Excitement and anticipation filled the room as NetherRealm Studios finally showed off some gameplay for their upcoming fighting game, Mortal Kombat 11. At long last, we were given the first true look at the fighting mechanics, and they were absolutely stunning as they were bloody disgusting. With even more details than ever before, along with a huge increase in graphic violence, Mortal Kombat 11 is shaping up to be possibly the goriest entry in the series.

Starting off with the debut trailer, the game immediately confirms the inclusion of some fan favorites. Raiden, Scorpion, Sonya Blade, and Sub-Zero all return to the fight, and returning to the fold is everyone’s favorite Tarkatan, Baraka, as well as the blood-obsessed female ninja, Skarlet.

Series Creator Ed Boon soon graced us with his presence and went into the features. One of the newest inclusions is the Gear System, which was originally introduced in NetherRealm’s other fighting franchise, Injustice, and it looks and works exactly the same as well. This was shown in great detail with Scorpion and Baraka, as they both duked it out with different Variable Fighting Styles, which makes its return from the last iteration of Mortal Kombat. 

Boon then takes us into the story trailer for the game, which picks up right where X left off. Raiden appears in front of Shinnok, the previous protagonist, who is bound to chains and tortured by the thunder god. Raiden, who is also appearing in his evil form, proclaims that there are worse things than death, and he then proceeds to decapitate Shinnok before placing his head on a mantle. Clearly Raiden has snapped and it seems that war is inevitable between Earth Realm and the NetherRealm.

But let’s all be honest here, we all came for for Fatalities. The signature feature of the franchise, the whole reason we all fell in love with Mortal Kombat to begin with, and it absolutely delivers in this game. From the classics, like spine ripping, to the extremely creative, such as taking that spine and using it as a sling to shatter your opponent, Mortal Kombat 11 turns the dial all the up to….well 11, and takes the series into a whole new, beautiful, gory, glorious direction.

Afterwards, the company confirmed everyones suspicion’s by revealing WWE Superstar, Ronda Rousey, as the voice actress for long time stalwart, Sonya Blade. Rousey herself was on hand to giver her personal account of how much she loves the character as well as the series as a whole.

We then got a first look at the Kollector’s Edition of the game, and just like the last one, Scorpion is the star of it. Along with a nice lock box, as well as the game itself, it also comes with a real life Scorpion Gold Mask, complete with details of how it looks in the game.

Pick up the Kollector’s Edition of #MK11! https://t.co/VO4a7I2NOV pic.twitter.com/dZbOz8WAvI

— Mortal Kombat 11 (@MortalKombat) January 17, 2019

Last but not least, we got our first look at the newest fighter in the series, Geras, which plays very similar to Jax and Tremor. With awesome teleport moves combined with hard hitting specials, Geras looks to be a heavy favorite early on in the game.

The Reveal event has made its mark, serving its purpose and then some. Without a doubt, the fans have even more reason to look forward to smashing their opponents before finishing them off in the most creative way possible. Mortal Kombat 11 launches for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 23, 2019.

(Photo taken by Alex Levine)