REVIEW - Mortal Kombat 11 Is Better Than Ever
Set phasers to Ultimate.
By Jonathan Garrett
20/11/20
Reviewed on Xbox Series X.
Review copy provided by Warner Bros.
Mortal Kombat 11 was already the best game in the relaunched series, and yet NetherRealm have somehow managed to konjur up the impossible (sorry) and best themselves at their own game. The Ultimate edition package, and subsequent next gen optimised upgrades, have taken an already feature rich and smartly expanded foundation and made them even slicker.
The bump to a more consistent (but still dynamic) 4K resolution definitely helps keep things fresh. If you thought the unintentionally hilarious executions had reached peak visceral, you’ll be pleased to hear that they shine on new hardware. The wealth of bundled characters, impressive spectrum of customisation options, and unrivalled quantity of content certainly sweetens the deal.
The biggest and most welcome improvements are in load time optimisation and the inclusion of crossplay. At the time of our review, PlayStation and Xbox consoles are supported, and after thorough playtesting it seems to be working a treat. Your experience online can still be hampered by wonky server disconnects though, as I discovered when battling lag in a number of different matches.
Even if you fall foul of an uneven online experience, jumping between modes, pinging your opponent for a rematch, and navigating the various menu layers are an absolute breeze. The load times are so good infact that I was routinely left waiting for an online opponent to finish loading the level for themselves! This may have only meant a difference of a few seconds, but it added a greater premium feel to the overall package.
For those put off by the finicky nature of button combos, MK11 won’t convert you. I still can’t quite settle into a rhythm between using the sticks or the d-pad, despite investing a fair amount of time. The “juggle” nature of combat may be off putting to some as well, but I must tip my hat to the various tutorials, well presented move sets, and tweakable options.
This whole thing feels like it’s bursting at the seams, and represents a superb re-release of an already great game.
You can actually *hear* this key art, can’t you?
WORTH IT?
At the bottom of every game review, we ask the question: Worth it? And the answer is either “Yeah!” or “Nah”, followed by a comment that sums up how we feel. In order to provide more information, we also have “And” or “But”, which follows up our rating with further clarification, additional context for a game we love, or perhaps a redeeming quality for a game we didn’t like.
YEAH!
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate shines on next gen consoles, and is arguably the finest entry to date.
AND
Even though the learning kurve (sorry) is as steep as ever, there are plenty of ways to hone your skills.
TARPS?
At the bottom of some of our articles, you’ll see a series of absurd looking images (with equally stupid, in joke laden names). These are the TARP badges, which represent our ‘Totally Accurate Rating Platform’. They allow us to identify specific things, recognise positive or negative aspects of a games design, and generally indulge our consistent silliness with some visual tomfoolery.
