Mortal Kombat 11 is a fine excuse to play through the exhilarating story mode present in all games made by NetherRealm Studios and to experience the brutal, yet responsive and engaging, fighting game mechanics that have defined this franchise for years.
If you played either of the latest games in the series or any of the Injustice titles, you know what to expect from the gameplay. It revolves around mixing simple combos with special moves and environmental attacks. All special attacks can be executed by pressing two arrow keys followed by the mapped face button. It’s simple and accessible, but each character has a variety of combos that are difficult to execute but extremely satisfying to pull off.
One massive change comes in the form of how X-Ray moves work. You now have Fatal Blows instead, that deal massive damage in a cinematic sequence of attacks, but they can only be executed once your life reaches below 30 per cent. You can also use it only once per match, which adds further tension to every round. Krushing Blows are more deadly versions of your special moves that are executed when certain conditions are met.
The way meters work is slightly different this time, with you having separate Defensive and Offensive meters. The former is used to get out of tight situations while the latter is utilised for amplifying special moves. Each fight has a cinematic flair to it, which, when combined with the visual effects and bone crunching sound effects, results in an unmatched playing and watching experience.
The story features time manipulation in which Kronika, after getting tired of Raiden’s actions, re-wrote history and brought back characters from the dead while removing the current form of corrupt Raiden from existence. It is undeniably the biggest draw for the fighting games made by NetherRealm, and the one present in MK11 is probably the best of them all. You play as a variety of characters, each having four or five fights. In some cases, you will be required to choose between two fighters.
The fights flow a lot better than in MKX. There is more thought given to why the two are fighting and the cutscenes between fights for a single character are also more fleshed out. The story and cutscenes are extremely entertaining, comprising of ridiculous action sequences and heartfelt moments.
As expected, there is a Krypt where you can use currency to unlock various items including skins and gear. Going online, Mortal Kombat always has an abundant population in India, and you should not have any issues finding matches. The netcode itself is fantastic.
NetherRealm studios has yet to release a disappointing game in many years, and that trend continues with Mortal Kombat 11. From its brutally satisfying fighting system and extremely well-made cinematic story mode to the engaging towers mode, MK11 is an engrossing fighting game that will keep you engaged no matter what mode you're playing.
Overall 8.5
