The first demo for Mortal Kombat 11 was available at both the Los Angeles and London Reveal events, and Mortal Kombat Online staff were excited to get hands-on at both locales!

This build of the game offered four main options: Konquer, Fight, Kustomize, and Learn. These roughly translate to Story & Arcade Towers, Exhibition, Character Customization, and Practice mode - all subject to change. The Konquer menu expanded to three main options of play: Story Mode, Towers of Time, and Klassic Towers.

Towers of Time offered single player fights with unique challenges and modifiers that unlock “konsumables” you can use in fighting modes.

With a limit on time spent with the demo, we focused primarily on fighting, which offered standard Local and Online options. Right off the bat we could see they have 25 character slots available, but this often changes from the demo build. Additional characters weren’t even teased in silhouette at this stage. The seven main characters revealed at the event were all available to play: Baraka, Sonya Blade, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Skarlet, and newcomer Geras.

All-new customization options mean players can create their own variations in detail, but each character did have three default options to choose from. It must be stressed that these variations were created for the demo and do not reflect the final product in the game. The options were:

• Scorpion: Boon’s Main, Chain Reaction, and Fire Breather
• Baraka: Hack and Slash, Flag Day, and Bone Deep
• Raiden: God Mode, Lightning Rod, and Stormy Weather
• Sonya: Duck and Cover, Artificial Belli, and Sonic Foxy
• Sub-Zero: Winter Games, Frozen AF, and Thundersnow
• Skarlet: Splash Damage, Blood Priestess, and O Negative
• Geras: Kronik Griefer, Eleventh Hour, and Time and Again

As evidenced by an option like “Boon’s Main” (also seen during Boon’s keynote speech): customization will allow players to name their own style as they concoct a personal blend from cosmetic items, presentation options, and specific moves. The influence of Injustice 2’s gear system is very apparent, with some familiar aspects from the Feats of Strength mode found in MKX Mobile.

You can modify character's colors, victory pose, pre-fight dialogue, weapons, masks, and other parts, offering a staggering number of possibilities! Scorpion can be given a number of masks or kunai tips, Baraka can be given a samurai (or Shao Kahn) type helmet, Skarlet can be given a hood, and many more types of "gear" are included for the Kombatants here.

Attacks in the demo seemed to do much less damage than in previous games, meaning rounds lasted much longer. The pace of gameplay is generally slower - especially when compared with Mortal Kombat X. This is even more noticeable with no run button. X-Ray attacks are also gone after memorable inclusion in the last two games. In their place, two new super moves have been introduced: Krushing Blows and Fatal Blows.

Krushing Blows can be thought of as comparable to Brutalities; a good way to think of them is essentially an enhanced versions of special attacks or combo strings triggered by key requirements, such as position on the battlefield, or timing of the move. Every character has multiple Krushing Blows in their arsenal, but each blow can only be triggered once per match! Successful execution will result in a quickfire X-Ray zoom and the chance to combo or bridge into a new sequence. Fatal Blows are available once your character reaches 30% health, and regenerate after a 3-4 second cooldown period if you miss. Availability is announced beneath the health bar in the demo and triggered like an X-Ray.

Fatalities are back and gushing with blood and viscera. Stylistically they’re very similar to the hyper-realistic anatomy classes we saw in Mortal Kombat X. They range from Baraka simply tearing his opponent’s face off in layers before eating their brain, to slightly more character-driven events, like Sonya Blade launching her opponent into chopper blades. Ed Boon’s keynote included a fatality demonstration that got the point across.

An image of a lizard posted to Twitter by Ed Boon had some folks speculating wildly, but there were no signs of Reptile, Khameleon, or other cold-blooded fighters. The wildlife is merely part of Baraka’s pre-fight intro, where he stabs the lizard with his retractable arm blade before getting down to business. Consider this your vegan warning, folks–Baraka is no wildlife warrior!

Shao Kahn was not available to play, but fans were reminded the pre-order bonus will also include Beta Access to MK11 for PlayStation and Xbox platforms, beginning March 28th–three weeks before release! Kahn was represented in LA by celebrity guest Xavier Woods, who cosplayed as the returning Emperor.

A limited Kollector’s Edition was also announced, including the main game, Kombat Pack DLC, a steel case, commemorative magnet coin, authenticity plate, and a 1:1 life size Scorpion mask! This first come, first serve Kollector’s Edition will retail for $299.99 and is available as an exclusive from Gamestop.

Mortal Kombat 11 will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC starting April 23rd! Catch up on all the sights and sounds from The Reveal by joining the discussion on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum! Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months!