Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Review (PS5)

Mortal Kombat 11 was released more than one year ago and has received an expansion since then with Aftermath, and a definitive bundle now with the Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate. This is the perfect time to get such a bundle out now with the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series signaling the start of a new generation of consoles. Ultimate Edition is offering a chance for new players to get into the game while also bringing in many other improvements for existing players, from the visuals to the addition of a new fighter pack that brings an unlikely new set of characters to the game.

Mortal Kombat 11 Fighter Pack 2 is a part of the Ultimate Edition adding Rambo, Rain, and Mileena. Two of these are highly-requested fighters from the previous Mortal Kombat games while Rambo is a strange crossover that works out rather well in the game itself. I mean how crazy it is that we finally have a game now where we can make Rambo fight against the legendary Terminator T-800.

When it comes to fighting games, I don’t think there is anything else quite like the Mortal Kombat 11 story mode in the market from another developer. NetherRealm Studios are unmatched in offering cinematic-quality story mode that is written well and while I believe they peaked with their storytelling in Mortal Kombat 9, the subsequent games have managed to offer a highly-detailed story mode that not only takes the lore of the series forward but also sets a new benchmark in presentation for a fighting game.

This obviously applies to Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate. It comes with the base game which already had a great story mode but it is further enhanced by the Aftermath expansion, adding a couple more hours of gameplay to an excellent game. All of this is part of the package for the Ultimate Edition which means if you haven’t jumped in to play this new Mortal Kombat, there is no better time than now to pick it up. There is a wealth of fighters with this Ultimate Edition, bringing the total number up to 37. This is insane enough already, but the fact that all of these are playable in the game from the get-go makes it even better.

One minor qualm that I had with the original game was that it suffered from long load times. This is practically gone now with the Ultimate Edition update on the PS5. The load times are blazing fast now, so much that it doesn’t even matter. The same applies to Klassic Towers. As we do a lot of fighting, the reduced frequency of load times helps especially if you have limited time per day to play the game. The visual upgrade is also rather noticeable because the game now runs at native 4K on PS5. It also offers 60 FPS gameplay without any hitches or frame drops, so it is essentially flawless in the current visual setup.

Aside from the addition of the new fighters, and the upgrade for the next-generation consoles, there is not a lot of new content if you are returning to the game. It is nice to see that there are improvements made here but there is also some good news if you are thinking this will be an expensive upgrade. For starters, if you already own the original game, you just need to purchase the Ultimate Edition to get almost every DLC and additional content. The next-generation upgrade is already free so it won’t need any additional purchase, but getting the Ultimate Edition content is worthwhile now if you missed out on it earlier.

As good as it was to see that almost every post-launch DLC is available in the game now, there are some additional DLC like a classic movie skin pack that launched after the Ultimate Edition. These are disappointing to an extent although understandable since they are just skins. If you are hoping to find almost every DLC in this bundle, then count alternative fighter skins out of them. The same is true for Capcom with their Street Fighter 5 expansions that offer all recent DLC fighters but lack the additional costumes for them.

In conclusion, I just have to say that this is one of the best fighting games released this generation, and with the release of the Ultimate Edition, the new console owners can get a chance to experience it in the definitive way possible. There is such a plethora of content to unlock in the game with the Klassic Towers, Online Multiplayer, and a meaty single-player mode. This is a fighting game that shouldn’t be missed at any cost.

Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher

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