Mortal Kombat has changed its storytelling formula over the years. The first few games in the iconic series relied solely upon complementary reading material along with text before and after ladder matches. The recent trilogy uses a more linear and seamless approach of slotting cutscenes between fights to progress the story. However, it was during the Deception and Armageddon era when things truly went wild with Konquest; and Ed Boon has been teasing its return in the next installment.
NetherRealm dabbled in the open world formula with these two titles by introducing a grossly underrated mode called Konquest. Think Mortal Kombat 11's Krypt, but with an actual story and sidequests. With the latest MK trilogy coming to a sort of culmination, and Mortal Kombat 12 all but officially announced, fans have been wondering what direction future games will take with the narrative.
Ed Boon, being Ed Boon, has been playing with fans' feelings. Back in November last year, when we didn't know about MK 12, Boon said that NetherRealm was "more likely [to] do a new Konquest" than a remaster of Deception during an AMA. Most recently, however, Boon has asked fans, via a Twitter poll, which of the game modes from the Deception-Armageddon era they would like to see again – Chess Kombat, Konquest, Motor Kombat, or Puzzle Kombat.
Expectedly, Konquest is ahead with 44.5 percent of the votes at the time of writing. Motor Kombat, MK's brutal kart racer is second with 31 percent, followed by Chess Kombat, which is basically chess with a fight when you take an opponent's piece. Puzzle Kombat, which was basically competitive Tetris, is deservedly last.
For many, the question invoked nostalgia of running around the realms as Shujinko. It was the first time we got to experience the Mortal Kombat universe in such a manner.
"Konquest definitely. In our day, it would give us a glimpse of all realms in a better way," replied Mehmet Witch. "It would also let us deep dive into the stories of all kombatants further as there are a lot of things left unsaid. Others could be mini games but Konquest must be big."