MK11 Settled Dust Verdict: MEDIOCRE / 10

DeBane

New member
Combos:
  • limited
  • red tape everywhere / little freedom for individuality / repetitive ("MK11 is NRS's SFV" -anonymous user)
  • unreliable -- everything is Wiisy in practice mode, but, only the most canned strings seem reliable in actual play
  • throwing as a combo ender inexplicable removed

Hit properties:
  • blockable throw-normals, yet, throws are near-unbreakable
  • height designations all over the place -- attacks that look high are "mid"; those that look overhead are not; same attacks randomly use different height designations (e.g., Shao Kahn jump-4 on J. Cage's "Mime" counter)
  • wiffing up the wazoo

Krushing Blows:
  • entire game revolves around phishing for these no-execution mini-supers
  • ...despite thus, the KB's feel somewhat unconscious to execute -- both due to zero execution requirement, as well as the dumb prerequisites
  • said prerequisite system is utterly ill-thought-out -- most chars. have mostly useless KB's; with the select few having viable KB's' that are far too easy to abuse
  • universal down-2 KB's are nauseating, reward scrubby play and should not exist
  • many KB animations are copy-pasted (e.g., the stomach strike, like Scorpion's, Kano's and Baraka's)

Fatal Blows:
  • as predicted, they're little more than non fighting game gamer crutches -- insultingly awarded for being punched in the mush
  • regenerates every few seconds, resulting in overuse
  • overuse exacerbated by derivative, often crap-looking FB animations (bash 'em a bit -> knock 'em up -> jump up after them -> knock 'em down... Injustice Kombat)
  • no "x-ray" effects used in FB animations at all
  • although a casual crutch, FB damage is too low relative to rewarding players who use them inside combos (*non skill discriminatory damage scaling) or as genuine comeback mechanics
  • no execution requirement and universal inputs makes FB's that much more odious to witness and avail

Meters:
  • no need for meters, given they are now only MMO style ability use TIMERS, represented by yellow bars
  • meter use is generic, resulting in too much meter cost for some abilities and too little for others
  • lack of meter management further simplifies an already very simplistic fighter
  • free meter, irrespective of how a bout plays out, does not comport with fighting game traditions (*meter is supposed to mean "spirit" -- how this "spirit" is acquired is debatable; however, for it to come completely removed form what takes place in-game, defeats the purpose of having a meter in the first place)
  • many special abilities that should have meter burn functionality, inexplicably do not (deadline constraints?)
  • FB's and KB's ignore meter

General gameplay:
  • every match-up 95% boils down to down-2 / KB phishing -> down-1-throw spamming (-> FB's) -- some of the most boring flowchart fighting game gameplay I've experienced (*played fighters since 1991)
  • characters don't feel unique, neither in play nor design -- "bosses" are little different to any other char; female fighters don't feel nimble or feminine; monster type chars. feel the same as humans...
  • due to lack of combo diversity, players encouraged to spam a small selection of rote combos, patterns and abusable abilities
  • due to simplistic gameplay tailored for casuals, MK11 attracts a toxic community that plays accordingly
  • little new "tech"; little new discoveries after the first week of release; little discernible difference between an intermediate player and a pros, beyond execution efficiency
  • characters share too many special abilities (teleports, projectiles), often incongruously so, which is exacerbated by the infamous "universality" of many of the game's other mechanics

Fatalities:
  • cannot be toggled off
  • still only two Fat's per character
  • many Fat's are mostly silly-looking (esp. compared to Brutalities) and more like super moves that fatals (e.g., Lui Kang's "one-inch punch" Fatality looks like his FB, and his FB a Fatality)
  • blood effects looks like jelly
  • ill-placed, Injustice 2 style super slow motion for Fat's
  • not enough stage Fat's, and those that exist are sub-par

Customisation:
  • FAR too restrictive overall -- only marginally more creativity-friendly than Injustice 2
  • too few slots, compounded by superseding "conflicts" between abilties
  • too many default tools ransomed as customisation 'extra abilities'
  • many restrictions kill and fun a char. could otherwise engender -- e.g., Cetrion / her AoE element abilities requiring x2 slots and conflicting with one another
  • even the disappointing customisation present, barred from "competitive" game modes
  • Augment perks exist only to acquire more Augments, in order to unlock content gated by lopsided CPU battles -- making them an utterly pointless mechanic (in fighting game terms) and little more than content node filler (*NRS promised that Augments WOULD work in Kasual / Local modes -- as is evidenced by said perks appearing in char. load-outs in those, specific game modes -- but, quietly back-pedalled on this / LIED [again])

Online:
  • ping is a false indicator of connection stability
  • no filters for connection type, players, characters or mirror matches
  • no auto-match-making in practice mode
  • no customisation in "competitive" modes means players with play for meaningless "rank" or wait an eternity for kasual matches
  • disconnections and de-syncing rampant
  • repeated "benchmark" testing (PC) for no apparent reason, yet, many players permitted online with "yellow" fps ratings

Content:
  • the game is an effective MMO in many respect (apropos, given Boon wants to move into the MMO genre) -- content acquisition tied to always-online game modes; RNG content nodes (that have strict content caps); content effectively locked to timed, in-app ("Time Krystal") purchasing
  • most content underwhelming -- uninspired "skins" that are mostly only "shaders" (slight colour variations); meh "gear" (made even more meh due to lack of Augment perk application); finishers and intros/outros cynically locked (also making them inaccessible for player-2 offline)
  • Krypt is nothing but a loot box warehouse (see: EA's "surprise mechanic" euphemism for its obvious loot boxes)

