Game Awards 2020: Why Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate should win best fighting game

Mortal Kombat 11 started off strong, with two sizeable expansions this year and more to come.

While probably being the runner up fighting game for 2019’s Game Awards, Mortal Kombat 11 has gotten some major upgrades of sorts to compete again this year. There is definitely a valid argument to be made that NetherRealm Studios is taking the Capcom route and reselling the game as yet the next definitive edition like the notorious, but successful Street Fighter IV titles (i.e. the vanilla edition, Super SFIV, Super SFIV Arcade Edition, Ultra SFIV).

When it comes to the fighting game genre, however, the releases have really been stretched thin this year. While there are still games in the category that definitely surpass MK11, there haven’t been any that really stood out other than Street Fighter V: Championship Edition and Granblue Fantasy: Versus. I definitely have my biases towards Mortal Kombat 11 but just in terms of what it does right, it should be the obvious choice for best fighting game of 2020.

The game’s graphics are on a whole other level of mind-blowing, despite being a last-gen game at this point. Speaking of last-gen, NetherRealm Studios is offering a free PS5 and Xbox Series S/X upgrade for players who have the game on their respective Playstation 4 or Xbox One consoles. The cherry on top is that this game as of right now supports cross-play between the Playstations and the Xboxes (hopefully PC and Switch soon enough).

Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate is perhaps the most beginner-friendly game in today’s fighting game sphere. It provides character-specific tutorials, teaches the mechanics, and even helps you learn some of the various lingo often used in fighting games like frames, advantages, punishing, mids, highs, lows, overheads, unblockables, and so forth. It even boasts a healthy amount of offline modes to play like its base storyline and Aftermath story (part of MK11 Aftermath or Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate). There are a plethora of towers specifically for characters or random events in the Living Towers mode.

Hell, maybe you want to train a good amount before heading online; don’t sweat it. The game has a very accessible training mode that allows you to check out frame data, tourney presets, and krushing blow combos to make yourself more accustomed to landing them in the real deal.

The online is probably what makes the game stand out more against the others. The netcodes of other competing games pale in comparison to how Mortal Kombat 11’s is. Especially in a time where local tournaments are put on indefinite hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, having a reliable netcode will really boost the game’s community and longevity. For example, when EVO 2020 was changed into an online event, the original lineup was changed to games with a strong or rollback netcode. The contenders for best fighting game of 2020 were nowhere to be seen in those events except for MK11. Unfortunately, the event was ultimately canceled for more controversial reasons.

Whether players like it or not, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate has a plethora of guest characters which helps bring in new fans to the series. It boosts the overall popularity of the game and provides for very iconic and unique character interactions and references. It’s no Smash Bros in terms of crossovers, but it’s still awesome to witness.

As this game is taking a leap into the next generation, and with speculations and leaks being thrown out left and right, there is still more to come with this behemoth of a fighting game. Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate should definitely be the obvious pick for the Game Awards’ best fighting game of 2020.