It’s finally here, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath. The next chapter in the MK story has been released in the form of DLC, fairly expensive DLC too! Checking the comment sections of any given post of this latest update you’ll see the usual posturing of gamers insisting they won’t purchase Aftermath because of its cost, and how they are now “DONE WITH NETHERREALM!” I suppose for now but it’s safe to assume that tune will change not long after they suffer their first defeat at the hands of one of the newcomers!
Aftermath is a continuation of the main games storyline, picking up exactly where we left off with Liu Kang defeating the Titan of Time Kronika, Shattering her body Kang is suddenly confronted by his old foe Shang Tsung and his own personal Avengers Squad of MK Legends, Nightwolf and Fujin. The Tenacious Trio explain that shattering Kronika’s crown was a mistake and without it there is no way to repair the timeline which has been decimated by the games events. Kang agrees to go along with their plan to steal said crown from the past. That’s about as much as I can say without spoiling too much but suffice to say this has been one of the most satisfying story experiences I’ve had in a while with all the leading characters getting their time to shine and an extra chance to build the world of Mortal Kombat. Easily the greatest satisfaction comes from watching the cast interacting with the revived sorcerer Shang Tsung. Being a lifelong treacherous swine and absolutely no one you meet trusts him! Even with the honest types like Fujin and Nightwolf hanging out with him, everyone instantly decides to hate on him, of course not without plenty of reason! Tsung is impeccably played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who the MK fans among you will remember most famously played the role before in the classic Mortal Kombat movie! He brings a sinister yet loveable nature to the character which means while you too never trust him; you can’t help but love him for it!
Of course the story is the key part of the pack but included with the second part of the tale are 3 new fighters. The wind god Fujin, four armed Shokan warrior Sheeva and guest character and badass cyber law enforcer RoboCop! All 3 have clearly been given time and effort to make them and it’s a joy to play as them all. While I struggled to get the hang of RoboCop, due to his slow speed and reliance on ranged attacks, I fell in love almost instantly with Fujin. The God of Wind is incredibly satisfying to play as with some fun mix ups and a good balance of close combat speed and ranged power. Sheeva might be the character I’ve given the least time so far, Shes a well-rounded character with a particular focus on brute strength, while satisfying as any heavy hitter is, she just doesn’t gel with me, could be because my entire MK history is built on speedy characters like Sub-Zero and Kabal!
You won’t be dropped right in at the deep end with the new faces either, each character has a trial in the Towers of Time mode allowing even players who haven’t bought the DLC to experience the characters. Bonus points for letting you earn so sick gear for them too! Especially Robocop who comes with a gear set inspired by the MK3 Cyborg Ninjas. An additional benefit of the update comes as a free gift to ALL players, not just those of you with disposable income, Friendships are back! Every character in the game can now non lethally end a fight with results ranging from mildly entertaining to downright hilarious (Check out the Joker’s if you really want to giggle!)
Overall, the Aftermath DLC is a fun addition to an already excellent title, though I would honestly agree with a lot of the folks online, £35 is too much for 2 and a half hours of story content and 3 characters. If you’re a hard-core fan of the series then this is certainly worth it to you, but if you only play MK casually? Then probably save your money for now, in time you might be able to get a deal and really enjoy a quality piece of the Mortal Kombat saga!
I’ll be giving Mortal Kombat: Aftermath 7/10