NetherRealm Studios is back with gaming’s most blood-soaked franchise, Mortal Kombat. A universe where the laws of physics are broken by uppercuts and the letter “C” doesn’t exist. With the series’ 11th title, the developers have evolved the graphical fidelity of MK to its slickest ever along with their storytelling chops.
MORTAL KOMBAT 11
Developed by: NetherRealm Studios
Published by: WB Games
Available for: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC
Starting off, one thing should be clear, fighting games aren’t exactly my bag. Modern titles like Street Fighter 5 and Dragon Ball FighterZ are great games if one-on-one combat is your thing. Most of these games require a big time investment in order to become just good enough that you don’t embarrass yourself online against other players. Mortal Kombat 11 is no exception.
But since Mortal Kombat 9, developer NetherRealm has been going against the good enough grain of the multiplayer focused fighting game and put a massive Kung Fu movie style undertaking into the story mode of their games including the DC Comics skinned Injustice franchise. Previous games have all had a focused story mode in which a singular character was the point of focus. Yes, the games make you step in the shoes of various characters through the story, but the narrative usually has one poster boy/girl.
MK 11 is a true ensemble movie.
For those too young to remember the classic Christopher Lambert film, Mortal Kombat is an homage story to martial arts mysticism tales. In this universe, the Earth realm is under attack by another world known as Outworld. To prevent the siege, the two realms battle in a fighting tournament known as Mortal Kombat.
In recent chapters, Mortal Kombat has mucked up its own continuity in order to reinvigorate itself. In MK11, much of its near thirty-year history is brought back in a time travel story. When, Raiden, one of the elder gods who protects Earth realm is corrupted. His tyranny and actions draw the attention of a bigger god. The keeper of time and space, Kronika. Think of the elder gods as a Justice League and Kronika as one of Kirby’s New Gods. Her plan is to restart time in order to erase Raiden from reality.
MK11’s story starts with a level of complexity. Raiden is Earth realm’s protector, yet he’s a corrupted tyrant. Kronika is intended to be a Thanos type of threat in this world, and as with Thanos…the bad guy isn’t actually completely in the wrong. The goddess of time simply wants to correct a perversion of the MK universe caused by an elder god becoming evil.
Even with its two opposing forces, MK 11 isn’t either of their stories. At least singularly it isn’t. Mortal Kombat’s story mode touches on a part of nearly every major character effectively. Cassie Cage, daughter of Johnny and Sonya Blade is looking to fill the shoes of her military great mother. The mechanical armed Jax deals with the fallout from his betrayals in previous games along with his estranged relationship with daughter Jacqui.
Then there are the characters you’ll say “WTF”, if you’re jumping back into the Mortal Kombat universe after a hiatus. Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kitana are all evil versions of themselves whose souls have been enslaved, in their eyes, by the actions of Raiden. It demonstrates the barrier of entry into Mortal Kombat 11’s story. The game tries its best to catch you up through some dialogue that can seem a bit lazy at times but never enough to take you fully out of the moment. In fact the clunky dialogue and even off by a single beat voice acting of some characters actually adds to the martial arts epic feel of this story.
Much of that is due to the fluid pace this 12 chapter story follows. Bouncing from one character to another could have felt a bit like cheap filler but NetherRealm’s story team manages to put a level of care into each chapter through the eyes of the character they ask you to inhabit.
Don’t let any of the story’s polish fool you. This game also ramps up the level of gratuitous violence. In the looks department, NetherRealm’s art team have given every detail an additional level of slickness. Compared to Mortal Kombat X, MK 11 looks like it gives every gooey substance on screen its own physics. When you see body parts explode, they’re ridiculous, but they’re also visually mesmerizing. With this story going the time-travel sci-fi route, it gives the studio the excuse of reusing several iconic Mortal Kombat settings. Goro’s Lair, Shang Tsung’s island, Shao Khan’s throne arena; several memorable locations for early games make an appearance and get fully updated. You’ll see boats go by the island while volcanos erupt. Grizzly beasts pop in during your battle in Khan’s arena to show off just how overzealous this art department and animators went with MK11.
With this story going the time-travel sci-fi route, it gives the studio the excuse of reusing several iconic Mortal Kombat settings. Goro’s Lair, Shang Tsung’s island, Shao Khan’s throne arena; several memorable locations for early games make an appearance and get fully updated. You’ll see boats go by the island while volcanos erupt. Grizzly beasts pop in during your battle in Khan’s arena to show off just how overzealous this art department and animators went with MK11.
There’s also an ethical leap to Mortal Kombat that publisher WB Games itself needed. While the game doesn’t get away from grinding for currency, its grind never feels like climbing Everest just to get a new costume. The returning “Krypt” mode has a more platforming adventure feel than in previous versions. As you spend “Koins” to unlock chests containing various upgrade parts and move sets, you’ll explore Shang Tsung’s iconic island in which nearly every stage from the original Mortal Kombat and its sequel make some sort of tie-in to your journey. So even with micro transactions, they never feel like you need to consider them inorder to progress. Everything is truly attainable in game.
Then there’s the best part, the… say it with me…”Fatality”. As you beat your opponent to a state of confusion, pressing the right button sequence in the right spot on screen executes some of the most stylish murders ever seen. Each game that the studio puts out, they manage to outdo themselves in this department. There’s probably no better example of this than in MK11 as Johnny Cage removes his opponent’s torso and proceeds to use it as a ventriloquist dummy. Adding the icing to that cake is the random terrible joke he makes the dummy tell.
If you’re new or returning to the Mortal Kombat universe with MK 11 you will find the high fence around the story a bit tough to get invested in. This is a tale that’s fully in motion from start to finish. While it does try to lower that fence, the long history it has to call back on hurts the continuity muscles at times. However, Mortal Kombat fans are treated to the series biggest and most satisfying payoff to the entire series. From its basic early premise of defending the Earth to the later complicated character situations such as evil Raiden and corrupted Liu Kang this melting pot narrative is vaulted into finales that absolutely stick the landing. When the “kredits” roll on MK 11, mysteries are answered, characters long game plot threads are resolved, and destinies are fulfilled.
A lot of media can take a lesson from NetherRealm on having the guts to properly close the book on a saga and maybe even the franchise for a while.
SCORE: Mortal Kombat 11 gets “LAUNCH DAY MUST HAVE!”
[LAUNCH DAY MUST HAVE, WAIT FOR A SALE, RENT, MUST MISS]
Mortal Kombat 11 is available April 23, 2019
