than before. Gone are the cheap jump scares the last game popped out on you while exploring the Krypt, this year has a genius and innovative structure at play here. You begin exploring the Krypt controlling a Monk in third person, and as you progress, it is very much like a whole new game on its own. You of course will spend your earned coins on the THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of scattered and hidden chests throughout the area, and once you have found certain key items, such as the Hammer, the games UI informs you that now while you are exploring, you can push the Square button to swing the hammer and potentially discover secret passages by breaking down walls, or gathering coins by smashing urns and obstacles in your path. While this may not sound like much, it only gets much better and intuitive. After exploring even further into the depths and massive caves and temples, you will keep finding these key items such as Kenshi Blindfold, which you can wear by holding down O at the price of the games Soul Fragments in your possession (which I will go further into detail about later), and you can reveal the location of invisible treasures and new passageways while it is equipped. These features and many more pleasant surprises await you in this years massive Krypt, and believe me when I say, that you won't be breaking any records by clearing this one out, as their are some very well hidden items to find, new routes to explore and features and buttons being enabled to offer new abilities. The Krypt is a well earned break from the grind of fighting in the Towers, and is a breath of fresh air, as it really does almost feel like you are playing a completely different game. And you are gonna want some of the Fatalities and Augment Enhancements as well as Special Weapons that are found in all the secret places throughout. Brilliant improvement to last MK's Krypt.
Something else that I found to be a nice improvement are some of the systems in the main menu. Now, you can view in depth tutorials or rookie basics training, which provide you with anything you could possibly want to learn about controlling your favorite fighters. There is also a new feature called the Forge located in the Krypt, which allows players to craft VERY strong and unique gear and weapon, provided you have the right materials and the Forge Recipes which will tell you what you need to craft it.
The Story Mode is actually fun to play this year as well, and offers a slightly better insight to the struggles the various Realms are currently embroiled in at the moment. Shinnok's death and defeat have now brought forth the newest big bad villain of MK, Kronika, who is the daughter of Shinnok. She has gained the ability to control time as she sees fit and has went back in many timelines to alter the deaths of many past characters such as Shao Khan and Baraka, and is trying to gather as many allies as she can muster to destroy Earthrealm and her fathers slayers. I love the writing and events that transpire this year in Story Mode, it actually is informative and fun to play, and the fights and struggles become more real and believable than just having the same people fight over and over for no reason whatsoever. Kronika is currently not a playable character, sadly, but just as Shinnok was given to players at a point last time, I can imagine that we will get to try her out as time goes on and updates hit the servers. And that's not the only new fighters revealed, there is also the time bending Geras, who serves Kronika literally with an iron fist, the ex-Elder God Centrion, who was the Goddess of Virtue & Vertility before being destroyed some time ago. Skarlet, the blood princess from older MK's is back, Kabal makes a return still wielding those menacing Death Hooks, and each returning fighter has some smart and new improvements to their fighting styles and looks. The Kollector is another new fighter, who with four hands wields blades and lamps very frantically to create devastating combos. Shao Khan is a joy to play as for the first time in years, and all the major Sub Zero/Scorpion/Johnny Cage fighters are all fresh in their own sense. I loved the return of Jade & last but not least, my 2nd favorite fighter on this title next to Sub Zero, the return of Noob Saibot. He is just as ghostly and deadly as ever, and his combos provide a satisfying experience to control.
So yeah, the game is updating and being improved upon every week or so, with updates coming in left and right, and with the promise of a new League Mode (which sounds like a different Online playable mode of some sort) as well as the characters that will be featured in this years Kombat Pass, there is still a whole lot to look forward to. Ed Boon has promised to surprise us with some surprise guests and epic individuals. After last years Jason Voorhees & Leatherface additions, I can honestly say I am excited to see who will be entered into the fray. Also, there will undoubtedly be new Stage Fatalities added in as always. Between the different Towers offering unique gear and customizations to unlock, to the never-ending halls of the Krypt offering goodies galore, to the Classic Tower which unlock Character Endings as a reward for clearing the towers, as well as a robust and functional Online Mode capabilities, you can dig into MK11 for hours and hours of fun. A great and filled out fighting game that no one should pass up!!