The world’s most brutal fighting game is back for another round of mayhem and spine tingling fatalities. Mortal Kombat 11 was shown in all its gory glory yesterday, and we’ve learned a ton about NetherRealm Studio’s latest.
We’ve had a much closer look at the characters, storyline, fatalities, and more. Let’s dive in and sift through everything you need to know before Mortal Kombat 11 launches on April 23.
Let’s start with the roster, a vital ingredient to any fighting game. The series has always done well at including a diverse mix of characters to keep gameplay interesting, and Mortal Kombat 11 looks set to continue that grand tradition.
Confirmed characters are fairly thin on the ground right now, but based on who we’ve seen announced so far, there should be a good balance between old favourites and intriguing newcomers.
Here’s every confirmed fighter so far:
Scorpion
Raiden
Sub-Zero
Sonya Blade
Baraka
Skarlet
Geras (new)
Shao Kahn (DLC)
Let’s talk about Geras, the first newcomer to the game. He’s a powerful yet agile fighter who can manipulate the sands of time, throw up obstacles, and generally cause a world of pain. He looks like an interesting addition.
The rest of the fighters you’re no doubt already acquainted with from their appearances in past games, though it’s worth noting veteran fighter Sonya Blade is being played by none other than UFC star Ronda Rousey, which is pretty cool – though I don’t think Rousey has ever removed someone’s spine.
The next character announcement is set for the Kombat Kast livestream on January 30, but the reveal last night pretty much all but confirmed it’ll be the deadly speedster Kabal.
In terms of gameplay, NetherRealm haven’t thrown out everything you know and love about Mortal Kombat. The standard hard hitting fighting action is just as you remember it, but there are few cool new twists on the formula, including flawless blocks and extra brutal fatal blows, which show close up just how many bones you’ve broken.
Just like in Mortal Kombat X, NetherRealm have included three distinct “classes” for every fighter, but they’ve also blended this with an Injustice 2 style gear system, meaning you can equip your character with various bits and bobs, tailoring them to suit your playstyle.
Oh, and of course Fatalities are back.
If you’re one of those people that plays Mortal Kombat for the story, then you’ll be pleased to learn that 11 picks up where 9 left off. Mortal Kombat X fast forwarded years into the future, so this is a “proper” sequel for anyone keen to continue the saga.
It’s a story mode in a long running fighting game franchise, so it’s about as convoluted as you’d expect to be honest. You can watch the prologue below to get a better idea of what’s going on.
That’s pretty much everything we know so far. Mortal Kombat 11 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 23, 2019, with a Nintendo Switch version to follow a little later.
A beta is also scheduled for March 28, though you do need to preorder the game for guaranteed access to that, as well as DLC fighter Shao Kahn.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.