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(Image: WB Games)

We have re-reviewed Mortal Kombat in response to the game issuing a new patch that seems to fundamentally alter the economy and in-game grind.

As these were our biggest issues in the game at launch, we thought it was only fair to revisit the title and look at what's changed since launch and how the new setup effects how fun the game can be.

As it happens, we think the new changes fundamentally alter the experience and bring it right up to scratch with the industry standard - and in many cases, surpasses it.

If you were holding off on MK11 until some of the more questionable issues were addressed, we're happy to report you'll likely have a decent time with the game now.

You can read our full Mortal Kombat 11 re-review here.

Mortal Kombat 11 has a really decent core. There’s something at the heart of the game that’s compelling, addictive, special - a fighting game that delights in its silliness and gives players the tools to customise their experience, providing a decent springboard for competitive players and casual fighting fans alike.

But that solid core is let down by some bizarre design decisions around the rest of the game: around the insistence that everything is locked behind multiple different in-game currencies, that every challenge is balanced in favour of your spending money, that the player should be punished for wanting to unlock everything as soon as possible.

Mortal Kombat 11 borrows a lot of ideas from developer NetherRealm’s previous title, Injustice 2, but rather than using that game to iterate on ideas and make the newest Mortal Kombat more player-friendly, NetherRealm has gone the opposite direction, taking an actively more hostile approach when it comes to balance, grind and content gating.

And frankly, it ruins the experience.

Thanks to the way Mortal Kombat 11 works, you need to be online pretty much all the time in order to collect items - and not just cosmetic items.

Certain pieces of armour or custom character loot will impact your moves: making some specials more powerful, making some moves more deadly, or allowing you a realistic chance against boss fights in the Towers of Time mode.

In order to beat these Towers and unlock, say, your favourite character’s skin, you need to fight through increasingly tough levels of enemies that get buffs applied to them as you get debuffed. This may mean that your opponents start to get regenerating health as you start to dodge missiles thrown at you from around the stage - not exactly a fair fight.

NetherRealm wants you to offset these harsh conditions by customising your fighters - and you’ll often only get the item you need to beat a boss… once you’ve beaten a boss.

Fatalities, Brutalities and more are locked behind the game’s Krypt (where everything costs one of three currencies to obtain) or locked away in Towers.

As a newcomer in this game - especially if you just want to play Mortal Kombat with friends and enjoy all the silly ultra-violence - this is incredibly intimidating and convoluted. The lengthy grind to level up items and unlock new gear pushes players into using only one character and sticking with them for the long haul.

We get it - it’s nice to specialise, but with a game as varied and stuffed to the brim with content as this, it’s a shame to feel corralled into maxing out one character.

At least in the story mode, there’s some respite from what seems like a very aggressive tactic to push players into buying premium currency. As ever with NetherRealm games, the story takes center stage, and draws on the last three decades of history to compose a story that’s as insane as it is brilliant.

We won’t spoil anything here, but over the 12 chapters (of four fights each) the Story mode focuses on, you get a decent grounding of current and historical MK lore. It’s loud, dumb, silly and the most part, fun. It’s built with Hollywood cinematography and wouldn’t feel out of place in the overwrought DC cinematic universe - it’s that on-brand.

This is the best place to feel out the fighting in the game, too: for the most part, the balance is on point (NetherRealm has clearly learned its lesson since vanilla MKX!) and there's a character for every player type - whether you're stoic, rushdown, a zoner or whatever else you'll find a character and a playstyle that will fit to your strengths and test your weaknesses. We can't gush enough about how well MK11 plays when you're fighting.

You can probably blitz through Story mode in one sitting, if you’re patient, as it takes maybe two to three hours to finish up. Then, it's time to jump into the Towers - and that's where things get disappointing.

There are two types of Tower: Klassic (standard arcade ladders that anyone that's ever played a fighter will be familiar with) and Towers of Time. The latter are constantly changing challenges that put the focus on items and power-ups, rather than your raw fighting skill.

In theory, that's a great idea - it demonstrates a lot of creativity from the minds at NetherRealm, and keeps the game fresh forever. But without good augments, decent power-ups and (again) this ludicrous grind, many of these challenges are frankly unfun.

Completionists beware: there will be a long gap between you starting this game and having unlocked everything - in fact, at launch, we don't think it's possible for you to get everything in-game thanks to online towers. Also, don't play this game if you plan on being offline most of the time: MK11 will refuse to give you rewards. Which is ridiculous.

- Reviewed on PlayStation 4

A cynic would say that NetherRealm has intentionally bloated the crafting and unlocking process to guide player’s hands towards premium currency if they want to get their favourite characters geared up to the teeth.

Whilst we appreciate the hard work and dedication that’s gone into fine tuning what has always been a phenomenal fighting game core, we can’t help but feel the sheen of the gameplay is dulled by the aggressively monetised skin Mortal Kombat 11 is wearing.

Sure, the Living Towers are an interesting addition that requires many staff to be committed to the game the foreseeable future, and online stability needs to be maintained, but loading a fighting game with this many conflicting currencies then having the gall to ask players to shell out cash on top of the triple-A price of entry… it stings. More than Scorpion’s iconic spear.

Mortal Kombat 11 is a top-tier fighting game that deserves to be rated much higher - but locking 90% of the content behind gates that require thankless, constant grind has left us with a rather sour taste in our mouth.

The Good

• Best in class fighting gameplay• Looks gorgeous• Lots of customisation - both cosmetic and gameplay• Great character variationThe Bad

• Aggressive monetisation and content gating• Cumbersome UI• Always online connection required