A lapsed fighting fan’s guide to Mortal Kombat 11

Featuring a mix of classic fighters and newcomers, alongside a rebuilt fighting system, it’s the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with the bone-crunching battler.

Basics
Combos
Weapons
Special moves
Fatalities

1. Get to grips with the basics

In Mortal Kombat, you’ve two pairs of punches and kicks: one light, the other strong. All are mapped to your DualShock 4’s face buttons.

Feeling feisty? Get within grappling range and throw your opponent with L1. When time comes to get defensive, block attacks with R2. Fair warning: throws can be countered, and not all attacks can be blocked.  

2. Perform flashy attacks with a few button presses

Each combatant has unique combos: rapid-fire attacks that range in length and complexity. Performing them requires correct and speedy input of face button sequences. Get it right and you’ll pull off a satisfying flurry of unblockable hits.

Jump into the game's tutorial mode and learn some three-hit combos to start.

3. Use your surroundings to your advantage

Mortal Kombat’s gorgeously-detailed backgrounds aren't just window dressing. Certain items will flash when you're nearby. Tap R1 to grab highlighted object to use it as a one-time weapon against your opponent.

4. Light up the match with special moves

Every fighter also has a unique set of more powerful moves, activated with a specific button and stick combination (handily detailed in the moves menu, accessible at any time during a match).

You can amplify their power by tapping R1 as the special move —miss or get blocked, and you'll leave yourself open to a counter attack.

5. Punish your foe with a gloriously gory Fatality

Pass the popcorn! Winning a match gives you opportunity to activate Mortal Kombat's iconic showstoppers: ultra-gory finishers.

Every fighter has a unique Fatality, the input sequence of which you can find in the Moves menu. Do it correctly and you can sit back and enjoy the body-exploding fireworks.

Introducing Mortal Kombat 11's game modes

Time-bending adventures and a world full of competitors await

1. Reconnect with favorite heroes in Story Mode

The game’s headline mode lets you play through its entire roster of fighters. This time-travel tale pulls together combatants from across the series' history, with cutscenes and one-on-one clashes interweaving for a seamless blockbuster story.  

2. Test your might in Towers modes

Fighting skills no longer rusty? You’re ready to tackle the duo of single player challenges that are the game's Tower modes. Klassic Towers is a nod to the series' history with a succession of straightforward face-offs. Towers of Time spices up its matches with unique modifiers as well as certain requirements to win rounds.

3. Battle other players in Versus

Pass a second DualShock 4 controller to another player or jump online to challenge fighters worldwide to a match. With the latter you can cut your teeth with casual clashes, or get tough and enter ranked or tournament play-offs, experiencing the thrill of working your way up the leaderboards.

Meet Mortal Kombat 11's massive roster of fighters

Two generations collide as classic heroes return alongside a new generation of warriors

1. Classic characters

Scorpion

After avenging his murdered family and clan, Hanzo Hasashi now avenges those who cannot avenge themselves.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat

Liu Kang

Earthrealm Champion who saved the planet from invasion by defeating Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat

Sub Zero

Grandmaster of the rebuilt Lin Kuei clan who is eager to cleanse the house of its former sins.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat

Kano

Black Dragon clan leader and untrustworthy arms dealer.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat

Sonya Blade

Special Forces officer who’s fought in Mortal Kombat tournaments before, defending Earthrealm and rescuing her partner Jax Briggs in the process.  

First appearance: Mortal Kombat

Raiden

God of Thunder whose interference in Earthrealm matters has lead to unintended consequences.  

First appearance: Mortal Kombat

Baraka

A carnivorous war chief who serves Outworld emperor, Shao Kahn.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat II

Jax

Cybernetically-enhanced special forces officer honorbound to defend Earthrealm from attack.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat II

Johnny Cage

Martial arts master and B-list celebrity who is proving his true worth with his fists.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat

Kung Lao

Shaolin monk whose recklessness is tempered by an indomitable courage.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat II

Jade

A former Imperial bodyguard to Shao Kahn who has vowed to end his reign.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat II

Noob Saibot

A resurrected Sub-Zero who hunts across the realms for his murderer Scorpion.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat II

Kabal

Former police officer turned Black Dragon clan enforcer working for Kano.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat 3

2. The new generation

Geras

Servant of Kronika, continually reborn and who grows stronger and smarter with each new life.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat 11

D'Vorah

This humanoid insect fights for the survival of her Kytinn hive, with whom she shares the one mind.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat X

Jacqui Briggs

Special Forces officer inspired by her father, Jax, to punch above her weight and protect her family and her homeland.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat X

Scarlett

A deadly blood mage and Imperial bodyguard to Shao Kahn.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat 9

Cassie Cage

Daughter of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage who wants to live up to her parents’ legacy.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat X

Kotal Kahn

Current Outworld emperor who reigns over his realm with a vicious fist.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat X

Erron Black

An ultra-violent gunslinger who wanders Outworld with Kano seeking the thrill of the fight.

First appearance: Mortal Kombat X

Customize your look and fighting style

In Mortal Kombat 11, picking your fighter is just the first step.

Make your favorite fighter’s character model even more spectacular by unlocking and equipping different skins and costume pieces. You can tweak your look and choose your intro and victory cinematic.

But it’s not all purely cosmetic; you can build different versions of every fighter.

Pick a shortlist of moves from a huge pool of potential attacks to tailor your character to a preferred combat style, with augmentations granting perks for specific moves. Save these creations for easy selection pre-match.