What is... Mortal Kombat 11

 

Knowing that this two-decade-year-old fighting game series is still being continued calms my heart, my childhood game, Mortal Kombat, is still alive and breaking bones. Developed by the NetherRealm Studio, Mortal Kombat 11 was initially released in April 2019 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, this is the eleventh installment of MK's main series. Mortal Kombat 11 is a 2D fighting game graphically enhanced with its three dimensional stage background and visually stunning character design and animation. This latest installment has received a lot of improvements and changes from its previous games for better or for worse. Mortal Kombat has always put emphasis on how gruesome and gory it could be, finishing your opponent in the most ingeniously sadistic manner. It has been a subject of controversy in several countries due to the heavy amount of violence used in the game. Allow me to share with you my thoughts towards the only fighting games that I enjoyed the most. 

I have played several fighting games before, for instance, Tekken, Naruto, Dragonball, and Injustice (also by NetherRealm Studio) but it is the MK series that has always been my favorite fighting game. Though it is mostly my personal preference on the brutal gameplay, the game's universe and story has been expanded and preserved at the same time. New characters are introduced while the old ones are revamped. Now Mortal Kombat 11 takes us into a new set of story with some new characters playing crucial roles while old characters walk along with players down to memory lane. 

There is a total of 37 playable characters.

Mortal Kombat 11 offers 25 base playable characters with 12 additional characters as part of the paid DLC, that makes it a total of 37 characters. With each character possessing a unique playstyle and customization, Mortal Kombat always offers players to try out different playstyle and which combatant to master. In this eleventh installment, each character has a set of skill presets to be chosen and customized. This will affect their fighting style. This feature was first introduced in MK X, the predecessor of this game, whereby characters can pick their unique abilities. Though MK X has fixed preset skill, MK 11 offers a wider customization options on fighters’ abilities. For instance, you are able to customize the character, Scorpion, to focus on his hellfire ability, or you want to focus on his infamous spear. MK 11 allows you to rename this skill preset and also offers you existing presets if you do not want to invest too much time in character customization.

 

Returning characters always have new look in each release.

This is the first time the series has ever been committed in offering almost countless character customizations options. Though mostly for cosmetic purposes, players are offered with approximately 60 skins for each character, with 37 characters that makes up to a total of roughly 2000 unlockable skins. Cosmetic skins customizable include character outfits and character signature weapons. For instance, players are able to customize Noob Saibot’s outfit, his weapon sickle, and the shackle his shadow doppelganger is wearing. The outfit, weapon, and subweapon have a plethora of choices. In other words, players are offered with unlimited choice of cosmetic customizations.

Mortal Kombat 11 puts emphasis on character customization.

It is sometimes too easy to find yourself invested in customizing the characters.

Just how brutal Mortal Kombat can be? Mortal Kombat 11 offers several sadistic fighting methods, those are the "krushing blow", the fatal blow, the brutalities, the infamous fatalities.

Firstly, what is a krushing blow? It is an impactful damage that you can dish out to your opponent after meeting a certain requirement. When successfully carried out a brief, cinematic scene will show an x-ray vision where bones are broken by the blow. Every character has a fundamental krushing blow, which is the famous uppercut. It is triggered when you "punish" them (basically it means to hit your opponent who has been dishing out combo on you when you are blocking just in a nick of time before they can deliver another hit), or when you counter an attack (it means you immediately hit back with an uppercut when you're knocked down). By fulfilling either one of these requirements you will definitely deliver a jaw-breaking blow.

The cinematic shot really gives a satisfying way to beat your opponent.

The first time I looked at the crushing blow feature I was without doubt impressed by this new feature the game introduced. However, problems occur when it comes to testing out those moves to a moving opponent, regardless of fighting an AI or a human player. Krushing blow always has a prerequisite situation before you can execute the move. For instance, the fundamental krushing blow, the uppercut, that I explained, required you to land a successful punishment or counterattack to trigger. 

 

Pausing mid game to check your move list is inevitable albeit disrupting the gameplay immersion.

Yet, when it comes to a fighter-specific krushing blow, you would find yourself trying hard to master one move just to see that one krushing blow cinematic scene. And along the way of trying, the process would be tedious and eventually frustrating and ironically anti-climactic. As a good example, one of Scorpion’s krushing blow called ‘Dark Soul’ requires you to execute this move after executing an 8-hit combo. Executing an 8-hit combo is never an easy way, for players who just want to have fun, they will never be able to perform this very krushing blow unless they are willing to invest their time practicing an 8-hit combo and follow it up with ‘Dark Soul’ combo. It’s just not worth the time for a small x-ray animation, unless you are a pro-player. But then again, not everyone is aiming to play professionally, not everyone wants to keep pulling off an 8-hit combo. Some of the krushing blow prerequisites are simply too difficult for casual players. 

