Mortal Kombat 11 will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the premiere fighting games of the Xbox One/PS4 era and perhaps the best overall entry in NetherRealm’s venerable series. I gave MK11 an 8.5 out of 10 upon its original release and it’s only expanded and improved since. Now NetherRealm is squeezing just a few more drops of blood out of the game with the release of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate.
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate packages together the original game and all its DLC, including Kombat Pack 1 and the Aftermath story expansion, and the all-new Kombat Pack 2, which adds Mileena, Rain, and John Rambo himself to the roster. NetherRealm is also offering free Xbox Series X/S and PS5 upgrades (which you can take advantage of without an Ultimate purchase). So, does Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate and the free next-gen upgrade take the fight to the next level or is this just more of the same gore?
Note: This is an opinion piece, and thus not as detailed a full, scored review would be.
Kombat Pack 2, All Killer, No Filler
As mentioned, the only new content included in Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate is the three-fighter Kombat Pack 2, but it’s nothing to sneeze at. Mileena has easily been the most demanded DLC character, Rambo (voiced by Sly Stallone himself) is probably MK11’s coolest guest character to date, and Rain, well…I’m sure there’s some diehard Rain fans out there who are very happy he’s included.
Mileena is probably my favorite of the new additions. Mileena’s a speedy rushdown character, who can mix things up with a variety of multilevel attacks. She’s particularly adept at dealing with those annoying characters that just spam you with projectiles, as her Tele-Drop can instantly close any gap, and has a quick counter for pretty anything that might be thrown your way. Oh, and she has some of the most disgusting Fatalities and Brutalities in the game.
Rain is a speedy zoner, with lots of ranged attacks and the ability to snap off some impressive combos. While not necessarily my kind of fighter (I like to get up in my rival’s face), I suspect Rain will end up being the Kombat Pack 2 favorite amongst high level competitive players. His various watery attacks are powerful, but Rain’s Evaporate ability, which transforms his entire body into water, rendering him invulnerable to most attacks, should really test his opponents’ patience.
Finally, we have Rambo, who will likely be the toughest for most players to come to grasps with. Rambo is a bit slower and more cumbersome than the other Kombat Pack 2 fighters, but his bow is surprisingly versatile. I suspect those who take the time to master Rambo’s archery mechanics will find he’s a pretty solid ranged fighter. Ol’ John probably isn’t topping anybody’s tier list right now, but he might start rising through the ranks as people learn his intricacies.
While we’re only getting three new fighters with Kombat Pack 2, and I’d say the overall level of quality is higher than the first Kombat Pack or the characters we got with the Aftermath expansion. Sure, those past updates offered some top tier additions like Shang Tsung and Fujin, but they also included some duds like Spawn and the Terminator. This time around I would say all three of the new characters have the potential to be favorites.
Getting Some Minor Work Done
As for Mortal Kombat 11’s next-gen console upgrade, you don’t get a ton of options – the game runs at 4K/60fps with HDR support, end of story. NetherRealm says the resolution is dynamic, but I never noticed any drops in clarity, and the couple analysis videos I watched didn’t find any either. While there may be some small variations in resolution, for the most part, you’re getting a locked-in native 4K. Overall visual quality hasn’t changed much, with improved shadows and perhaps slightly more intense HDR being the only noticeable changes. On the performance front, that 60fps is solid as a rock, although disappointingly, the game still drops to 30fps for cinematics and Fatalities.
The differences between the PS5/Xbox Series X and PS4/Xbox One versions of Mortal Kombat 11 won’t blow your mind, but that’s largely because the original version of the game was already very pretty and well optimized. I certainly can’t complain about Mortal Kombat 11’s next-gen presentation, but I perhaps would have liked to see NetherRealm push themselves a little harder with something like a 120fps mode. At the very least, they should get those cutscenes up to 60fps.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been holding off on NetherRealm’s latest Fatality-fest, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate is definitely your best available option, particularly if you can play on next-gen consoles. That said, if the game hasn’t sparked much interest, the new bundle isn’t going to change your mind. MK11 Ultimate on PS5 makes a pretty game just a little more attractive, and an already-impressive roster just a little more stacked. To be clear, I absolutely recommend Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, but if you haven’t taken my advice so far, I doubt your guard will be broken.
