Mortal Kombat: Onslaught Review

Get Over Here!

Mortal Kombat: Onslaught is an action-adventure RPG game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games. Yes, you read that correctly, the words RPG in the same sentence as Mortal Kombat. At the start of my journey, I installed Mortal Kombat: Onslaught and expected a similar treatment akin to Mortal Kombat X or Mortal Kombat Mobile. To my utter surprise, I found a cohesive RPG infused with my favorite fighting game characters.

Upon the beautiful Unreal Engine 4 cinematic opening, Mortal Kombat: Onslaught pulls you into a wild and zany action-adventure story. For the casual player of the series, the story is impossible to follow unless they have been playing since MK9. Even so, the way the narrative presents itself is still confusing as the events take place after MK1. However, the amalgamation of these parallel storylines doesn’t offer much cohesion for even the most hardcore fans of the series. Despite this, Onslaught still manages to pull you in to simply say —Get Over Here!

Fight!

Mortal Kombat: Onslaught’s gameplay is the series’ first foray into the autobattling team-based RPG genre. The gold standard for the genre is Teamfight Tactics. With a saturated amount of autobatters seen in the Google Play Store, it is difficult to stand out within the genre. Unfortunately, Onslaught is lackluster and is not addicting to play in the slightest.

Consequently, everything is not doom and gloom. Building a team of your favorite Mortal Kombat fighters and defeating wave after wave of enemies isn’t the game’s strength. However, the RPG element is where Mortal Kombat: Onslaught shines. Using Mortal Kombat game terminology like “kombos” and obtaining gear to equip your fighters before a fight to ensure your victory is fun. Especially if you love RPGs like I do. Additionally, players will equip Relics to gain a strategic advantage in the fight. There is a strategic element of correctly placing your fighters in the best position before the fight commences. This was enough to keep me playing for more than 20 hours and completing the four chapters Onslaught has to offer in its current state.

Gacha!

While I can praise the game for its well-done RPG elements, I cannot praise the paywall players will eventually reach if they try to play Mortal Kombat: Onslaught for free. Most gacha games have the infamous paywall. This is a reality in the current landscape of mobile gaming. However, I hit the paywall after completing chapter two of the story mode. Yes, Onslaught also has a multiplayer Arena, Tower Battle, Chasm and Boss Battles but the amount of content is lacking.

Summoning my favorite Mortal Kombat fighters kept me coming back for more. I found myself in the sweet spot for whom the target audience is for Onslaught. An avid RPG gamer who is notoriously terrible at fighting games—many hardcore fighting game fans will be disappointed with Mortal Kombat: Onslaught. Again, fans of the series who want more Mortal Kombat lore and want to play on the go will be satiated.

Kontinue?

Despite all my qualms with the paywall and certain story elements, autobattling gacha games normally don’t have a narrative. Mortal Kombat: Onslaught though the execution isn’t brilliant, the narrative does try hard to impress you. Now, I need to say that we only currently have access to the first four chapters of the story. That would be like reading or watching the first act of a story. The fortunate part is the potential for greatness is possible from a narrative perspective, as the game releases updates and more chapters.

While I found creative aspects of Mortal Kombat: Onslaught, I can only convey disappointment with the game in its current state. Unfortunately, I recommend better games that offer players more nauce. Despite a major game studio behind the helm of this project, fair and polished is not what Onslaught is currently. However, I do have good news—for fans who love Mortal Kombat, this is a solid experience. For RPG fans who want strategic choices and a half-baked story, you could do far worse. Everyone else is bound to be disappointed, on a “Spine Rip” Fatality level.