 

Often times, I only do simple combo and easy krushing blow.

Next, the fatal blow. Fatal blow is my biggest disappointment in this game. Sure it looks cool, but not after you have experienced MK 9 and MK X. Basically fatal blow is a toned-down X-ray moves that was first introduced in MK 9. The X-ray move is a unique attack each character has and it will trigger the game into a cinematic scene where your fighter will deliver the most brutal kombos enhanced with the visually stunning X-ray vision of how your opponent's bones are shattered, skull crushed, and veins slashed. 

 

Scorpion's X-Ray supermove from Mortal Kombat X. Courtesy of YouTube.

 

Unfortunately in MK 11, this has been removed, the X-ray instead is implemented in the krushing blow mentioned above. Sure krushing blow is cool, but it isn't the same as the previous X-ray. Fatal blow is basically the supermove from NetherRealm Studio's other fighting game, the Injustice series, only it is depicted more brutal and bloody here. It really let me down, I never cared about the brutality that the fatal blow depicts because the gruesome tone is significantly reduced as compared to the previous predecessors albeit MK 11 still having a graphical superiority.

 

Mortal Kombat 11 without doubt has graphical superiority, but the difference in tone between the X-Ray move and Fatal Blow is significant.

Fatal blow can be triggered when your fighter is close to death, below 30% health. When your combatant is dying, you are given a chance to deliver a devastating attack that will trigger a cinematic scene as your fighter barrages the opponent with deadly attacks. Fatal blow can only be used once in a fight, therefore it is very important for you to save this as your last resort. For instance when you are in a determining final round, use this wisely when your fighter is dying.

 

Next is the brutality. This allows you to finish your opponent in a gruesome way with certain requirements to be met, similar to how krushing blow has certain requirements before you can trigger this move. You have to pull this off without letting the round enter the "Finish Him/Her" stage because that is the fatality part. In other words, as your opponent is close to death, make sure you fulfill the requirements needed to trigger brutality. Each character shares a basic brutality called "The Klassic", this is an uppercut that will immediately kill your dying opponent. To pull this off you are not allowed to use "block" at the final round.

 

Dont' be fooled, I am not the one who triggered this brutality. I am the one being brutalized by the AI.

The problem with brutality reflects the problem with krushing blow, that is the prerequisite requirements players have to follow before they can trigger this move. Some of these requirements I found quite nonsensical and redundant. For instance, players are required not to block at the final round. Why do you want us to do so? Is there any logical reasoning behind it rather than for the sake of being a brutality requirement? Another requirement demands players to be below 30% health to trigger the move. Again, the problem lies for players who just want to enjoy the game and not be challenged by such requirements. Being below 30% health and trying to trigger a perfect move to a moving opponent is not an easy thing to do. Again, unless you are a pro player which I believe would not be the case for all gamers. All these prerequisite requirements will do nothing but creating an anticlimactic experience.

Fatality is what makes Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat.

Lastly, the fatality. This is what makes Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat. The fatality is not just a trademark for the MK series, it is so popular now that it becomes a pop culture despite its violent nature, namely the popular one liner “Finish Him”. Fatality is a way to finish your opponent in the most sadistic way, with each combatant having their own unique way to finish their opponent off. The fatality always occurs when you are winning the final round, you will see your opponent still standing but staggering. This is where you input a command button to perform your fatality move. This incredibly brutal move is accompanied with a very stunning graphic that makes it sinfully satisfying.

 

MK 11 brings back the Friendship finisher that was first introduced in MK 3 two decades ago.

 

Mortal Kombat 11 offers a new game mode called Towers of Time. Apart from the classic tower where you battle AI opponents to unlock every character's ending, Towers of Time offers you more rewards by fighting AI opponents with "modifiers". Modifiers come in many forms, such as health regen, missile firing, meteor raining, summoning other characters to deliver some punches and kicks. These modifiers will make it easier for you to defeat your opponent but keep in mind the AIs are using modifiers too. The rewards from playing these towers are koins and other currencies, gears, and skins of characters. This is a very fun mode to play, though it feels a bit unoriginal because of the modifiers, the rewards are always worth your time. 

