Mortal Kombat X Preview

There are very few game series that have stayed with me throughout my whole life, lasting from my earliest gaming memories to the present day. Sonic is one I’ve talked about a lot, and Mortal Kombat is another. No other fighter has managed to hold my attention for so long, so you can imagine my glee when I saw Mortal Kombat X at this year’s EGX.

Sadly the build at EGX only showed off the game’s multiplayer, a shame given the last Mortal Kombat had, for my money, the finest example of storytelling in any fighting game. Nevertheless I took to the multiplayer, a task that required opponents. Fortunately, Blair and One Hit Pixel’s Dave Irwin were there to help me out, although they did both pretty much crush me; enjoying Mortal Kombat doesn’t mean I’m actually any good at it.

The first thing that hit me about Mortal Kombat X is how fast it is. Previous games have generally felt somewhat more weighty and slower than their competitors, and while 2011’s Mortal Kombat was faster than earlier titles, Mortal Kombat X takes this significantly further, improving the way fights flow along the way.

Not only does combat feel faster and smoother in MKX, it also seems far more dynamic. Actions and reactions are far more natural, particularly when it comes to taking damage. This change in gameplay is rather nicely accompanied by an improvement to the way damage is visualised. While your character did take visible damage in the last game, it did appear rather random. Sure, cuts and gashes would appear, but they rarely seemed related to what had actually happened. Mortal Kombat X vastly improves on this, and damage not only looks more realistic, but more contextual to the fight.

These visual improvements are present throughout the game as a whole, with character models looking more detailed than ever before, and environments getting a significant overhaul. Although only a handful of arenas were on show, they all looked simply great, and all featured the game’s new environmental triggers.

If you’ve played Injustice then you’ll be familiar with these environmental events, which allow you to use certain elements of a level to your advantage. Something in the background will glow white, you’ll hit R1, and suddenly you’re swinging on a vine or throwing a little old lady at your opponent. If you’d rather protect the elderly then don’t worry, there are barrels to chuck or spiked pillars to smash your opponent’s head into.

While not a game changer, this addition ups the game’s fun and brutality levels significantly, important metrics in any Mortal Kombat game. In this vein, the X-Ray moves introduced last time around have been significantly improved, letting you experience your opponent’s skull fracturing or ribs cracking in the improved graphic glory of the new generation of consoles (although the game will appear on the previous gen too).

The best example I saw was easily D’Vorah’s X-Ray move. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of D’Vorah before, she’s a new character for Mortal Kombat X, a sort of humanoid/insect hybrid. Unleashing her X-Ray move see her pushing one of her stingers through the base of her opponent’s skull until it erupts from their mouth, a sight that drew winces every time I hit the move.

Talking of new characters, there were three others on show beyond D’Vorah: Kotal Kahn, the new ruler of Outworld; Cassie Cage, the daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade; and Ferra and Torr, a pair of characters who act as a single fighter, consisting of a huge, slow brute and a nimble, female dwarf who rides on his back. This pair are the most interesting new combatant combat wise, with Torr having the ability to throw Ferra at their opponent, where she’ll happily slash at their face before returning to his back.

Cassie Cage, however, is the most interesting in terms of plot, and hints at the game’s broader narrative. Her status as Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade’s daughter makes sense given parts of the story will be set twenty-five years after the end of the 2011 game, a move that allows plenty of new characters to appear, hopefully including more children of veteran characters. I mean we all want to see what happens when Jade and Smoke get busy right? Right?

Alongside new characters, there’s also a new variant system, where every character has three different combat configurations to choose from. For example, Scorpion’s Ninjitsu option sees him wield dual swords, while his Hellfire setup loses the swords and replaces them with a selection of fiery special moves. Finally, he has a Hellion configuration that allows him to summon minions to the fight, an option I wish I had tried..

Each setup brings different strengths and weaknesses into play, potentially adding a new tactical depth to the game. Would you rather have the ability to coat Sub-Zero in ice armour, or to conjure ice swords? It’s not an easy choice, and the system will require a lot of experimentation if you want to get the best out of the game, although some may not like the way certain moves disappear between configurations.

Mortal Kombat X looks like it will continue along the path set by 2011’s reboot, tweaking and refining series staples while adding new features to revitalise the franchise. The way fights flow is fantastic, the new characters seem like well thought out additions (Ferra and Torr are already a personal favourite) and bringing over the environmental interaction from Injustice was a master stroke.

On top of that, the graphical improvement is marked, with characters looking more realistic than ever before, even if they are thunder gods or ice ninjas. If Mortal Kombat X’s story can surpass the high bar set by its predecessor then it may well set the standard for what a modern fighter needs to be.