Game Pass It Up: Mortal Kombat X

I recently picked up an Xbox One X since my launch system was starting to look a little long in the tooth. Included was a free month of Microsoft’s Netflix of games, Game Pass. So, welcome to my new series, Game Pass it up. I figured I would start with the sequel to the popular 2011 reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise, Mortal Kombat X.

Full disclaimer: I only played the story mode, and I am completely satisfied with only playing that piece of the game. Like the 2009 reboot, the campaign has a story doused in as much cheese as a good plate of nachos, so if you’re looking for something with a bit more substance, look elsewhere. Honestly, the campy and often overly dramatic story is a key component to my enjoyment of the game. I am usually not one for fighting games, but the five hour or so campaign managed to keep me entertained all the way through. That being said, the game failed to get me interested in most of the new characters. While they were a central focus of the story, only a couple stood out as unique and, more importantly, fun characters to play as.

In general the game ran smoothly with only some stuttering during more of the busier cutscenes. The combat felt responsive enough, and the story mode offered little challenge with only a few enemy characters feeling cheap or unbalanced. That isn’t to say I steamrolled every fight, but the story mode was easy enough for me, a casual fighting game player, to get through with minimal frustration. The pause menu brings up a few recommend moves for your current character, and while the entire move lists are available with another click, the cut down recommendations were good enough to progress the story.

For me this is almost the perfect game to play on the service. I was only interested in a smaller portion of the total package, and I really enjoyed the short time I spent defending earth realm. This isn’t something I would go out of my way to play, or even a game I would outright recommend, but if you have Game Pass and a handful of hours free then it is worth a play.