Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Review

I reviewed Mortal Kombat 11 a little more than a year ago and really enjoyed it. You can check out that review here. Fast forward to the present though and Mortal Kombat 11’s latest expansion, Aftermath has just been released. So does Aftermath improve upon the game and does it satisfy both fans of the franchise and newcomers alike? The answer isn’t as straightforward as you’d think.

First and foremost, as I previously mentioned in my original review, Mortal Kombat 11 is definitely not for the faint of heart. The sheer amount of violence, blood and gore in the game is at an all-time high with decapitations, stab wounds, broken bones and fractured femurs being standard fare throughout. If you’re not a fan of extreme violence in video games, this might seem disturbing to you and the shock value might put you off the game completely. For fans of the franchise though and for those that enjoy over the top action, the game will be an absolute treat. Aftermath delivers much of the same throughout.

Getting into the story, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath takes place directly after the events of the base game. There will be spoilers ahead so be warned and avert your eyes for the next two paragraphs especially if you want to go in blind and enjoy everything the game has to offer.

After a major plot event draws to a close in the base Mortal Kombat 11 game, timelines need repairing. Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath deals with this by adjusting the ending of the base game somewhat. Instead of the original ending happening, an anomaly occurs. Shang Tsung, Fujin and Nightwolf are freed from the void and bring with them a cautionary tale. The timelines are in danger once more.

The newly freed void prisoners are tasked with being sent back in time to thwart Kronika’s nefarious schemes. Kronika, a timekeeper, is introduced in an early chapter of the base game’s story. She warps timelines in the game and creates a new one featuring past and present versions of series staple heroes and villains. Nevertheless, newcomers can jump right into the story and will be able to enjoy it. This is applicable to Aftermath too since players can dive right into it from the Story mode selection screen.

Much like it’s predecessor, each chapter of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is told through cinematic storytelling. The story is significantly shorter than the base game but there’s still plenty of action to get through. If you picked up the bundled package of the game, you’ll have a blast from start to finish and will have around 12 hours of gameplay to get through.

 

Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath still features the other gameplay modes from the base game albeit slightly changed, and this gives it extra longevity. The story mode is the true star of the show though and players will spend most of their time with this. This of course only applies to the more casual crowd. Hardcore fighting game players will want to invest heavily into learning each and every single character’s gameplay mechanics and movesets. Thankfully, the tutorial and practice modes ensure that this is possible.

The Krypt section of the game makes a return and has been given an overhaul. Kombat Towers also make a return and playing through these will unlock various different character endings.

Gameplay in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath has been altered slightly from the base game.

Aftermath brings with it a full year’s worth of balances and tweaks. There’s also multiple new characters to play as that weren’t featured in the base game at launch. Sheeva, Fujin and RoboCop are the DLC’s 3 new playable characters and if you purchased the Kombat Pack, you’ll also have access to Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, Terminator T-800, Sindel, The Joker and Spawn as playable characters outside of the story mode.

The new characters are a welcome addition to the game and they bulk up the character roster significantly. MK11 at launch had a rather small pool of characters. Now there’s more than enough to satiate any fighting game fanatic with multiple fighting styles available from these characters. Fujin and Sindel for example can string together combos with ease and do a tonne of damage.

Graphically, since the game uses Unreal Engine 4, it is downright gorgeous. This hasn’t changed at all with Aftermath and the environments of the game still border on the photorealistic side of things with characters being slightly less so. The character models are still exceptionally good though and you can even see details like sweat on their skin or Sindel’s flowing hair in high detail. The intense depictions of blood and violence are over the top but thankfully, blood doesn’t seem to be vividly real and is instead, rather darkly coloured and resembles viscous jelly. This does help mitigate some of the shock value.

Being a Mortal Kombat game, the fatalities are obviously going to be visceral, powerful and brutal. Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath delivers on this for every new character. It’s a spectacle to behold and when you pull a fatality off for the first time, you’ll be in for a visual feast of blood and guts irrespective of the character you’re playing as.

Overall, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is a well-rounded fighting game with some incredibly over the top depictions of violence. The game has come a long way since launch and plays out a lot better throughout thanks to the balance tweaks and changes. The story mode of Mortal Kombat 11 and Aftermath is action packed and while it may not be the best writing out their thanks to the timeline alterations, the game is still incredibly enjoyable. The addition of Aftermath’s balances and tweaks, and the Kombat Pack’s multiple characters, complete the package and help it reach far greater heights than it could at launch. We highly recommend giving the game a try if you’re a fan of fighting games.

Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Switch

This Review is based on the PC version of the game

You can choose the version you want to purchase here.

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