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Mortal Kombat 11

Mortal Kombat 11

NetherRealm Studios, QLOC, Shiver · released Apr 22, 2019

ActionPCPlayStation 4Xbox OneNintendo Switch

Mortal Kombat is back and better than ever in the next evolution of the iconic franchise.

78
VGC Score
Stablehigh confidence +9 since launch

launched at 69, updates lifted it to 78

69%
At launch
88%
Steam all-time
83%
Press
63%
Player sentiment
94%
Recent sentiment

PC 78 · PlayStation 76 · Xbox 58

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 298 sampled Steam reviews (264 positive / 34 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Story & writing15% mention it
  • Visuals & art4% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Story & writing24% mention it
  • Bugs & crashes12% mention it
  • Multiplayer & servers9% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

81%

73 reviews

5-15h

93%

98 reviews

15-40h

92%

73 reviews

40-100h

82%

33 reviews

100h+

95%

21 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)8346
Creator reviews (3 tracked)781
All-time Steam reviews88%821065
Metacritic user ratings47172
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)94%88155
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 443 total reviews in window · weighted 206.8 up / 13 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (190)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 90
    trust 80Apr 27, 2019

    Mortal Kombat 11 offers an extreme amount of customization and replayability all while maintaining its pure enjoyment when fighting.

    read full review ↗
  • 50
    trust 79Jun 27, 2019

    It's a bitter pill to swallow because Mortal Kombat 11 is actually a really fun and enjoyable fighter. It's gory, gruesome and full of some of the most absurd, crazy fatalaties in the series' storied history. The fighting has multiple layers of strategy too, ranging from X-Ray moves, counters, interactive environments and more. This game should be a high 7/10 or even an 8/10 but I just cannot recommend something with such predatory microtransactions in. Mortal Kombat 11 could be great, but it suffers a gruesome fatality at the hands of its microtransaction-riddled infrastructure.

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    trust 78Apr 22, 2019

    Mortal Kombat 11 is a high-budget fighting game with great graphics, a huge amount of content, cool combat system and an interesting story mode, in which fanservice is successfully combined with a an intrigue. This game will definitely not disappoint you.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 78May 8, 2019

    Mortal Kombat 11 is the perfect next entry to the series, which raises the classic elements of the fighting game to a higher level. You can blame title that it feels less brutal than the previous iterations, or that on some points it resembles a bit of mechanics from mobile games. But its foundation is clean, polished and fun. For fans of the series, this is a "must have" title. On the other hand it's a shame to see usage of grindwall mechanism in a 60$ game.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 78Apr 28, 2019

    If story mode is the only thing you are interested in, Mortal Kombat 11 won't disappoint. But when you'll start to look at what else is offered, you'll encounter a horrible grind, unbalanced Towers of Time and bland customization options.

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    trust 77May 2, 2019

    The sole saving grace is that the game’s beating heart, its combat, is so well-executed. Mortal Kombat 11 is at its most entertaining and gleeful when it is, indeed, just Mortal Kombat. It’s at its most utterly repellent when it’s trying to be Mortal Kombat Mobile.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 76Apr 22, 2019

    That said, there's clearly a lot more done right that wrong in Mortal Kombat 11. It stands out as the best entry in the new trilogy and presents you with a lot to explore, learn and even master. That is why Mortal Kombat 11 will continue to be the game that you're playing in-between other games, long after you're done with it.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 76Apr 26, 2019

    Mortal Kombat 11 is the best Mortal Kombat since MK2, a bold and bombastic entry that boasts a fighting model that finally matches the slapstick theatrics of gory Fatalities.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 75Apr 9, 2024

    Despite its innovative nature, Mortal Kombat 11 tries too hard to please its casual audience that it pushes away its tried-and-tested identity.

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    trust 75May 13, 2019

    Mortal Kombat 11 is not just another game in a cult franchise, but also a brave step into the new future for the series.

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    trust 73May 3, 2019

    As someone who has played every entry in the Mortal Kombat series since Mortal Kombat 2 I have no problems admitting this is the best entry in the series yet. It’s story mode is entertaining and pushes the lore of the whole Mortal Kombat universe forward. But outside of that, there’s plenty that will keep you coming back to the game whether you choose to play it’s numerous single player modes to continue to collect new gear or if you want to try your hand or play competitively online.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 72CreatorMay 11, 2019

    Quote not yet available.

    read full review ↗

…and 178 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. [12/11/20] PC Patch Notes
    Dec 14, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  2. [11/17/2020] PC Patch Notes
    Nov 17, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  3. [9/29/20] PC Patch Notes
    Sep 29, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  4. [8/25/2020] PC Patch Notes
    Aug 25, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  5. [6/16/20] PC Patch Notes
    Jun 16, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  6. [5/26/20] May PC Patch Notes
    May 26, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  7. [3/17/20] PC Patch Notes
    Mar 17, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  8. Patch Notes [2/6/20]
    Feb 6, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  9. Patch Notes [1/28/20]
    Jan 28, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  10. [11/26/19] November Patch Notes
    Nov 26, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  11. [10/8/19] PC Patch Notes
    Oct 8, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  12. [9/12/19] Patch Notes
    Sep 12, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  13. [8/13/19] August PC Patch Update
    Aug 13, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  14. [7/22/19] July PC Patch Notes
    Jul 22, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  15. [6/26/19] PC Patch Notes
    Jun 26, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  16. [6/18/19] Shang Tsung and Kombat League Patch Notes
    Jun 18, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  17. May Patch Notes 5
    May 31, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  18. May Patch Notes 4
    May 24, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  19. [5/17/19] May Patch Notes 3
    May 17, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  20. [5/9/19] May PC Patch Notes
    May 9, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  21. [4/30/2019] April PC Patch 2
    Apr 30, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  22. [4/26/2019] April Update
    Apr 26, 2019significant · resets scoring window