I was just a few months old when the first Mortal Kombat game dropped. Going back through the archives and reading the reaction to the world's goriest video game over the decades though has made it clear to me that it's always been a series that has had everybody talking.
Now, with developers NetherRealm Studios' dropping the eleventh main game on fans following 2011's story reboot, we've had chance to tackle the six-hour campaign mode, as well as jumping online for a few player-versus-player battles, and a deep dive into the always-fun Krypt mode.
Picking up where we left off in Mortal Kombat X, gamers are plunged straight into the middle of some high-stakes action. With Shinnok defeated, Raiden and the guardians of Earthrealm believe that they've got just a couple of high-profile enemies left to defeat. Everything changes however, when Kronika, Shinnok's mother and the keeper of time, decides that Raiden must be wiped from history so that a balance of good and evil can be maintained.
It may cause some people to roll their eyes, as multiple universes means writers can do pretty much whatever they want to do in further series additions, regardless of lore, but it's the best decision that could have been made if MK is to have a long and prosperous future. That, or another complete reboot...
The voice acting and facial animation is, for the most part, incredibly impressive. Ronda Rousey makes her debut here as Sonya Blade however, and she just seems incapable of delivering a line. It's something that marred her recent time in WWE, and followed her into the recording booth for MK11.
In Mortal Kombat X, there were a whole series of juggling combination strings that would allow you to deplete around half of your enemy's health bar in just a few seconds. This time round, NetherRealm have decided to strip that back a bit, still allowing lengthy combos, but not to the point where the fighter on the receiving end of the beatdown is never given another chance to gain the upper hand.
As a player, I tend to opt for the up close and personal style of fighting; staying back from an opponent and simply slinging projectiles their way in the hope that they'll release their block button for a split second feels a bit iffy to me. If you're somebody who wants to perfect a number of different playstyles however, so that you can take down a myriad of different opponents, you'll probably be in better shape, especially when it comes to the game's online mode.
Don't worry if you're feeling a bit rusty, or are entirely new to the series, as a comprehensive and rewarding tutorial mode allows you to pick up the gist of things very quickly. This will also introduce you to the new Final Blow mechanism, which can be used once per match by each player. Keeping it until your final round means that you'll have your enemy on edge, so remember to not only play physically, but mentally, too!
Online, you are pushed to be the best you can be.
This is a place where you cannot adjust difficulty or skip a fight. You're going at it with another real-life player, and your ego's on the line. Believe me, there's nothing more devastating than losing a fight, requesting a rematch, and then losing all over again.
King of the Hill makes a welcome return, and you can find yourself at the top for hours if you've got a handful of your favourite fighters and their kombinations down.
Where you'll really be faced with a challenge however, is with the selection of timed towers available. At times, they feel impossible to beat, but you're going to have to thrust yourself right into the centre of them if you're hoping to collect enough of the various currencies (coins, hearts and souls) to unlock collectibles from the Krypt.
NetherRealm have overshot a little here. There's currently a requirement to do far too much, for far too little reward. Whilst the Krypt is a lot of fun, opening up chests and hoping for a banging new pair of shades for Johnny Cage, the excitement is sapped a little when you realise you're going to have to grind for hours to open just one of the many heart chests scattered throughout.
There are also a few puzzles layered through the Krypt, but none of them are really very challenging. It would be nice to see more of this in the future, with Uncharted and Tomb Raider-esque puzzles woven in.
As for the future, NetherRealm are promising to look at consumer feedback, tweak gameplay to bring more satisfaction, and release content for the next few years. We know there are six characters set to be added to the roster in upcoming DLC, as well as a ranked competitive online mode, but it's going to be very interesting to see what else is brought to the table.
Mortal Kombat 11 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch. A code for the game on Xbox One was given to Female First in exchange for an honest review.
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