There’s more to see and play in this expansion than a cyborg called Alex Murphy.
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NetherRealm Studios just made history with Aftermath, as this is the first real expansion the studio has launched for one of its titles. What exactly does this mean? It means that the story of Mortal Kombat 11 has been expanded with a new campaign, which kicks off moments after the end of the one from the base game. The expansion also brings other features, including a trio of new characters, a new set of costumes, and an injection of free content for all players.
Starting with the free content: if you return to Mortal Kombat 11 you will find the addition of the funny Friendships, and new arenas that include their own fatalities. All the characters in the game received their own Friendship, which they can perform at the end of a fight, and some are hilarious. As for the arenas, they are mostly new versions of old arenas, like the classic “acid pool”, and it was a pleasure to revisit these symbolic locations.
To access this content you don’t need the Aftermath expansion, only to update the game, and that’s a commendable attitude from NetherRealm Studios. Unfortunately, we can’t offer the same praise to the price of the expansion itself. Aftermath costs £34.99 / €39,99 for those who already own Mortal Kombat 11, which seems to be at least a tenner more expensive than it should be. Still, there are other purchasing options. If you already have MK11 and you want both the expansion and the Kombat Pack that includes extra characters, you can buy the bundle for £39.99 / €49,99. If, on the other hand, you don’t have the game, you can purchase the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Kollection, which brings together the game, the Kombat Pack, and the Aftermath expansion for £49.99 / €59.99 – by far the best deal of the three options.
As for Aftermath’s main event, that’s the new campaign, which takes place right after the end of Mortal Kombat 11. So, if you haven’t finished the original game campaign yet, don’t read the next paragraph and you’ll deftly side-step the following spoilers.
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Spoilers: Aftermath begins shortly after the new ‘god’ Liu Kang eliminates Kronica, therefore becoming responsible for the hourglass of time. When Liu Kang prepares to start shaping time, three characters emerge through a portal – Shang Tsung, Fujin, and Nightwolf. The trio had been imprisoned by Kronica but freed themselves after the villain’s death. Shang Tsung warns Liu Kang and Raiden that to properly control the hourglass, they will need the Crown of Time, which was destroyed during the confrontation between Liu Kang and Kronica. Thus, Shang Tsung, Fujin, and Nightwolf, return to the past to try and recover the crown, reliving several moments of the original campaign, but with a few twists.
The campaign itself is fun and features the same kind of dry humour, cheesiness, high production values, and extreme violence that characterised the original campaign. We enjoyed going through this new story, which lasted between two and three hours, and there are some fantastic moments in there, including a choice that determines the end of the story. However, overall the expansion is somewhat inconsequential, as the story ends more or less in the same place that it left off.
In addition to the story campaign, it is worth mentioning the introduction of three new characters: Sheeva, Fujin, and Robocop. The headliner is undoubtedly Robocop, who even comes with the voice of the original actor, Peter Weller. We loved seeing Robocop’s comments at the beginning of the battles with other characters, and his story in the towers mode is reasonable, and that’s in addition to the fantastic bonus of having the opportunity to watch Robocop and the Terminator going up against each other. That said, we’re not fans of the character as a combatant, and we don’t think he fits well into Mortal Kombat 11 roster.
Sheeva and Fujin, on the other hand, are excellent additions, and we particularly liked the latter, which is agile and has some flashy wind-based moves, in addition to playing a very important role in the campaign itself. Sheeva is also a great option, and is more agile and balanced than it may initially seem.
We enjoyed going through the new Aftermath story campaign and trying out the trio of new fighters, even if Robocop is more of a novelty than anything else. In other words, is it worth playing Aftermath if you enjoyed Mortal Kombat 11 plot? Yes, definitely, but the price seems excessive, so, unless you can’t wait, it might be best to wait for a discount before purchasing it.
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Keyword: Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath