Developer: NetherRealm
Publisher: Warner Bros
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One. Switch
Tested on: PS4
Mortal Kombat 11 – Preview
Are you ready 18+ boys and girls to fight and ”get over here!” yet? Another fantasy-filled sequel of gore and fighting moves from one of the longest lasting fighting games series is right around the corner, giving us more than enough reason to try the closed Beta hands-on. Mortal Kombat is still here, after all these years, and is planning to stay with its 11th classic.
In the closed beta of MK11 there is not that much to do yet, but it does give us a clear example of what to expect upon release. For single, offline players, there will be the Story mode, the Klassic Towers mode like was introduced a long time ago, the popular Krypt mode, and something new called Towers of Time. Towers of Time already raised some questions, and it seems to be a playground for the developers and players alike to introduce some special towers that can be time-related, holiday-related, you name it. For the beta, however, only one five-layered tower of Klassic Towers is available together with the online mode to fight other players. There are five different characters from a roster that seems to hold 25 characters so far but possibly has room for unlockables as well.
When picking a character, you get to choose between different layouts. Layouts, in this case, means two things. For one, cosmetic gear that alters the appearance of your character allowing you to make it a bit unique or just better looking. Secondly, there are slight alterations in your fighting style possible. This means that you will have two skills that are basically depending on the layout you picked before the battle, making sure your opponents stay on their feet (they can see which you picked though) and giving you more control over the characters you like, possibly altering them against the specific enemy you play against online.
The word graphic always had two meanings in Mortal Kombat. On one side, the quest that was set out to get something special to look at. Earlier in the series’ timeline when the movie characters were rotoscoped and put in place, this was clearly visible. Now, the game just looks smooth as hell. Every character, as far as they are selectable right now, really feels like they keep getting more and more unique in terms of the atmosphere they bring on the battlefield and the facial movements they have. The attacks are almost real, if not looking at the brutal fantasy gore that comes with it. Which is the other side of the meaning of the word graphic for MK. Ever since the game got out there have been comments from concerned mothers and other opinions, which did not hold the game back. It’s like every installment of the series keeps getting more brutal. The cinematic high quality of brutal finishing moves and other specials is insanely smooth and satisfying to watch if you perform them, and all the more annoying when the enemy connects them to you. Damn it hurts to slowly see yourself getting slaughtered. Limbs, organs, bones, nothing is safe and you’ll be eager to try out more characters after trying a demo or beta.
The sound is pretty much what you would expect from Mortal Kombat. You could summarize most of it by naming it a ”Dark Orchestra”. It’s fitting for the cinematic experience with swelling violins and trombones in the background. Alternating this is some rock/metal atmosphere, especially during fights. It can also be different depending on the map.
When playing Mortal Kombat 11, it feels as familiar as ever. If you haven’t played a fighter like this for a while it might take you a bit to get back into the game because of the tight windows and inputs the game has. It’s easy to screw up some special skills or finishing moves if you just started (again). But the game does play very well besides that, as you would expect from a series with this much experience. The combos and the quick reactions of the characters really stand true for hours of fun with a variety of moves and a lot to learn. Easy to mash and play around with, hard to master. Not only do you have a lot of combos there’s also a bar that triggers a special move to equal the playing field when you have low HP that you seem to be able to use once a fight. And then you still need to balance your offense and defense, trying to decide what’s the best way to play versus each opponent. Even with only Scorpion, Skarlet, Baraka, Jade, and Kabal available right now, they already feel kind of new compared to the past. You can clearly see this is not a simple rehash, but a review of what else each character could bring to the table and an adaptation to make them all tweaked to be better.
Conclusion
With the little gameplay available right now, Mortal Kombat 11 already makes a proper impression of what to expect when the game releases on April 23. It’s impressive how much the characters are growing each game, and how the game improves itself visually and in gameplay options as well. High hopes and nervous thumbs are waiting for the official release..
Mortal Kombat 11 - Preview,
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