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Around the same time, Metacritic established itself as a review aggregator site, ensuringMortal Kombat’s rather turbulent post-2000 era is forever represented through easy-to-digest scores. Which Mortal Kombat garnered the best rating on Metacritic? Which ranks as the worst? Find out below!
Disclaimer: Only the highest-scoring versions of each game will be considered, which includes complete editions and handheld ports (Mortal Kombat:Unchained, for example). Due to Metacritic not existing back then, none of the games up to and including Mortal Kombat: Gold will be featured.
12 Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (2000) - 28
Published in 2000, Special Forces stars Jax in a third-person brawler that offers none of the qualities that helped put Mortal Kombat on the map. The combat is clunky, the violence is unmemorable, and the story feels more like fanfiction than a genuine release.
Mortal Kombat does not have a particularly great track record when it comes to spin-offs, but Special Forces stands alone as the worst game to ever be associated with the franchise.
11 Mortal Kombat Advance (2001) - 33
Mortal Kombat has struggled to seamlessly adapt to handheld platforms, perhaps due to many of the games starting out as ports of console titles. Mortal Kombat Advance is a stripped-down version of the SNES’ Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, which was already more than half-a-decade old by the time of the port’s release.
As Nintendo has a family-friendly image to contend with, Mortal Kombat Advance limited the fatalities and greatly reduced the gore. This would not be too bad if the gameplay survived the transition intact; unfortunately, quite a few basic moves had to be cut and the gameplay is far more sluggish than the console games.
10 Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection (2011) - 62
Sadly, the original trilogy only features on this list through 2011’s mediocre compilation. Compiling the arcade versions of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, Arcade Kollection is one for the fans and, as such, does a serviceable job of presenting these arcade staples in a more accessible format.
That said, these are arcade games designed to be greedily difficult rather than fair; consequently, this collection is not the ideal way to experience these classic titles.
9 Ultimate Mortal Kombat (2007) - 73
Ultimate Mortal Kombat is a handheld port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 done well, largely thanks to the heightened processing power provided by the Nintendo DS. Ultimate Mortal Kombat supports multiplayer, a blessing since single-player matches tend to get frustrating due to the cheap AI.
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For a touch of variety, Ultimate Mortal Kombat also includes Mortal Kombat: Deception’s “Puzzle Kombat” minigame. For those looking to experience Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on a handheld console, this game is the one to pick up.
8 Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008) - 76
Known as the game published right before Midway Games went out of business, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was an ill-fated attempt to introduce the gory fighting franchise to a new audience. Although DC’s storylines can get quite dark and even vicious, the comics were way too mainstream to permit Midway to deliver the experience (or variety in content) that Mortal Kombat fans had come to expect.
While functional, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was a neutered fighting game that did little to bring in new players while also alienating the franchise’s core audience.
7 Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006) - 77
Armageddon’s most damning critic is that 2006’s sequel plays too similar to the previous two main entries in the series, Deadly Alliance and Deception. The gameplay is practically identical, with new addition revolving around customization options and side content.
Yes, players could finally create new fighters and even put together unique Fatalities. Combined with a well put together Konquest Mode and a silly kart racing minigame, Armageddon definitely does not lack for variety, even if the core combat mechanics remain largely unchanged from Deception.
6 Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005) - 77
While Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero does have its moments and fans, 2005’s Shaolin Monks comes the closest to delivering a genuinely fantastic Mortal Kombat spin-off. Considering Shaolin Monks was released during the 6th generation of gaming, it mostly maintains an equivalent level of quality to the franchise’s main entries released during the same period.
The fluid combat system is designed specifically to deal with multiple enemies, while Liu Kang and Kung Lao’s moves can be upgraded through a primitive but functional progression system. Shaolin Monks is not going to turn any heads but it won’t instantly fill someone with buyer’s remorse like some other spin-offs in the series.
5 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002) - 79 & 81
Funnily enough, Deadly Alliance’s GBA release earned a higher score than the PlayStation 2 version, scoring an 81 to the latter’s 79. There was also a second GBA game called Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition that continued the story of Deadly Alliance, although that game only managed a 75 on Metacritic.
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Deadly Alliance brought the mainline entries into the modern era, taking the franchise into three-dimensions. A graphical change was not the only innovation on display, as the basic fighting mechanics were revamped to allow each fighter to feel unique rather than replicas with distinctive special moves.
4 Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004) - 81
Opting to mostly fine-tune and rebalance Deadly Alliance’s already enjoyable fighting mechanics, Deception is the best Mortal Kombat game to spawn out of the PS2 era. Now, in all truth, Midway’s 6th generation trilogy does not hold a candle to the franchise’s ’90s entries or anything published after NetherRealm Studios’ creation.
Nevertheless, if someone wished to play a single entry from this era, Deception would be a solid pick. In order to create a more balanced playing field, Midway introduced a combo breaker as a new defensive option.
3 Mortal Kombat 11 (2019) - 86
Bar none, Mortal Kombat 11 has the best combat in the series. Along with the fantastic Injustice games, Netherrealm Studios has ironed out the ideal mechanics to craft impactful but strategic matches. Mortal Kombat 11 removes the run option to further emphasize the importance of approaching battles tactically, while the newly added Flawless Block mechanic further rewards players for mastering the combat’s timing.
A time-consuming and frustrating progression system reduces some of Mortal Kombat 11’s shine, but the base game is still nothing short of fantastic.
2 Mortal Kombat X (2015) - 86
Earning the same score as Mortal Kombat 11, 2015’s 10th entry is a near-perfect fighting game, with the “near” part being due to the short and awful “Story Mode.” Once past those five hours of stupidity, what is left is a polished, rewarding, and content-rich title that ranks among the current generation’s best entries in the fighting genre.
Brutalities make a comeback in Mortal Kombat X and can be activated by meeting certain criteria before ending a match with a specific move. The arrival of a stamina meter also means spamming of defensive or environmental moves is no longer viable. Although Mortal Kombat X has a slightly higher score on Metacritic, Mortal Kombat XL is the best version to buy in 2020.
1 Mortal Kombat (2011) - 86
Technically, Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition on the Xbox 360 is the franchise’s highest-rated entry on Metacritic. As that aggregate score is only based on four reviews, the base game felt more deserving of the top spot. Either way, Mortal Kombat (2011) rebooted the license in a big way, proving the series still had a lot to offer despite Midway’s closure and the disappointing Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe.
With an over-the-top but enjoyable “Story Mode” and a brilliant fighting engine that struck a middle ground between the 2D and 3D entries, Mortal Kombat (2011) was exactly what the franchise needed after a decade of inconsistency.
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