Hidden away from innocent eyes, behind a black curtain, was the Mortal Kombat X booth, showcasing the game’s updated visuals and brutal gameplay. The demo gave us access to all announced characters including the two recently announced fighters Kano and Quan Chi.
Mortal Kombat has always emphasised the blood and gore with each iteration, with MK9 being one of the drastic changes in the franchise in terms of 2.5D gameplay and visuals. MKX has taken a much bigger step from that, making the gameplay much more fluid, adding dynamic and interactable map elements similar to Injustice, building from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance’s fighting style mechanic and giving all fighters different variants leading to a wide range of matchups, and overall being a great looking fighting game.
From what I played, the game’s pace is similar to MK9, with visual improvements in the movement and combat, making the game look a lot smoother. There has been major improvements in the characters’ designs as well, and it’s evident through the x-rays and fatalities. NetherRealm really went all out this time, creating the most bizarre x-rays and horrifying fatalities. More bone breaking, puncturing and dismemberment? Why not?
The running/stamina mechanic makes a return, allowing for more combo opportunities and set-ups. The game itself has taken a more cinematic and dark tone, from the character selection screen to the pre-battle dialogue. Even small additions like displaying both fighters’ special moves in the pause menu makes me happy to see NetherRealm pin point the features that worked in past games, and reworking on features that didn’t. My only gripe with the game is the accessibility and how the game may be a little intimidating for casual gamers. Not only with the over the top gore, but the technical gameplay.
Hoping the final game wont get somewhat censored, I’m really glad to see see more R18+ titles make an appearance on the show floor. Mortal Kombat is set to release April 14th in 2015, available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC