‘Mortal Kombat 11’ Fans Are Loving Shao Kahn’s New Look, But Aren’t Happy He’s A Pre-Order Bonus

Last night during The Game Awards 2018, developer NetherRealm Studios and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unveiled Mortal Kombat 11 to the world.

One of the biggest reveals of the show, the game was unleashed via a two minute and 29 second long trailer featuring a very questionable original track by 21 Savage called “Immortal.” But beyond featuring some is-this-real-looks-over-the-shoulder-type music, the trailer also showcased a variety of characters, such as Scorpion and Raiden.

That said, near the end of the trailer Shao Kahn is revealed — unfortunately as a pre-order bonus — sporting a brand-new look that fans are actually digging quite a bit.

For example, the character’s left arm is notably darker and has horns piercing through, a small touch that caught the eye of many, and was appreciated by many.

“I can immediately say that it is TONS better than his MK9 look. Looks like his one arm is demonic or something which looks pretty cool, and his armour looks more fancy samurai/shogun, however still bare-chested which I’m all for. Love the helmet too,” writes one Reddit user about the character’s new look.

Meanwhile, another Reddit user said that not only are they digging the new look of Shao Kahn, but the new look of Scorpion as well.

“I think he and scorpion look fucking sick… I hate scorpion with a passion but I’m loving his new design its insane,” writes the user.

Quite a few users go as far as noting the characters looks sexy while also looking menacing, and while the latter is definitely true the former is a bit of stretch for my tastes.

Elsewhere in the same Reddit thread, many of Mortal Kombat’s most hardcore fans revealed their general pleasure over the character’s new design, especially in regards to his new helmet, as well as his return.

That said, the fact that he’s a pre-order bonus has some fans less happy.

Being a pre-order bonus character may suggest that Shao Kahn may not be a competent character to use competitively, as is the case when many fighters are locked behind pre-ordering pay walls. As you may know, with Mortal Kombat X, pre-ordering netted you Goro, who was not the best fighter in the game to say the least. In other words, there’s some precedent that Shao Kahn being kicked aside to be a pre-order bonus might not bode well for the character.

Mortal Kombat 11 is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch, and is poised to release worldwide on April 23, 2019.