who appreciates MK's brutality (still)?

[kabelfritz]

to be straightforward, i dont anymore, and ive talked to other mk vets who feel similar. i still love the universe and the gameplay, but i quit mk for good because of this.

about me and my reasoning: i started with mk1 in 1993 or sth and played almost every game a lot since then. as a kid fatalities were of course cool and they were also more of a gameplay challenge than today, comparable to brutalities. and tbh they were also way better designed, short and pointed, sometimes humoristic.

but what i see nowadays in fatalities and fatal blows (which are even lore-nonsense, every hit of them is deadly already) are just enormoulsy stretched, detailed, glorified expressions of rage, hatred, sadism and whatever motivations for killing, molesting and disfiguring one might have. plus they are pointless overkills. there isnt even any wit or artistical coherence behind most of them and tbh in a world that seems rather cruel today, i find those depictions of brutality also too close to reality to view them as mere splatter.

of course a lot of people are bound to disagree or not care, but i've had this on my mind for a while and wanted to hear the community. im adding a poll too.

 

[Felipe_Gewehr]

Tbh I never did care for any of the violence or blood or guts since the first MKs. What I liked about the franchise was always the wacky characters and mystical scenarios. You've got ninjas, undead wraiths, sorcerers, cyborgs, demons, vampires, regular people, ice wielders, lizard people, pyromancers, and lots of other shit. I couldnt care less about the over the top violence, except when it is comical, tongue in cheek and well executed (like Li Mei's fatality, for example).

 

[Juxtapose]

Considering how comical/over-the-top they are, they don't bother me.

Honestly, I'm neutral and can completely take them or leave them.

They're big sellers for the casual crowd though, the game's primary market, so they won't be going anywhere.

 

[kabelfritz]

They're big sellers for the casual crowd though, the game's primary market, so they won't be going anywhere.

yeah i know. i have seen people publicly asking for a gore-free mode though, i think ultra david did that with the japanese market in mind who doesnt seem to like the violence much either. but i dont see how they would do that without looking stupid. black/frozen screen for one person while the other watches a 15 second fatal blow?

 

[Juxtapose]

yeah i know. i have seen people publicly asking for a gore-free mode though, i think ultra david did that with the japanese market in mind who doesnt seem to like the violence much either. but i dont see how they would do that without looking stupid. black/frozen screen for one person while the other watches a 15 second fatal blow?

My expectation is a disabled gore mode would need to be set for the match in advance. Hmmm, come to think of it, there's a Gore Disabler for Gears 5, yet I have no idea how it works (I leave gore on). I imagine it would sensor the executions and headshots, for example, but not sure how.

 

[xenogorgeous]

nope , no bothersome at all

they are one of the selling points of the franchise, that differ MK from others fighting games, so, there is no way to imagine a MK game without it ..... unfortunately we get to remeber that the casual fans, the ones that represent 99% of the target audience (AKA Sales Numbers) just love that, so

but a select option to able / disable that inside the game could be very welcome to those that get tired of this feature

 

[ReD WolF]

I appreciate them.

 

[theotherguy]

Never appreciated it. In fact didn't like it at all when I first played MK but saw the funny side(?) I guess.

Now I don't have any issue with the gameplay stuff, but the enders have been getting a little too much lately. Even with some of the new brutalities i've started thinking they should have stopped three hits earlier.

 

[Ptehu]

I still enjoy the brutality, I have my favorite fatalities chosen. What I don't like are overkills and certain "humour" in some of the finishing moves - kinda like they don't know if/when they are crossing the thin line between a proper brutal finisher and a goofy, unnecessary sequence.