I've only had a fairly brief exploration of the game so far as I went down the PC route for this one and the streaming Steam launch hasn't been super smooth and has meant the game has unlocked progressively for me as it all downloads piece by piece. It's all in there now though, so...
Gameplay
First impressions are that it's going to take some time to get a handle on the characters. My initial matches were with franchise regulars and the game comes across like a refined MK9 generally. The three style mix and match is probably the most interesting change as you find yourself facing a fighter feeling prepared to realise quickly that they're using a different fight style than the last match you faced them. So far I wouldn't say it feels like a dramatic switch up but it's enough of one. The last fighter I played as thanks to Story mode was Kotal Khan who doesn't come across well to me at all on first impressions, one of those characters where you press strong kick and he does an unrelated motion or gesture but I imagine with more practice he'll make sense quicker.
Characters still have that typical MK awkward stiffness to their motion but I'd say that measured against the franchise it flows that bit smoother again from how the last game progressed things.
Visuals and Sound
It's a nice looking game, there's enough visual flair to it that characters have lots of detail to them and backgrounds have plenty going on in them. There feels like a consistency to the overall design that's more balanced than previously too though the more serious tone means the newbie generation offspring fighters are all pretty dull additions visually. I've tried taking screenshots but that's a real mixed back as there's some sort of motion blur which makes many of them look messy. On my PC, matches are pretty much flawlessly 60fps with cutscene FMV variable and Krypt solid 30fps. Audio wise it's pretty much standard to my ears, the usual MK crunches and snaps etc
Kontent
Krypt mode is a grid based FPS approach affair with the odd QTE thrown in. Despite the limited time I've played the game, it's pretty generous with Koins to unlock stuff and there's a lot of tombstones to crack open with your currency as well as a fairly expansive set of areas. Oddly enough I already have 5 Easy Fatality tokens (no idea how to redeem stuff though) so I'm not sure the dlc was needed or likely to be bought by people as it seems a quick unlock item.
Story mode is very polished but, and I'm only on Chapter 3 so far, the structure seems to be made up of 4 fights with one QTE and a lot of FMV cutscene per chapter. They take a while but only because of the amount of viewing required. It's nice to see every character crop up in some manner regardless of whether they're a fighter in the game too.
Factions is the other main addition, the first thing you do is pick one of five factions to represent and contribute to as you play but I've not really seen much from it as yet as the connection to WB's servers seems ropey so far.
Overall
Pretty good impression of the game so far, I'm playing it as a single player-work-through-the-content game and I think it'll be fine for that. Fans shouldn't have any troubles with the game either. The Kontent Pack fighters are mixed up in the story so it's been interesting to effectively get a preview as I've already fought Tanya so gotten to see some of how she will fight. Interestingly, fans seem to be under the suspicion that WB will be planning a Kontent Pack 2 later and it wouldn't surprise me seeing as how Rain is in the game as someone you fight too and he's not a lazy copy/paste addition either, this early on I'm fully expecting to see more crop up.
Gameplay
First impressions are that it's going to take some time to get a handle on the characters. My initial matches were with franchise regulars and the game comes across like a refined MK9 generally. The three style mix and match is probably the most interesting change as you find yourself facing a fighter feeling prepared to realise quickly that they're using a different fight style than the last match you faced them. So far I wouldn't say it feels like a dramatic switch up but it's enough of one. The last fighter I played as thanks to Story mode was Kotal Khan who doesn't come across well to me at all on first impressions, one of those characters where you press strong kick and he does an unrelated motion or gesture but I imagine with more practice he'll make sense quicker.
Characters still have that typical MK awkward stiffness to their motion but I'd say that measured against the franchise it flows that bit smoother again from how the last game progressed things.
Visuals and Sound
It's a nice looking game, there's enough visual flair to it that characters have lots of detail to them and backgrounds have plenty going on in them. There feels like a consistency to the overall design that's more balanced than previously too though the more serious tone means the newbie generation offspring fighters are all pretty dull additions visually. I've tried taking screenshots but that's a real mixed back as there's some sort of motion blur which makes many of them look messy. On my PC, matches are pretty much flawlessly 60fps with cutscene FMV variable and Krypt solid 30fps. Audio wise it's pretty much standard to my ears, the usual MK crunches and snaps etc
Kontent
Krypt mode is a grid based FPS approach affair with the odd QTE thrown in. Despite the limited time I've played the game, it's pretty generous with Koins to unlock stuff and there's a lot of tombstones to crack open with your currency as well as a fairly expansive set of areas. Oddly enough I already have 5 Easy Fatality tokens (no idea how to redeem stuff though) so I'm not sure the dlc was needed or likely to be bought by people as it seems a quick unlock item.
Story mode is very polished but, and I'm only on Chapter 3 so far, the structure seems to be made up of 4 fights with one QTE and a lot of FMV cutscene per chapter. They take a while but only because of the amount of viewing required. It's nice to see every character crop up in some manner regardless of whether they're a fighter in the game too.
Factions is the other main addition, the first thing you do is pick one of five factions to represent and contribute to as you play but I've not really seen much from it as yet as the connection to WB's servers seems ropey so far.
Overall
Pretty good impression of the game so far, I'm playing it as a single player-work-through-the-content game and I think it'll be fine for that. Fans shouldn't have any troubles with the game either. The Kontent Pack fighters are mixed up in the story so it's been interesting to effectively get a preview as I've already fought Tanya so gotten to see some of how she will fight. Interestingly, fans seem to be under the suspicion that WB will be planning a Kontent Pack 2 later and it wouldn't surprise me seeing as how Rain is in the game as someone you fight too and he's not a lazy copy/paste addition either, this early on I'm fully expecting to see more crop up.
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