Mortal Kombat 11 is a fantastic fighting game, but Mortal Kombat 12 needs to avoid its storytelling errors. MK 11 was arguably the most ambitious installment in NetherRealm’s fighting game series yet, featuring multiple incarnations of the same characters and a time-traveling story. However, it also suffered from some pacing issues that MK 12 may wish to avoid repeating in order to be a better game.
Although there were some writing hiccups, such as Sindel’s character-ruining villainy in Mortal Kombat: Aftermath, the key issue with Mortal Kombat 11‘s story is pacing. While it would admittedly be a bit of a challenge to incorporate every member of MK 11‘s large roster into the story, there are still plenty of plausible ways to do it while making sure that the narrative maintains a decent flow. However, the story doesn’t allow proper time to build, and the events feel haphazard as a result.
The very first chapter of Mortal Kombat 11‘s story displays these flaws prominently. The game begins in the middle of a massive war, featuring several named characters. While beginning in medias res is a well-known writing trope, Mortal Kombat 11 throws too much at the player too quickly. After several fights and action scenes, Sonya is killed off before the first chapter ends. While Ronda Rousey’s poor acting as MK‘s Sonya doesn’t help the scene, the game’s narrative doesn’t give the player time to rest, and as a result, there isn’t an effective buildup to the death. The player doesn’t have time to let the loss hit until after the chapter is already over. As an opening for the game, it moves too quickly for Sonya’s death to sink in.
Mortal Kombat 11’s Awkward Pacing Detracts From The Story
Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s confrontation with Frost in Mortal Kombat 11 also suffers from a lack of time required for investment. The duo’s interactions with her take place over the course of one chapter, compressing their storyline. Frost was Sub-Zero’s former student turned rogue, so the two of them clashing should have significant emotional weight. Instead, they fight once, and Scorpion and Sub-Zero move on. Mortal Kombat isn’t shy about referencing the past, as shown by Sheeva’s MK 11 intro carrying her rival Motaro’s head, so it seems odd that this wasn’t explored more. If Sub-Zero and Frost’s backstory had been discussed further, or if they had fought again later in the story, there would have been more impact. Instead, the scene falls flat, and it’s this kind of thing that Mortal Kombat 12 needs to avoid.
A fighting game is expected to have frequent fights in the story, but Mortal Kombat 11 raises the stakes far too high from the start. Because the game starts by throwing players into the middle of a war shortly followed by the death of Sonya Blade, it dulls the rest of the plot’s impact. The player has already seen a climax right at the beginning, and as a result, a lot of the plot feels like it’s just going through the motions because the player feels like they’ve already seen the peak. NetherRealm’s writers can make good stories even in small doses, as seen in Rambo’s deeply poignant arcade ending in MK 11, but the game’s main story could’ve been better. While the final showdown against Kronika does still feel powerful, that’s because it had the whole game to be built up, and it remains effective as a result. The issue is that the rest of the story wasn’t able to create such an impact, so Mortal Kombat 12 needs to make sure that all of its key moments are given equal significance.
Where Mortal Kombat 11 ultimately failed in its storytelling was its lackluster pacing and awkward timing for climactic moments. These issues can be easily fixed if NetherRealm plans to include another overarching story mode in the next installment. There is still a good chance for Mortal Kombat 12 to have a great story, provided the storytelling learns from the series’ past mistakes.
