Anecdotally speaking, MK11 seems to take better advantage of HDR support. Taking advantage of DualSense’s haptics, your controller rumbles on one side when you get hit, indicating which direction the damage came from. I cut the sleeves off at the elbow on each side. I cut off the top portion of the mask and used modeling clay to shape the mask into the one I needed and then painted it yellow and black.

As with most last-gen games, the next-gen consoles cut down MK11’s load times dramatically. The next-gen versions run at a “dynamic 4K resolution,” which means it runs in 4K under ideal circumstances but will change resolutions on the fly to maintain smooth performance. The jump to next-gen isn’t tremendous, but if you’ve put some time in and walked away, you might want to go back and take it for a spin on your next-gen console. If he jumps up out of the screen, jump diagonally away. A few seconds later, a skeleton is thrown out of the second portal and Scorpion jumps out of the first portal.

The AI can’t handle cross-over jumps. But the story is a great primer for some of the series’ more popular characters nonetheless, and the joys of Kronika’s time manipulation means that even if you’re a passing fan and aren’t up-to-date with all of the wacky stuff that’s happened in the universe lately, you can still get a kick out of seeing classic versions of familiar faces, who are just as baffled as you about what’s happened to their future selves since. It’s hard not to get excited about the story mode in a NetherRealm game given the studio’s history of crafting involved narratives, and Mortal Kombat 11 unsurprisingly delivers an entertaining and polished blockbuster-style cinematic experience with its tale of Kronika’s time-bending antics. Nothing that happened with Mortal Kombat before really matters anymore; the series is giving itself a clean slate, and not just with the lore in the story.

But the story mode hits that perfect balance of being just enough and not overstaying its welcome. The move consists of Toro throwing a chain with a bear trap on the other end and yanking, but getting pulled into his oppenent when he hits them. Characters are getting erased or colliding with their past selves, while alliances are reverting and new ones are being made–it’s the kind of chaos that’s ripe for conflict. And, of course, Scorpion is posed while launching his signature spear attack that will have you shouting his signature line every time you look at this stunning new Q-Fig by QMx. Another Kombat League skin, Shadow Spirit manages to have a variety of new elements that allow the skin to stand out. As with other games I’ve seen that have received resolution bumps, you aren’t seeing anything new, but nuances of what was already there are easier to appreciate.