Among all the IPs in the fighting game genre, Mortal Kombat probably has the most fleshed out storyline. Aftermath gives players more of that and more characters to boot. But is this expansion really worth the purchase?
Your Soul Is Mine
The Aftermath campaign continues directly after the events of base game’s ending. It turns out that the safety of the universe rests in the hands of one of the most iconic villians of this franchise, Shang Tsung, and our protagonists must put their pride aside and stand alongside the sorcerer in order to prevail.
Revolving the story around this villain kept my interest throughout the additional 2 hour campaign. For someone who does not actively follow MK’s lore, it made me realize how much I’ve missed out over the years. So I can rightfully say that longtime fans will surely enjoy this expansion’s story. Seeing our protagonists tread lightly with Shang Tsung around is just too enticing to pass up.
Everyone Is Here Too
The additions to the MK Roster will leave fans generally pleased. Retuning favorites Sheeve and Fujin, and a never expected guest character known as RoboCop.
Fujin was absolutely fun to play. I felt that his playstyle and move set fit his character well. As someone who can commands the wind, it just felt right to be flexible and mobile during combat. You could say that closing the gap between me and my opponent was a breeze.
Sheeva on the other hand was a bit lack luster. From all the characters on the roster, I was expecting a warrior with 4 arms to be the most brutal of all, visually speaking. Her strikes didn’t feel like there was much weight to them and felt quite dull. There was more emphasis though on her grab attacks, it wasn’t great or anything, but it passable.
Lastly, the surprising addition to the roster, RoboCop, works perfectly in my opinion. A one man army with a full arsenal of equipment able to stand his ground against martial artists, sorcerers, and gods. He may not have the flashiest punches or kicks but damn will you get a kick out of his artillery, because boy does it pack a punch. Any fan from the 90s will also enjoy how RoboCop handles his pistol, stylishly spinning it around then holstering it after a combo.
Friend and Foe
Mortal Kombat cemented its name in the minds of gamers when the franchise introduced the best way to add insult to injury, the Fatality. But nothing sends the message, “You’re not even worth killing.”, like “Friendship”. These versions of the fatalities have not been seen for several MK iterations and its about time that they’ve made a comeback.
Final Verdict – 7.5/10
As an expansion, Aftermath definitely delivers on additional content, but does its price justify the purchase? Right off the bat, $40 is a steep amount for just a couple of extra hours of campaign and 3 extra characters. To be honest, fully fleshed out games can be purchased at that price point. At most I’d say $20 is a fair price for the content Aftermath provides. But then again, maybe it may be more acceptable to long time fans of this franchise.
P.S. I’m low-key immensely irked that NetherRealm Studios wasn’t consistent with turning ALL the words that started with a C, into K. “Kollection” but not “Characters”? C’mon people, go big or go home!
