Everything that’s new in Mortal Kombat 11

Fatalities, brutalities, and plenty of mutilation return when Mortal Kombat 11 releases on April 23. Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Raiden reappear to do battle against a time-bending sorceress called Kronika, the likes of which attempts to restart history and further complicate the franchise’s narrative timeline. The title promises to preserve a lot of the gameplay innovation found in the series’ last entry and introduce new mechanics to help the experience feel fresh. Mortal Kombat 11 has the potential to rejuvenate the franchise if it balances these elements nicely, which we have confidence in. Here are the confirmed new features that the game will include when it launches soon for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.

Everything New in Mortal Kombat 11 | Fatal Blows, Krushing Blows, and Flawless Blocks

While a lot of fundamentals introduced in 2011’s Mortal Kombat will remain unchanged in the series’ newest entry, special moves will now rely on two meters as opposed to one. Found on the bottom left and right portions of the screen, these serve to separate the offensive and defensive capabilities players can trigger during each match.

Players can used the offensive meter to use amplified moves and the defensive meter for environmental interactions, breakaways that get them out of combos, and defensive getup rolls. Some moves, like the wake-up attacks or Flawless Block attack punishes, use a bar from each. It’s also worth noting that some regular special moves are so powerful that they take one bar of offensive meter. Fans will no longer be forced to sacrifice devastating attacks when their health is low, though they’ll still have to mindful of how many specials they’ve use in a match.

This is evidenced well with Fatal Blows, which are moves that can be activated whenever a player’s health drops below 30% and he or she presses two shoulder buttons simultaneously. Similarly to the X-Ray attacks found in the series’ last two iterations, Fatal Blows dish out a huge amount of damage if they manage to land. As great as it may be to witness Scorpion bury multiple daggers inside the heads of his opponents, players should know that Fatal Blows can only be landed once per match. Should a combatant be unfortunate enough to miss their target, get stuffed, or get the attack blocked, he or she will have to wait around nine seconds before trying again.

Fans of the aforementioned X-Ray attacks should be pleased to know that Mortal Kombat 11 will include a variation of the feature with its new Krushing Blows. Many of these specials can be activated immediately after performing a counter, though each character may also execute their own Krushing Blow when unique conditions are met. Skarlet, for example, can trigger one Krushing Blow by landing the same scythe move three times in a row. Likewise, Geras can initiate his attack when an enemy is hit by one of his overheard moves and he or she is crouch blocking. Krushing Blows are similar to Fatal Blows in that they too can only be used once per match.

Flawless Blocks are also making their debut. Borrowing from many popular fighting games today, the move allows players to counterattack if they manage to precisely block right as an attack connects. While it isn’t as ruinous as the Fatal and Krushing Blows outlined above, a Flawless Blocks negate chip damage and players can expend a few bars to use a block attack juggle or punish to pop the opponent into the air or hit them away; a good reward for quick reflexes. NetherRealm is attempting to give every move more consequence in Mortal Kombat 11, perhaps in an attempt to add some strategic nuance to its gory brawls.

Everything New in Mortal Kombat 11 | Customization options

Series creator Ed Boon revealed Mortal Kombat 11‘s customization system back in January, claiming that it will allow fans to “create, modify, and collect multiple versions of every character.” Each fighter will have three costume pieces for fans to mix and match alongside the usual skins and outfits. Competitive players who were concerned with Injustice 2‘s gear system can breathe easy knowing that these items will be cosmetic only and won’t bestow any special stats. This means that no matter how cool an opponent may look, he or she will still inflict the same amount of damage.

Fans will also be able to alter a fighter’s move set and recovery options through augments. While characters like Skarlet will be able to regain more health from blood, these modifications won’t be powerful enough to completely change the tide of battle. Those that are skeptical of the few benefits that opponents will able to obtain from augments won’t have to worry about multiplayer, as the effects of these items will be negated during competitive matches. Cosmetic changes, however, will still appear when fighting against foes online and custom variations will not be in ranked matches.

Everything New in Mortal Kombat 11 | The franchise’s first female antagonist

Mortal Kombat‘s first female antagonist, Kronika, is part of a unnamed group of beings that are more powerful than Elder Gods. When she learns of Raiden’s campaign to eliminate all evil in Earthrealm, she enacts a plot to rewrite history’s timeline so that the forces of good and evil are evenly matched again. Little else is known about the Keeper of Time (otherwise known as the Architect of the Destiny of the Universe) outside of the fact that she’s Shinnok and Cetrion’s mother and Raiden’s grandmother. Though she won’t be a playable character in Mortal Kombat 11, another time-wielder named Geras will serve as her representative on the game’s roster.

Everything New in Mortal Kombat 11 | New characters

Two entirely new playable characters have been confirmed in the full roster so far. Geras can manipulate the sands of time and grants himself immortality by rewinding his deaths. Cetrion utilizes her elemental powers to restrict her foes with vines, then vaporizes them with the energy of the sun. Each is presumably connected to the earth in some way, as both can utilize sediment to pummel their opponents’ skulls in. Geras can harden sand into weapons like hammers and swords, for instance, while Cetrion can summon huge rocks to stone her enemies to a bloody pulp.

If their fatalities serve any indication, there’s a good chance that the Mortal Kombat community will grow attached to this pair. It’s impossible to not fall in love with an attack that literally tears the entire front half of an opponent’s body off.

There is also one other character that was in the leak as well as the trailers. His name is the Kollector, but we do not currently know much about him. It also appears that Frost is back in the game but she looks like she has been cyberized, which means that she isn’t a new character but not really an old one either.

The elements above indicate Mortal Kombat 11 (Amazon link) won’t drastically depart from the franchise’s roots and how well MKX sold. That’s not a bad thing, as fans who’ve come to expect icicle-impaling fatalities from Sub-Zero or fiery brutalities from Scorpion may find exactly what they’re looking for in this upcoming entry. Hopefully the title’s addition of new moves, additional characters, and customization options will help it stand out among other popular fighting game properties on the market. If not, its gruesome assassinations alone will likely draw the attention of veterans and newcomers alike.

It’s a given that as video game technology evolves, developers will find new ways to completely gross their fans out. As long as Mortal Kombat is still around, the gore the merrier.

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