 

Completing Towers of Time will reward you with skins, gears, coins and many more.

Storywise, Mortal Kombat 11 offers a continuation from its predecessor Mortal Kombat X. New characters are introduced but the series always puts the old characters as the center of the story. For instance, Scorpion Sub Zero, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Raiden and other old characters will always be the ones who take most of the spotlight. Returning characters such as Skarlet might serve as a huge comeback for old players but she seems to possess more value in the fighting mode than as one of the plot devices of the story. The same goes to Geras and Cetrion, two other new characters. Characters like these are introduced in the story having no strong character background and weak influence towards the narrative therefore, like Skarlet, only hold value as playable characters in the fighting mode.

Kronika is a new character and serves the main antagonist of the game.

One issue that I would really love to discuss here but not in an in-depth way is the issue of DLC. I think we are familiar with videogames DLCs being a hit or miss decision for the video game industry. Mortal Kombat 11 has a lot of DLCs mostly for players to unlock newly released characters. Looking at how the game now works, unlocking new characters is not a feature any longer, it is now a business model. I can slightly tolerate if the developer (NetherRealm Studios) or the publisher (Warner Bros.) decided to make the story expansion in a form of DLC. As a matter of fact, the story did end in a cliffhanger, blatantly, mind you. However, purposely making new characters as DLC is now becoming a habit for the studio and the publisher as how they have done it on their other games.

 

Though the description did mention Frost is unlockable, they should have just removed her as a paid character.

One controversy regarding DLC that the game has is on the character Frost. Frost is an unlockable character once players beat chapter 4 of the story mode. Yet, she still appears on the Steam store page as part of the DLC sold. This is purely business dishonesty and it truly is a betrayal for every gamer. I believe that the modern video game industry indeed have the means to deliver such sophisticated products but with the existence of advanced technological ways comes the existence of insurmountable greed. If you ask me, the developer can easily prolong the story to a conclusion without the necessity of extending it with a DLC. But the developer and the publisher have decided to save it for an expansion that is not even worth the price.

 

You will be able to unlock Frost after this chapter.

 

Mortal Kombat has always been a part of my childhood, the reason why I love this game is partly because of this psychological sense that I grew up with it. Yet, the product that we get to play also is amazingly satisfying. The idea of a fighting game that is very gruesome and gory, correct me if I am wrong, cannot be found anywhere else other than Mortal Kombat. If there is a game, then it would highly be inspired by the MK series. Mortal Kombat 11 has come so far from a long-running fighting game series, the game itself is not bad at all. I am really impressed by the complex technicality that the game offers. This means that the developer dedicated themselves to develop a fighting game worth entering the world of Esports. The tutorial section of the game says it all. I have never seen such detailed and systematic tutorial from Mortal Kombat before until I played this game. Such tutorial deserves to be praised.

 

The in-game tutorial surprisingly provides a very detailed combat gameplay.

Mortal Kombat 11 per se is definitely a well-invested modern AAA game. Granted there are some changes that would go against my preferences on how a Mortal Kombat game should be, but as a fan, I would still respect the decision the developer made. I enjoyed playing the game, as always, its graphics are stunningly gruesome. However, as I write this review I have to bear the weight of my heart knowing that the Mortal Kombat series is now adopting an exploitative business model that prey on unawaring gamers. Those gamers are none other than younger generation gamers. Ones who never experience video games prior to the DLC and microtransactions era. It saddens me to know that the video game industry supports this business model because it will maximize their profit. As an avid fan of video games, I view video games as a form of art, one that is similar to the art of filmmaking, the art of music, the art of creating entertainment in general. Mortal Kombat is of course, if I would describe it without my heavy heart, is a fighting game masterpiece. It is just depressing to bear in mind that such business model is now part of the series’ idealism. 

 

 

The Krypt is a place where players can spend in-game currency on chests that act similar to loot boxes.

Should you buy the game? Absolutely, it is my favorite fighting game and will always be. But please, wait for it to be on sale. Never buy it at full price. In fact, be a smart consumer, this does not apply only to the Mortal Kombat series. Mortal Kombat 11 is just a solid proof and case study that I can discuss with you. There are many other developers out there that adopt this dirty business model. Please do not be a victim of harmful capitalism. Take care, gamers.

 

We can't deny how cool Scorpion is always portrayed.