Mortal Kombat 11 - Review of the new NetherRealm fighting game

Mortal Kombat 11 - Review of the new NetherRealm fighting game

There was a time where i fighting they were a simple thing: two tokens in an arcade, two friends ready to virtually beat them up, and here the game was all there. With the advancement of the game platforms and the possibility of inserting different modes, fighting games have changed a lot, branching into many different types. For this reason, we now find ourselves between fighting games that try to bring the game mechanics to perfection (leaving a bad taste in the mouth of those who want other experiences) and titles that insert a disproportionate amount of different game modes at the expense of an easy and superficial gameplay. .



One of the experiences that has come closest to equilibrium so far seems to have been that of Injustice 2, title developed by NetherRealm Studios and that sees DC Comics heroes and villains collide in astonishing battles. Mortal Kombat 11, coming out tomorrow in stores, takes its cue from that title, adapting everything to the terrifying and bloody deadly tournament that for years has accompanied fans in fights full of blood, broken bones and scattered guts. We have been able to fight these struggles, and here's what we think.

Mortal Kombat 11 - Review of the new NetherRealm fighting game

Time control

In Mortal Kombat 11, it will seem strange, but we must start talking about the story first of all: directly connected to the ending of Mortal Kombat X, this time the parts of the new characters will enter the game, ready to do everything to fix an imbalance caused by some characters (we avoid spoilers as it is interesting to discover the plot piece by piece). And here it is then heroes e villain of the timeline that we know will find in front of them other heroes and other enemies, taken directly from a previous historical period: with this ploy, in addition to exploiting deus ex machina already seen working in Injustice (even if there was talk of parallel universes), the boys of NetherRealm Studios they manage to insert external aspects of various kinds, different according to the age of the character and above all interesting to discover in this new game.



The game story will be told through battles divided into chapters: in each of these you can use one or two characters, and you will see the story progress between masterfully shot cutscene and with a really high level dubbing in other languages. The various cutscenes will then leave room for the fights, passing from one to the other without even a graphic difference. This extra detail, only seen in the games of NetherRealm (while in other fighting games the plots are limited to static scenes and obvious dialogues) add to the game offer an addition that alone is worth the price of the ticket, since all this will serve as an accompaniment to the real mode, the classic 1vs1 fighting game in local or online.

Mortal Kombat 11 - Review of the new NetherRealm fighting game

If in classic combat it will be possible to choose whether to play with standard or tournament rules, in the online mode things become more particular: first of all it will be possible to participate in the Kombat League (starting in less than a month) and ranked challenges to be able to fight against high-level players and climb to the top. However, not everything remains confined to Pro Gaming: in fact, battles will be possible 1vs1 o King of the Hill, both random and in customized Lobbies, making the online offer of the game practically 100% customizable.

Technique first of all

As for the technical sector, Mortal Kombat 11 is the best chapter of the series: from the dubbing we have already praised to the extremely detailed and accurate graphics, the game's technique doesn't stop there. During the fighting both the settings of the 2.5D fighting game that the variations that will be shown on the characters are extremely realistic: each fighter will carry wounds on the body, will lose pieces of armor and above all will become more shiny on the skin (due to sweat) as they advance in the fight. All this also finds further spectacularity in the violence: broken bones, x-ray visions and splatter scenes are at the highest level of the saga, something to really leave you breathless (you decide if for the gore or for the attention to detail).



Mortal Kombat 11 - Review of the new NetherRealm fighting game

Kombattimento in detail

Even if history and the technical sector are very important, it must be said that there is no fighting game without fun gameplay. Mortal Kombat 11 it is in effect the best compromise between modernity and classicism of the saga: taking inspiration from the previous chapter and from Injustice 2, the title remains simple to handle the first few times, but then requires you to learn the right combinations and the right moves of your fighters favorites to be able to win with more trained players. In conclusion, Mortal Kombat 11 gameplay is definitely one of the best formulas ever. They come back Fatality and Brutality, while the Fatal Blows make their entry, a hybrid between the final moves of the other games and the fatalities, usable only once per encounter and only after having lost 70% of life. These moves can either make you close the match (in case you were both below 30% of the character's vitality) or bring a challenge to the same level that perhaps was proving extremely difficult to win.

For the rest, the special moves remain identical to the past (despite some small revisions made on combos that are really too exaggerated), while the locations present, as in the previous game, the possibility of various types of interactions (from simple leaps to the use of prop weapons). Some of these weapons - along with particular attacks - will also trigger fast but at the same time exciting x-ray scenes, which manage to add dynamism to the encounter without breaking the rhythm too much.


Mortal Kombat 11 - Review of the new NetherRealm fighting game

The right equipment

The inspirations taken from Injustice 2 do not stop at mere gameplay: the Gear System, although this time it has been revisited to fit this title. The changes this time will be purely aesthetic, allowing you to modify three components of the hero and choose which costume to put on among the many available (which will show the character chosen in its most famous variants). The three components will also be upgraded by playing with that character, unlocking as the experience progresses the slots where you can insert upgrades (which will change the statistics only in tournament mode).


The changes, however, do not stop only at the objects: you can therefore modify the fatalities, the entrance and victory scenes, the provocations and even the skills for each fighter (making the game really deep, since you can bring in Mortal Kombat 11 different versions of the same character). The various slots will then be selectable once you are in the game screen.

Mortal Kombat 11 - Review of the new NetherRealm fighting game

Many collectibles

But how do you unlock these items? The possibilities will be two mainly (as well as the story, which will allow you to find some extra items). In the first you will have to fight in the towers, while in the second you can use coins and various objects to unlock the chests of the Kripta, a great return that this time sees the possibility of exploring the map of Shang Tsung's island far and wide. In the latter, you will also have to find keys in the various chests to open particular areas, so as to unlock all possible objects (which will not only be equipment, but also fatality / brutality skills and collectibles such as 3D models, artwork and much more) . However, it must be said that controlling your character in this mode is not always easy due to camera problems; however, a minor detail, as an exploration skill is not required, but simply to turn to open these chests.

Returning to the Towers, the modalities will be two, the Klassic and those of Time: in the first, taking the soul of the same iconic towers of Mortal Kombat, you will have to challenge various enemies by climbing these towers made of challenges, so as to unlock mainly coins and consumables, and if completed, they allow you to unlock the ending of the character you are using. The really interesting ones are the Towers Of Time: Inspired by the Injustice 2 Multiverse, these challenges will be limited-time and will change from time to time, allowing you to complete objectives and unlock special items for your characters. Perhaps for the latter something more could be done, perhaps adding a couple of fighters (although we remain confident about future DLCs).

The game includes an interesting AI mode for both online and offline fights: thanks to this feature, the player will be able to deploy their favorite fighters and see them fight independently. Everything is managed by the player within the customization of the character: he can in fact choose the AI ​​traits, which will establish how many tricks the character must make, how much he must fight at a distance and so on, and which will affect the percentage of victory of the clash.

In short, we talked about the old beat 'em up and modern beat' em up: Mortal Kombat 11 is the recipe of how a title of this genre should be done, between intriguing news, useful and not obsolete additions, and a fundamental gameplay suitable for everyone, capable to entice both newbies and lovers of the genre to play.

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