Physical copies of the Switch version of MK11 arrived an entire week after the game's release in this country, so I had to wait a while until I was able to buy (and subsequently play) it. As such, this blog entry is a little late to the party. BACKGROUND:
Mortal Kombat has been in my life for as far as I can remember. MK4 on the PS1 was one of the first games I ever played, I got MK Advanced for the GBA on my birthday, and one of the first games I bought for the PS3 was MK9. As fucked up as it sounds, I grew up with this excessively violent fighting game franchise. Naturally, I was hyped when MK11 was announced at last year's Game Awards, but was sad because I thought it wasn't coming to Switch. Later that day, it was confirmed that the game was indeed coming to Switch, which brought my excitement back up. I missed out on MKX because I didn't have a console to play it on (and my PC is a piece of shit), so I was thrilled that I actually have a chance of playing this game. STORY MODE: MK11's story begins immediately after MKX, where Shinnok was defeated, and Raiden became evil shithead Raiden from Deception. Before this game was announced, I thought the plot would have Raiden as the main villain. It was then revealed that the villain is Kronika, who is the master of time in the MK Universe, and is a being above the Elder Gods (Elder Titan?). She's not happy about how Raiden's actions have fucked up her plans for the timeline, so she merges the present timeline with the past, and sets in motion her quest to completely reset the timeline. The time travel shit leads to some fun shit, by bringing back classic versions of some characters (Raiden, Liu Kang, etc.), and even bringing a few characters back from the dead (Shao Kahn, for example). Seeing the current roster interact with their past selves made for some fun and interesting moments. In addition to everyone's favorite characters, MK11 also introduces a couple of brand new characters in Cetrion, Kollector, and Geras. I didn't find them as interesting as Kronika, however. Overall, I thought the story was great. The cutscenes looked amazing, and it was clear they put a ton of work crafting the visuals. We get badass action, funny jokes, a sprinkle of emotional moments, and even some mind-blowing reveals. The ending is also fascinating, because compared to MK9 and MKX, there's a sense of finality to the overall story of Mortal Kombat. It's exciting, because for the first time in a while, I have no idea where MK would be going in a potential sequel. THE ROSTER: A lot of the classics are back! You've got fan favorites like Scorpion and Sub-Zero, legacy characters like Kano and Liu Kang, and a few veterans making a return after being MIA in the previous game (like Kabal). There are a few notable absences (Mileena, Reptile, Ermac, to name a few), but for the most part, you have a solid assortment of classic characters to mess around with. Also making a return are a few characters from MKX, like Cassie Cage, D'Vorah, Kotal Kahn, and more. As somebody who didn't get to play MKX, I'm glad some of these characters came back, and I'm even happier they brought back the ones I would've loved to play as. As mentioned, we have a couple of brand new characters, and while they aren't all that interesting story-wise, they're pretty interesting in terms of gameplay. Geras is equal parts Sandman and time manipulator, Kolllector has so much weird shit, and Cetrion is pretty much Captain Planet. DLC for this game is inevitable, and if MKX's assortment of guest characters is any indication, we might have some surprises headed our way in the future. PRESENTATION: The Switch version obviously doesn't look as amazing as the other versions, but ignoring that, the visuals in this game don't look shabby at all. While it's noticeable that the graphics take a hit, I wouldn't call it terrible. The only time the visuals get really rough is in the Krypt, but we'll talk about that later. Character designs look as fantastic as ever here, but what's most impressive is the quality of the every character's face. No one has an uncanny valley look, and the facial expressions are on point (to the point that hitting Fatalities is extra upsetting due to the sheer horror and pain on the recipient's face). Other character shit like intros, victory animations and poses are also polished as hell. The greatest improvement are probably in the Fatal Blows and Fatalities, which dials up the cinematic gore and violence to 11. Fatalities in particular are fantastic across the board, with each character having at least one really cool Fatality. The Fatalities also end in an awesome slow-mo shot kinda like the victory animations, unlike previous games which leaves you with a shot of the victor posing awkwardly (or worse, an unflattering shot of the corpse). Voice acting is pretty solid across the board, except perhaps for Rousey's Sonya. I'm not saying she did a terrible job (she does fine, as far as I'm concerned), but in the same way as her promo delivery in WWE, it's evident that her forte doesn't lie in speaking roles. All this said, the fact that this game is on a less powerful console can take its toll in certain instances. In story mode, the transition from cutscene to fight is incredibly jarring, because the former looks way better than the latter. Lighting problems happen on occasion, and it usually happens when you perform a brutality. Sometimes textures and colors don't load immediately (e.g. someone's hair looks weirdly gray), but this usually resolves itself quickly. The worst case