Some Mortal Kombat 11 Elements Feel More Like a Casino Than a Fighting Game

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Mortal Kombat 11 rounds off what's essentially a new trilogy of fighting games featuring ninjas, the undead, and gods aplenty. There's more of everything that made Mortal Kombat 9 and Mortal Kombat X so likeable along with some features that were present in developer NetherRealms' other fighting game, Injustice 2. However, somewhere along the way, Mortal Kombat 11 appears to have picked up some disturbing features in way of mercenary micro-transactions and loot boxes aplenty.

2015's Mortal Kombat X debuted easy to use Fatalities, which we felt was a move that commoditised one of its best features. Mortal Kombat, 11 on the other hand, doubles down on every monetisation tactic used in big budget video games since this generation began.

There are player titles, consumable items, new character masks, intros, armour buffs, match assists (that allow you to summon other characters or cast spells on opponents in a match), different Fatalities, taunts and a whole lot more that you can spend real money on. That's not even counting the Mortal Kombat 11 Season Pass that adds more playable fighters.

The Mortal Kombat 11 store is replete with these items to purchase. While developer NetherRealm says that they won't be pay-to-win, the sheer width and breadth of gear up for grabs is disturbing when you consider that Mortal Kombat 11 is a premium, big budget, Rs. 3,499 game ($60 in the US) — and not a free-to-play title like say, PUBG or Warframe.

To make matters worse, there's a slew of in-game currencies as well. Time Krystals are Mortal Kombat 11's premium cash. From Rs. 416 to Rs. 3,300 for various quantities, you'll need them if you want all of what Mortal Kombat 11 has to offer.

Time Krystals on their own aren't that egregious. But when you count Hearts, Souls, and Koins — currencies needed to craft specific gear pieces — you soon feel like the in-game economy of Mortal Kombat 11 does little to acknowledge or respect the fact that you've paid full price for this game.

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