I have to start this off by saying that I love Mortal Kombat X. It has surpassed Injustice as my favorite fighting game. I have been playing it a good amount since it came out and there are a ton of different ways to play the game. The story mode was fun. Online ranked matches are blast and even some time in the training room is pretty enjoyable. But in my opinion, Survival mode King Of The Hill is the most exciting and here is why:

The 8 player rooms do a great job of mixing up different characters and play styles. There is no telling who you may fight if you stay on top of the hill for long enough. Sure you see a lot of Scorpions and Kitanas but every now and then you see someone use a Kotal Kahn or Kano and you are reminded how good the cast of the game is.

Another thing I like about this is that there is a good chance someone in a full room has their headphones on which makes things all the more exciting.

I have met and chatted with some real good players and cool people so far while playing, so if you are the social type this is a good way to meet cool players to add to your friend list.

In between matches you are able to spectate and watch the current fighters duke it out. This can be pretty exciting when good players are playing. As a student of the game I like to observe the skilled players closely and see if I can pick up anything from their games to add to my own personal repertoire.

While watching these fights i’ve seen combos, fatalities and brutalities that I hadn’t seen before and that is always pretty cool in my book.

In Survival mode there is only 1 round instead of the traditional 2 and the health bar moves much slower. An attack in other modes that would do 30% damage normally will only do a fraction of that here. Additionally, the survivors health bar is not automatically replenished after each fight, instead health bonus are awarded for meeting certain requirements within the match. For example, doing an x-ray move and a fatality will grant you a bonus % on your health regen for the next fight. There are 6 categories in each fight in order to give you a chance to regain as much as possible if you go on to win.

For those not fighting there is a voting system in which players can give the fighters from the previous match “respect points” to show how well they did. The score ranges from 0 to 10. There is also a wide variety of funny emojis to choose from to add to the fun. They range from tomatoes to a crying cartoon sub zero to a middle finger and you will see people using them constantly.

If you can win 10 matches in a row you will unlock the Hot Shot Johnny Cage costume which is the one he wears in the story mode. But beware, winning 10 matches will definitely bring out the salt in the competition. People who give you a 10 for beating the guy before them will quickly change to 0’s once you’ve beaten them personally. I always find that to be pretty funny and make a point to punish those guys if they wait around long enough to fight again.

When you earn 1000 respect points in total you unlock a trophy which is nice and also keeps the rooms full with people working on getting those points.

An advantage of this mode over regular ranked matches is, as long as you win, you do not have to wait to find your next opponent. Playing consecutive ranked matches can be a bit of a pain because for some strange reason the game makes you “connect to online” in addition to waiting to be matched with your next opponent between every fight.

With the non regenerating health it makes it seem like you’ve earned all of what you have and makes winning all the more thrilling. Earlier today I won 18 in a row with Kenshi and around match 15 my health bar was pretty low. I had to beat players with full health while starting off with less than half. A change like that may call for a revised strategy and extra caution in order to beat the odds. The competition, the added challenge, the thrill of keeping the streak alive and being able to chat during it all really make this mode my favorite in a game with a ton of great options.