comes in the infrequent frame drops (usually due to blood and other effects), and the one or two times the screen completely whacked out on me when a) I played a match on Dragon Grotto, and b) I performed a Fatal Blow. KOMBAT: The main game is the combat you know and love from older games, but there have been a few (yet major) changes. For one, the overall flow of the game has changed. Dashes aren't as prominent as they were in previous games, and movement in general is slower. As I observed watching high-level play, this leads to the overall game being more focused on the neutral game (controlling space, poking, finding openings) as opposed to running a motherfucker down and giving them the touch of death. Compared to something like Dragon Ball FighterZ (which features frenetic combat, fast movement, and ridiculous combos that seem to last forever), MK11 is on the slower side. You don't have access to any lengthy combo strings in your move list (most of what you're given are short strings that are around three to five inputs), but you can come up with some insane shit by canceling moves into specials, and/or Amplifying specials to create more combo opportunities. Wacky 30%+ combos aren't nonexistent, but that there's less of them in general lends itself well to the overall slower pace of the game. Meter works differently than it does from MK9 or MKX. Instead of one meter for everything, meters are split into offensive and defensive meter. Offensive meter is your traditional meter burn, which enhances special moves, while defensive meter is tied to escape options (getup rolls, getup attacks, and the all-new Breakaway, which is for escaping juggle combos). And instead of hitting/getting hit building meter, the meters regenerate over time. I was worried this would lead to combat being overly campy/defensive (not unlike fighting Cloud in Smash Bros.), but the meters regenerate slowly enough that camping people out isn't viable. X-Ray Moves from the previous games are also gone, instead replaced by Fatal Blows. They still work as the "super move" of the game, but instead of a move you can do with a full meter, you get access to Fatal Blows when you're below 30% health. This gives the person who's behind a fighting chance, but you can only use it once per match if you land it (i.e. if you land it in the first round, it's gone for the rest of the match). If you whiff or the move is blocked, you get the chance to throw out the Fatal Blow again if you wait, but if your opponent knows what they're doing, you'll be long dead by then. The fact that X-Rays were tied to meter in the previous games made seeing them in tournament play extremely rare (because you had better things to spend meter on), but the fact that Fatal Blows are completely separate from that ought to make spectating this game a little more exciting. The cool X-Ray effects live on in MK11 as Krushing Blows. These are sort of "critical hits" for certain attacks, combo strings, or special moves that activate if you meet a specific condition. For example, if you hit down-back punch as a punish, you get a Krushing Blow that deals extra damage, as well as pops up your opponent high enough for a follow-up. This adds a whole new layer of strategy to combat, because now you can plan combos around Krushing Blows. Additionally, you have to watch out for what Krushing Blows your opponent has access to. Fatalities are back (obviously), and Brutalities work the same way they do in MKX. A surprising finisher that came back for this game is Mercy from MK3, which gives your opponent a sliver of health back and continues the round. Depending on how good you are, this could either be an act of hubris, or maximum disrespect to your opponent. TUTORIAL: All this shit sounds daunting, especially if you're new to/terrible at fighting games. Worry not, as MK11 has an impressively comprehensive tutorial. It teaches everything from the very basic (hit buttons to do stuff!), to more advanced techniques (special canceling, reversals, etc.), to important fundamentals for high-level play in nearly every fighting game (frame data, zoning, hit confirms, etc.). There are even tutorials for individual characters that teach you each of their specials and some of their strings. You won't come out of these tutorials as an EVO-level competitor, but I'm confident that anyone who puts in the time to do the tutorial will come out as a player who doesn't just mash buttons like a maniac and actually has a decent understanding of what to do (even if they're not too good at executing what they learned). CUSTOMIZATION: Taking a page out of Injustice 2, MK11 adds character costumes and custom gear to the mix. You can give characters all sorts of neat skins, and mix and match certain parts of their outfit (e.g. masks, weapons, etc.). I'm sure many people will be spending a lot of time messing around with this aspect. I know I have. In addition, you can also create custom variations of characters. Unlike MKX (which had three set-in-stone variations that all have a specific set of special moves), you can mix and match special moves for each character to create a variation that completely suits your playstyle. What's even more fun is that you can give all these custom variations unique names (e.g. one of my Noob Saibot variations is named "Blackest Night"). You can also swap out cinematic elements (like intros and victory animations), augment gear (adding special buffs in certain modes), and even something simple like variation icons. It's an unprecedented level of customization for a