If you, dear reader, were born in the 80s and didn’t spend a decent portion of the 90s playing Mortal Kombat in your local arcade, chipper or on your SEGA MegaDrive, then it is this writer’s duty to inform you that you had responsible parents in an era when rear seatbelts were still optional. Your childhood was probably pants. Soz.
Mortal, Mate. Just Mort-AL. (It’s supposed be Geordie)
Mortal Kombat helped sculpt the landscape of extreme content in gaming and how it’s managed. ESRB ratings exist as a direct result of MK and other titles such as Night Trap pushing boundaries in what was then considered solely ‘children’s entertainment’.
MK is still growing strong with the release of 2019’s Mortal Kombat 11 and its subsequent story DLC, Aftermath. This review is going to be covering the version that includes the aforementioned DLC.
The storyline in Mortal Kombat 11 Komplete Edition and Aftermath is collectively the best in the series by a landslide. Whilst it utilises time travel and other plot loopholes it doesn’t feel forced. The effective plot mechanics make for an interesting tale, even more so in Aftermath as previous events are revisited and twisted on their heads.
Meaty Khronicle
Story mode is more of an interactive movie with battles within, being able to choose who fights who during in-game cutscenes. This style envelops the player in MK‘s lore and rich character development. Players can expect a solid ten hours or more depending on player skill and not a second is filler.
Each fighter gets their time in the spotlight throughout story mode which is lovely to see and adds to the nostalgic element for long-time Kombateers. If players are new to the series, they will be treated to tidbits of legacy storyline. Klassic characters have painstakingly-remodeled legacy builds. And if that wasn’t enough, you can even fight their original designs.
The existence of both sets leads to some fabulous displays of verbal alacrity. For example, the dialogue between classic and current Johnny Cage is a brilliant example of script-writing in games.
The story mode does a great job of emphasising the danger that the realms are in. Providing enough twists and turns to keep player engagement and immersion at the forefront of MK‘s list of priorities.
After battles have been won, players gain in-game currency, cosmetic unlockables, weapons and consumables that can be used in Mortal Kombat 11 ’s Aftermath Kollection Klassic Tower and other tower modes.
Modal Kombat
Speaking of other modes, this is where Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath Kollection starts to dry up in terms of creativity. Whilst the vanilla tower mode offers the use of consumables to help battle tougher enemies, it’s a 50/50 chance on whether it will work out.
Not to mention that as time goes on, beginner to mid-tier players will struggle with the mode’s steep difficulty curve. It’s fun to experiment with different weapons and work on customising your favourite MK character, but it feels like a drop at the last hurdle. Klassic Tower mode is a welcome return to good old fashioned fight until you drop and is a true test of endurance for players.
The fighting system has been altered slightly from MK X, with combo strings being shortened which should please veteran fans of the franchise as opposed to the almost bloated combos of its predecessor. The option to pin moves to the main screen by pressing Y (Xbox) comes in super handy for beginners and pros alike when leaving character move-sets. Space management is key in MK 11, one strategy that proved to be valuable was to make sure combo strings were covering low and mid to high offence in order to get around opponent defence. It’s always wise to develop a basic move set first to build on though.
Lethal Klips and Kracks
The new Krushing Blow moves come in really handy once players know the conditions that need to be met for their chosen character, utilising this with the one time use of a Fatal Blow can turn a loss into a win very quickly. Making good use of a fighters defence bar is also key during gameplay, it’s important to get the fundamentals of Mortal Kombat 11 Komplete Edition‘s blocking and combo breaks early on. Even a low kick following an opponent’s beatdown can turn a match around. Fatalities also make a welcome return with the addition of Friendships with the Aftermath DLC which haven’t been seen since MK3.
If players are looking to compete online, it’s going to be well worth following the games all-inclusive training mode which includes competitive builds of characters to practice with. These builds, unfortunately, don’t carry into other modes, so it would be up to players to grab the necessary items and consumables to make the build work. With all the extra DLC characters including and not limited to those from other franchises such as Robocop, Spawn and Joker, there’s plenty of fun to be had within the game’s meta.
Chance Games
Mortal Kombat 11 Komplete Edition does feature loot boxes but avoids a shady ‘Pay to win’ system.
Shang Tsung’s Island is a homage to MK X’s Crypt mode with a generous blob of loot crate mechanics thrown in. This is the mode that allows players to farm items, consumables and the three types of currency MK 11 offers (Coins, Souls and Time Crystals).
Players have a whimsical introduction to the island by Tsung, which gives way to players spending coins to open crates for items. As the mode progresses, players will find MK fighter weapons to help open new areas of the Island, and that’s it. The grind is very much alive, which is annoying for players who want to take online and offline tournaments/matches seriously.
The presentation in Mortal Kombat 11 Komplete Edition is flawless, not one dropped frame or texture issue was picked up on during Techstompers review playthrough. Every special move is crafted with immense detail in terms of texture mapping, physics and general execution.
Marvellous Kutscenes
The in-game cutscenes are also beautiful, actor face-mapping is spot on along with the voice actor lip-syncing, it’s such a polished and well thought out experience. The cinematic nature of the story mode would not have been so impactful if not for the quality of the in-game cutscenes. A quick YouTube search for MK 11 brings up movie compilations of all the cutscenes for fans of the franchise lore for example.
The sound engineering is also pitch-perfect, every bone crunch and atmospheric effect is executed to perfection. The soundtrack also delivers the various temperaments and emotions displayed throughout the story mode. And this brings the whole sonic experience together in a style to please the biggest gaming audiophiles. Astounding.
To Hell and Back. Over and Over Again.
Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath Kollection does exactly what it says on the blood-soaked tin. Although the post-game mechanics can be dull and laden with grinding, the competitive payoff will be worth it for many.
The title also caters quite heavily for fans of the lore and canon of Mortal Kombat. providing quite possibly the best story mode yet seen in a fighting title, thanks to the conclusive finale of the Aftermath expansion.
