Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath Review - Improving Perfection
Reviewed On: Xbox One X
Also On: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Release: May 26th, 2020
Rating: Mature
Experience Mortal Kombat's first-ever major expansion. Aftermath features a brand-new cinematic story centered around trust and deceit. Fire God Liu Kang, the new keeper of time and protector of Earthrealm, looks to secure the future he envisions. In order to do so, he is forced to enlist the help of some unlikely allies & familiar foes. Players will have to decide who they can trust and who they must defeat with fate on the line. Forge a new history.
This article was originally published on Positive Plugs on May 26th 2020. It has been ported here so that it may live on.
Mortal Kombat has been one of my favorite video game series since playing Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on the Super Nintendo when I was a kid. The excessively violent franchise has managed to stay relevant after all these years by reinventing the wheel, improving what works, ditching what doesn’t, and creating the best cinematic stories you can find in the fighting game genre.
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath continues this trend by improving the flow of the original campaign that launched with the base game in 2019.
While shorter (Aftermath took me roughly three to three and a half hours to beat on medium difficulty) than the base game, Aftermath is extremely well-paced with gorgeous cinematics and fluid transitions into Kombat that make you feel like you’re part of an impressive action film, and the plot is littered with emotion, excitement, and of course – brutality.
While I will always refrain from discussing spoilers on this blog, I want to confirm that Aftermath has two VERY different endings for its conclusion – but don’t worry, thanks to chapter select you don’t need to replay the entire story to experience them both.
My favorite theme of this expansion is that the story lets you experience things from the opposite side as you spend a solid chunk of play time controlling the antagonists, and it was fun to see certain characters finally get a chance to really demonstrate their raw power rather than just being fodder for the heroes!
Aftermath successfully manages to take the original plot for Mortal Kombat 11 and improve on it in a seamless continuation that beckons you to rewrite history again, but this time with a seemingly finite end.
The story had me hooked from beginning to end and motivated me enough to immediately run to my computer and write up this entry to share my thoughts with all of you.
But the fun doesn’t stop there.
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath also includes the addition of three new playable characters for players who purchase the expansion. Sheeva, Fujin, and Robocop all offer new play styles with exciting finishers and combos that make them welcome additions to the roster.
Meanwhile, the update that came along with the expansion also introduces four new stages and a return of the fan-favorite Friendship finishing moves for free.
The new stage Retrocade is far and away my favorite fighting game level of all time. It takes place, unsurprisingly, in an old coin-op arcade with classic cabinets such as Primal Rage, Rampage, Joust, and Hydro Thunder in the background while a large set of projector screens display several classic Mortal Kombat stages in their 16-bit glory with an impressive layer of 3D giving them surprising depth. Players can even interact with the projectors to leap off of them and change the currently displayed level!
Lastly, my all-time favorite Mortal Kombat character Stryker manages to make an appearance in Aftermath!
Due to spoilers I won’t state where or how, but even though it’s such a tiny little insignificant appearance, it filled my heart with warmth and made me briefly forget the utter disappointment I felt while watching the reveal trailer and thinking he was making a triumphant return only to be robo-blocked by Robocop (who is still a fun character!)
In summary, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is a ton of fun and offers a wealth of content both for paying and current players who don’t feel like upgrading just yet. Even though I’ve already completed the story, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of this expansion and I’m eager to jump back in to finish classic ladders, unlock cosmetics for my new characters, and work on learning new combo strings on shiny new stages!
If you love fighting games, I can’t recommend this one enough, and even if you already own the game but don’t have the money to drop on Aftermath right now, do yourself a favor and log in to check out the free new content!
My only complaint about my time with Aftermath is the lack of new achievements, of which there are none, but that hasn’t managed to reduce my enjoyment in the least, but it’s worth noting for anyone who may be reading this and weighing their options on picking it up.
I’ve had a blast with this expansion and getting a story-based add-on for a fighting game is something I’ve wanted for a very long time, particularly for Mortal Kombat, and I’m quite happy to say, Aftermath delivers!