No matter how interesting the writing and characters are though, a fighting game is worth nothing if, well, the fighting isn’t very good. Mortal Kombat 11 has a similar technical feel to the previous game, but with even more fluidity. Button inputs are sharp and precise, and there’s a big focus on direct, in-your-face, side-by-side brawling.
A special meter fills up over time, allowing you to very quickly use a series of offensive or defensive abilities, or allow it to fill up to perform more powerful moves. The X-Ray attacks of MKX are gone, replaced with Fatal Blows which you can trigger once your health is low enough. And of course there are the usual character-specific special moves, combos and the beloved – and ludicrously gory – fatalities.
The roster’s terrifically varied too. A host of familiar faces like Johnny, Sonya, Cassie, Baraka, then newcomers like Geras, a sand-wielding superman, and Kollector, a multi-armed villain with Larfleeze-like covetousness. Then there are the twists on familiar faces, with a whole host of characters now in undead ‘wraith’ form. Jade’s new design in particular is fantastic, as is Kabal’s. So there’s plenty here to suit everyone’s style, or aesthetic choice.