Presentation:
  • fight arenas uninteresting and lack that MK je ne sais quoi; no dynamic weather or even much ambient diversity; no classics or nostalgia
  • BGM forgettable, as usual
  • character designs mostly rather dull (esp. the females)
  • aside from the odd "TONK!", audio is uninspired
  • intro dialogue very cringy for most part (*admittedly understandable, given the sheer volume of lines that exist)
  • pre-fight screen is a big step back from Injustice 2's char. exchanges

Roster:
  • too many missing favourites
  • leaked cameos could have been better (e.g., T-1000/3000, Michael Myers, Pinhead)
  • leaked stalwarts could have been better (e.g., Kintaro, Quan Chi, Chameleon)
  • too small, relative to what MKX and IJ2 offered, and what the likes of 'Armageddon' had (*it's the third MK game by NRS, and a 50+ char. roster is a reasonable expectation at this stage... esp. given how shallow the gameplay has become)

Design:
  • characters look too samey
  • character heights too homogenised (*on average females are meant to be significantly shorter than males)
  • characters either look good (S.Kahn) or woeful (Kitana)
  • button layout is all over the place
  • again, a wholly different beast to previous NRS products -- instead of refining one model, NRS continually reïnvent the wheel... for the worse
  • too much Injustice in an MK game (...dat Nightwolf bicycle helmet :rofl:)

Developer:
  • lies up the wazoo
  • incommunicado
  • too few QoL / balance patches
  • trolling of disappointed fans
  • not listening to fans
  • DLC schedule too protracted -- two(2) characters per quarter would be more palatable than one every two months or so (what if one doesn't like the char. -- hang around for half-a-year waiting for Godot? :roll:)

The good:
  • expected visual fidelity improvements
  • performance (PC) is much improved over IJ2 and the early stages of MKX
  • customisation (nay finishers) usable on player-2 side locally (PC)
  • loading speeds improved over IJ2
  • customisation negligibly improved over IJ2

Improvements:
  • remove all combo red tape and restrictions -- make it more MKX and let damage-scaling balance proceedings
  • make throw-breaks easier and diversify throw damage from the universal 140 (e.g., more damage for a throw-counter or throw-counter-punish; LESS damage for each successive throw landed raw)
  • place char. in a "critical" state when throwing -- increasing potential subsequent punish damage
  • allow throws to catch juggle targets
  • throw-normals (inside strings) unblockable, but, breakable
  • reduce damage on down-1's to near chip
  • remove universal down-2 KB's -- leaving only weapons-based down-2's as KB's (Baraka, Shao Kahn, Jade etc.), and giving affected chars. (those who lose their down-2 KB) a replacement KB
  • remove all KB prerequisites, but, leave one KB type per match restrictions
  • tie KB's to one bar of meter and force button hold-check in all game modes
  • limit one FB attempt per round, only activating in the final round for that players
  • tie FB's to, a minimum, x1 DEF and x1 ATT meter -- increasing damage from there (50%,75%,100% of their potential [raw] damage output), relative to meter stock
  • do not scale FB damage when FB's are used inside combos of 5 hits or more -- in order to promote more deliberate, non "YOLO" usage (as well as more genuinely hyped comebacks)
  • diversify FB damage output -- heaviest-hitters do up to 500dmg; the nimblest chars., 300 (*can be further balanced using the frame data or the respective FB's too)
  • change meter regeneration speeds relative to potency of abilities they are used for -- the more efficacious the ability, the slower the subsequent meter regen')
  • dovetail thus with the character archetypes -- for sake of better char. diversity -- to engender a kind of "stamina" feel to the meters as well (heavy-hitters have low stamina / meter regen'; lithe characters are have higher stamina / meter regen')
  • allow for wake / OTG's using specials
  • increase "Perfect Block" frame advantage to something like SFIII's parries, and increase their window for successful activation to something viable beyond the highest pro levels (think: Soul Calibur parries / repels)
  • add armour properties to certain amplified specials (universally), as well as a default "tick" or armour for certain chars. who would logically have some armour on particular abilities (e.g., Shao Kahn shoulder charge; Cage's flash kick)
  • give all specials that lack them, amplification properties
  • add obviously missing specials abilities (e.g., Shao Kahn upward shoulder; stun properties for Cage's nut punch)
  • allow current, three-slot customisation for "competitive" modes
  • increase customisation slots to five(5) or half of a character's total customisable ability suite (whichever's higher) in Kasual / Local modes
  • remove all ability "conflicts"
  • remove all 2-slot ability restrictions -- all abilities require only one(1) slot to equip
  • option for active Augment perk effects in Kasual / Local
  • fix useless abilities (e.g., Kahn's "Ridicule" taunt)
  • make first-to-three the default online round match configuration
  • online, provide an "Accept" / "Decline" option AFTER char. selections have been made
  • online, automatically filter from match-making all players who a player has declined more than twice in succession
  • option for automatic random stage selector between matches (like in DoA games)
  • remove all always-online restrictions for content acquisition
  • make the game's gameplay modding compatible and release modding tools as such (think: SFV's "Mysterious Mod")

Just a valediction of sorts from me. I've uninstalled the game now, and will only look at it again once Sindel drops (late October or beyond). Hopefully something is done about the "condition" of the game by the time I do try it again... 'Cause it's all but dead to me in its current state. v_v
 
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