Mortal Kombat 11: Shang Tsung DLC Review

By Mitchell Saltzman

The first of what will eventually be Mortal Kombat 11’s many DLC characters, Shang Tsung, kicks off Kombat Pack 1 on a cool looking but uneven note. Aesthetically, he’s everything a MK fan could ever want out the classic sorcerer. But on the gameplay side, out of the gate he feels a bit hamstrung with meter hungry and krushing blow-dependent damage, along with tournament variations that leave out some of his most exciting moves. That being said, his ability to morph into any opponent remains a wholly unique aspect of his character, and players who like to zone and have an extraordinarily vast knowledge of other fighters will find ways to make the soul-stealing sorcerer their own.

But before we get into any of the gameplay, the obvious big win here with Shang Tsung is that he is brought to life impeccably by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who of course portrayed him in the live-action Mortal Kombat movies from the 90s. This Easter egg fares infinitely better than the stunt casting of Ronda Rousey as Sonya Blade – not only for the nostalgia value, but also because he embodies the character perfectly. Every word Shang Tsung speaks feels like it’s dripping with venomous and evil intent. Netherrealm also did a fantastic job on his various skins, featuring options for young Shang, old Shang, and even movie Shang, complete with his slick dragon jacket.

When it comes to his moveset, he’s got all of his usual tools: the ground fireballs that can be combo’d into each other, straight fireballs that can be fired three at a time (at the cost of two bars of meter), along with the exciting new ability to morph into fan favorite characters like Rain, Ermac, Reptile, and Smoke to use some of their most iconic moves.

But unfortunately, none of these moves make it into Shang Tsung’s competitive variations, which is an even bigger disappointment considering the fact that one of those, Soulmaster, is just straight-up weak. It takes away three  of his best projectiles in his fireball, ground fireball, and corpse drop, replacing them with a life-restoring move, a slower projectile, and another move that can be amplified for a stunning soul blast.

If you don’t play ranked or competitive then this doesn’t mean much, but for those looking to adopt Shang Tsung as a main, it’s a bummer to not be able to use one of the most hyped-up aspects of his character where it counts.

Shang Tsung’s aforementioned ability to morph into his opponent is his most interesting trait, as he not only gets a power buff when he’s transformed, but he also gains access to his opponent’s krushing blows in addition to his own. That makes him an extra dangerous pick against characters like Geras, Scorpion, and others with high damage and easy krushing blows.