fighting game. It's great! THE KRYPT: Where do you get all those extra customization options, you may ask? One source for all these goodies is The Krypt, which is has been a staple of MK games since the PS2 era. Unlike the Krypts from the PS2 games, you can explore the area (in this case, it's a derelict version of Shang Tsung's island from MK1) freely in third person. There are chests littered nearly everywhere, which requires various amounts of coins to open, each giving out a random set of rewards (ranging from consumable items, concept art, skins, and more). Some chests require special kinds of currency to open. Specific chests (like the Shao Kahn chests) don't have random rewards, and are instead contain the same rewards for every player. Unfortunately, these other currency types are a little harder to acquire (more on that later). You can't explore the entirety of the Krypt at the start. You'll need to acquire some key items that allow you to open certain doors, solve puzzles, and find hidden paths. It feels like a 3D Zelda game, except more violent. The Krypt is a treasure trove of references and Easter eggs for longtime Mortal Kombat fans. Keep your eyes peeled for cool shit in the background. GAME MODES: You have your classic arcade ladders (where you fight a series of opponents to unlock character endings), the story mode (obviously), practice mode (of course), online matches (ranging from casual, ranked, King of the Hill, and private lobbies), AI Battle (where you deploy a trio of AI fighters to fight other people's AI fighters for some CPU-on-CPU action), and Towers of Time. TOWERS OF TIME: This is the mode that provides MK11 most of its replay value (aside from online PvP matches). At a given time, there are an assortment of towers available for you to play, each for a limited time. Once the time for a tower has elapsed, you can't play it anymore, and it's replaced by a completely different tower. Each tower has a series of ladders (not unlike arcade ladders) for you to complete. Completing each individual ladder rewards you with stuff, but completing every ladder in a tower nets you even better rewards. A lot of cool skins/gear/etc. are only available in this mode, so you'll want to keep an eye out for towers that award you skins for the character you like. What makes Towers of Time challenging is all the match modifiers. Each match in a given ladder may have an assortment of modifiers, ranging from mildly annoying (random projectiles coming at you from outta nowhere), challenging but not that bad (2-on-1 handicap battles), to downright oppressive (approaching your opponent slows you down). You can use consumables to turn the tide of the battle (ranging from free heals and the like), but for the harder towers, it may not be enough. CURRENCY: You earn currency by completing matches (anything from local versus to Towers of Time will do), but the problem is how slow you earn them. Coins aren't too problematic (but it's still a grind), but it gets real rough when you start talking about the other currency types: Soul Fragments and Hearts. You get Soul Fragments by winning matches. The catch is you only earn ten at a time. Stuff in the Krypt that requires Soul Fragments require at least 100 of the damn things to open. There's even stuff that requires more than 1000 Soul Fragments to open. That's no good. Hearts are even worse. You can primarily get them by performing finishers (Fatalities, Brutalities, Mercy). The problem? You get them in single digit increments, and the chests that need Hearts to open (which often have the best shit in them) cost 250 fucking hearts. There's no guarantee you'll land a Brutality, Mercies can cost you a match, and Fatalities (as cool as they are) waste a ton of time, and it just isn't worth it. Completing towers in Towers of Time seems to be the best way to get more of these currencies, but the payout vs. the difficulty/length of towers may not be worth it unless you're like SonicFox and you're a god at this game. What's even worse is that you can't even grind offline. I played this game in handheld when I was out waiting in line for something and the game explicitly tells you that you can't earn rewards playing offline modes. There's also a premium currency called Time Crystals, which you can purchase more of via microtransactions. You earn very little of them just by playing, which I suppose is the point. You spend them in the Premium Shop, where you can acquire certain items (skins and the like) that can be unlocked elsewhere (mostly the Krypt or Towers of Time). It's a good way to avoid the grind, but the caveat is shit costs way too much, and the available items are random (i.e. you'll be lucky to find a skin that you actually want). VERDICT: MK11 is a fantastic continuation of the storied franchise, with its fun story, great gameplay, a plethora of customization options, and a good assortment of stuff to do. Apart from the currency issues (a massive barrier to progression in the Krypt and unlocking shit), I have nothing but good things to say about this game. Even if the Switch version doesn't look as good as the PC version, I'm still happy that I get to play a Mortal Kombat game after a six-year hiatus. If anyone asks, I'll be practicing some Kitana combos. They made my waifu incredibly badass in this game, so I feel like I have to be good with her. Play MK11 on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/976310/Mortal_Kombat11/ - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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