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Last night was the day Mortal Kombat fans had been waiting for as the live community event first announced during the game’s reveal at the Game Awards last year finally happened. We got a bombardment of info on the game including details on the gameplay, story, and a whole heaping helping of returning characters and one newcomer. But no worries if you don’t want to sit through stream archives, because we are going to break all the juicy details down right here!

The stream started off with the first gameplay trailer of Mortal Kombat 11 shown to the public, and it is glorious! Ed Boon claims this MK is the goriest and most violent of any entry in the franchise, and after seeing some of these Fatalities, I think he may be right! Every time you think NetherRealm can’t possibly come up with new ways to mutilate people, they surprise you with something new…

Mortal Kombat 11

We did get some information on the gameplay from Ed on stage as an exhibition between Scorpion and Baraka was shown on screen behind him, followed by Sonya and Skarlet.

Custom character variations have returned as expected, but as we predicted they will incorporate Injustice 2’s customization features as well. Each character will have three costume pieces that will be swappable and customizable. With Scorpion used as the example, it was shown that you could customize his mask, katana, and trademark kunai. There are also a multitude of different costumes and skins that will be available, making numerous combinations possible for each character to find one that fits your personal taste. Preset variations will be available as well, which will be used during tournament matches no doubt.

Each character seems to have several new chain normals and specials, with Scorpion being able to spin his kunai around as an obvious example shown. Interactables from Mortal Kombat X return as well, and connecting with certain ones will start a short, slow-motion cutscene. Baraka picks up a spear in the background of Shang Tsung’s Courtyard Ruins stage from the trailer and triggers the same cutscene of the spear going through Scorpion’s chest as it did to Raiden in the announcement trailer.

Mortal Kombat 11

Perhaps the biggest and most interesting change to the format is that there are now two separate super meters at the bottom of the screen, one for offense and one for defense. Instead of tying every option to one bar, players now have far more options available to them during combat (excuse me, “kombat”). A vertical bar running up the side of the screen is tied to your defensive options, obviously for breakers, but for what else we aren’t sure yet. Perhaps clashes will make an an appearance in MK? Horizontally on the bottom of the screen, where super meters are traditionally, is your meter for offense. EX moves are certainly tied to this meter, but what other purposes it could serve again remain to be seen. We did see one new defensive mechanic, functioning similarly to an instant block in games like BlazBlue. Blocking with perfect timing will give your character extra frame advantage and a chance to counterattack.

A new mechanic for MK11 is the “Fatal Blow.” When a character drops below 30% health, they gain access to a powerful super move that can dish out major damage. If players miss their Fatal Blow they can try again, as the move runs on a cooldown timer.

Mortal Kombat 11

NetherRealm Community Manager Tyler Lansdown also came on stage to announce that the first Kombat Kast will take place on Jan. 30 and will be a bit longer than usual, having a lot of ground to cover. Speaking of covering ground, when the new Kombat Kast logo was revealed, a blue streak was seen zipping across stream, leading many to believe that the Kast will announce the return of fan favorite Kabal. Eagle-eyed viewers were able to up-res the image, and while Kabal’s Hookswords can be clearly seen, the silhouette looks very feminine. Personally, I don’t remember Kabal showing that much thigh. This has led some to believe that this may be a daughter or apprentice of Kabal, similar to the other “child” characters present in MKX.

Also confirmed (konfirmed?) was a Kollector’s Edition of the game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (sorry, Switch owners) that includes the Premium Edition of the game — which presumably means it will include the season pass and all the extra trimmings — as well as a steel case, a metal magnet of the MK dragon logo, a “Kollector’s Box,” and a super cool-looking 1:1 Scale Scorpion Mask that is almost guaranteed to be unremovable, and therefore unwearable. Unfortunate for all the Scorpion cosplayers looking for an easy shortcut. This nifty set will set you back $300 and is available only at GameStop. It was also confirmed by Mr. Lansdown that preordering any version — Standard, Premium, or Kollector’s — will grant you Shao Khan and access to the Beta that will start on Mar. 28, less than a month before the game officially releases.

Mortal Kombat 11

You can check out our list of already confirmed playable characters here, and the newest member of the cast is Geras, a time-controlling servant of Kronika, the new Elder God seen in the announcement trailer. Geras seems to be a command grab-style character using long-range Ermac and Jax-style grabs, as well as sand pillars and spikes in his attacks. He also shows off a capture move that freezes opponents in midair, and may appear to stack damage while they are frozen, but this is unconfirmed.

Also, rumors did turn out to be true: WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey is now the voice of Sonya Blade, and her character model has changed as well to share even more of a likeness to Ronda.

Last but certainly not least, we also get to see a bit of the story where Raiden has gone full Injustice Superman and take matters into his own hands, stopping Earthrealm’s enemies before they strike. This has interfered with the plans of Kronika, who has been manipulating things behind the scenes from the first MK, only to be deterred by Raiden’s time-meddling.

This is all the information on Mortal Kombat 11 we have so far, and it is safe to say that we are all incredibly hyped and eagerly awaiting the game’s Apr. 23 release date.