Mortal Kombat is a series that has spanned for nearly 30 years and it has provided countless spin offs in many forms of media, such as a television series, movies and comic books. Mortal Kombat’s lore and characters are as rich as any Marvel or DC universe and this is due to NetherRealm Studios remarkable ability to be one of the only fighting game developers to blend a truly authentic story with its bone crunching combat.
Mortal Kombat 11 released in 2019 to critical acclaim and you can read our review here. Now recently released is the first story expansion for any game in the Mortal Kombat universe, Mortal Kombat Aftermath. Aftermath picks up virtually where the main story finishes. Fire-Lord Liu Kang has defeated Kronika and he is now the Keeper of Time. Liu Kang prepares to forge a new history for the entire Mortal Kombat universe, however peace is very short lived when Nightwolf, the wind god Fujin and the long running shape shifting villain Shang Tsung (played by the amazing actor who brought him to life in the 1995 movie, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) appear to advise against Liu Kang’s plans.
The plot focuses on these three characters whose lack of appearance in the base game is quickly explained, convincing the other heroes that it is required that they are sent back to rewrite the history to ensure that they save the time stream from imploding. What follows is a time travel plot similar to films like Avengers Endgame and Back to the Future, where these lead characters are running through the background of fights, interrupting some battles and influencing others, which ultimately culminates in Mortal Kombat dramatics with very polished cutscenes.
The story mode is a lot of fun and if you want more of what was served up in Mortal Kombat 11, you are in for a treat. The only negative is it’s a little too brief when weighed up against the $59.95 price tag, as the new story content is only an additional five chapters compared to the base games twelve. Plus, depending on the player’s difficulty, it can be knocked over in a few hours. The story though continues to be amazing right up to the end, where the player gets to make a choice. No matter which choice the player makes, it closes the Mortal Kombat 11 story nicely and prepares for it to be continued into what will potentially be Mortal Kombat 12. The only question is which ending will become canon and carry over to the next game.
Aftermath introduces 2 existing characters from the Mortal Kombat series and also one new guest character:
- Fujin – the God of Wind was first playable in 1997’s Mortal Kombat 4 and he has not been playable in a game since, which makes him enjoyable and fresh to use. Fujin is not as swift as I thought he would be but has an assortment of close and long-range attacks using his wind ability. His ability to dash in the air and slide under projectiles allows him to get in close quick to land those crushing combos.
- Sheeva – the four-armed Shokan Queen first playable in Mortal Kombat 3. Although she does have a somewhat extensive role in the 2019’s main story, she also has not been playable for sometime. Sheeva is a combo powerhouse and if the player gets in close, she has a number of grapples at her disposal. Her traditional stomp returns and is a treat when it lands.
- Robocop comes in as the wild card character, who joins the other guests, the Joker, Spawn and the Terminator. Voiced by actor Peter Weller who played him on screen 30+ years ago, Robocop is here to clean up the streets and bring those to justice. Sadly though, as cool as it is having Robocop in a game like Mortal Kombat, he is the weakest of the new additions. He is big, bulky and very slow. His move set is projectile based, and if the player’s intentions are to barrage their opponent from the other side of the map, which is not fun for anyone, Robocop is for you. I do suggest matching Robocop and Terminator against each other for the nostalgia of their previous adventures together just for the intros.
While the Aftermath story has the player using Fujin and Sheeva, it also focuses on the previous DLC characters, Shang Tsung, Nightwolf and Sindal. If you’re looking to use your favourite characters more from Mortal Kombat 11 then you will be disappointed, but NetherRealm Studios choice to centre on these characters makes it a fresh experience.
With Aftermaths release there is a new patch that comes with a ton of new treats. It includes 2 new but returning arenas, the Dead Pool and Soul Chamber from Mortal Kombat 2 and 3. Also returning is thenotorious stage fatalities, which can be performed in theDeadpool, Shaolin Trap Dungeon and Tournament arenas.And the most welcomed return of the hilarious ‘Friendships’, the nicer way to end a match and alternatives to fatalities with the pleasanter and less gruesome finisher.
On its own, the Aftermath expansion is $59.95 on the Australian stores and despite the additional story and characters, it does not merit such a high price point considering those players that adopted the game on its release in March 2019 have already paid upwards of $70 to $150 for the Premium Edition. I believe for those players, unless you really want to play the story and get the extra characters, wait till it comes on sale in the coming months.
In saying this, the Mortal Kombat 11 game itself is a treat and still holds up its 9/10. For those who have not purchased the base game, you get the best deal with the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Kollection Edition for $89.95 which includes the base game, Kombat Pack (6 DLC fighters) and the Aftermath expansion. This is great value for money.
Final Verdict
+ Story is beautifully interwoven into the main Mortal Kombat 11 story
+ Fujin and Sheeva are great additions to the playable fighters
+ Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa proves after 25 years he is and will always be Shang Tsung.
– Excessively expensive for those who already own MK11 and previous DLC
– Robocop is a difficult to use character and may turn new players off
Score: 7/10(Aftermath expansion)
Score: 9/10(MK11:Aftermath Kollection Edition)
Anth for One More Game
Review code was provided for the purposes of this review and One More Games thoughts are ours and ours alone.
Formats: Xbox One (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Price: $59.99 Add-on or $89.95 for Kollection Edition
Publisher: WB Games Developer: NetherRealm Studios
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