Sindel is ready to jump into Mortal Kombat 11 and looks more impressive than ever before. The newest addition to the roster of fighters arrives in early access on November 26 for those who have purchased the Kombat Pack of DLC fighters, and a week later for individual purchase.
As expected, Sindel faces off against Nightwolf in the gameplay reveal trailer about their last encounter where he sacrificed himself to stop her evil plans in the story mode of Mortal Kombat from 2011. They each reference the event, and she proceeds to lay down a beating eight years in the making. The close and mid-range fighting style is immediately apparent, as are some great anti-air and zoning tools. Her ultrasonic screams and flowing, prehensile hair is incorporated into most of her moves, and initial impressions are that Sindel is still the same character as before.
Banshee Scream
The first of Sindel’s trademark abilities is Banshee Scream. Previous games in the series have primarily used this ability to control space where an opponent is be pushed back, stunned, or simply damaged. In the gameplay trailer we can see the ability primarily used to keep Jade away from Sinden, and more importantly, is gradually backed into the corner.
Hair Whip – An Expanded Concept For Sindel’s Toolkit
Hair Whip appears to have received the most change since Sindel’s last appearance as a playable character. While the move itself appears to grab and toss and opponent, and can be amplified for additional grappling, her hair seems to be used in a variety of normal moves and kombo strings. In previous games this enhanced version is called Hair Toss, and the choice to slam the opponent multiple times before releasing them provides great control in where an opponent is placed on screen.
Star Screamer
Sindel has retained the ability to fire a purple fireball at the opponent from either a standing position, crouch, or while in mid-air. The versatility of this move should not be understated and is likely going to be both an effective zoning and anti-zoning tool against opponents who primarily shoot from a standing position.
A Familiar Crushing Blow - R. Mika, Is That You?
Sindel wins the award for the most awkward krushing blow included in Mortal Kombat 11 to date. Despite the fact that Sindel is a combatant with centuries of training, this move boils down to slamming into her opponent, butt first.
The move is not only strange for Mortal Kombat, it looks to have been lifted directly from R. Mika in the Street Fighter series, known there as the Shooting Peach. It’s awkward there, and it’s awkward here.
Apparently, the hit is so hard it krushes the skull of its victim. Of all the suspension of disbelief needed for Mortal Kombat as a concept, this single move is the hardest to accept.
Levitation Is Gone, But Still Here In Spirit
From what we can see in the gameplay trailer, Levitation does not seem included in this iteration of Sindel. However, the spirit of the move exists in her various abilities to stall in the air, including projectiles, anti-air moves, and what appears to be a teleport when hitting an opponent with a projectile. Though she may not be flying around the screen like in Mortal Kombat 3, Sindel appears to have strong control over jumping attacks and will likely have strong anti-air options at her disposal.
Fatal Blow That Whips Her Hair Back and Forth
While the animation looks fantastic as Sindel snaps her opponents back and forth with her hair, what is truly terrifying is that is appears that she can easily link into the Fatal Blow after connecting with an attack on standup. If this is available in her kompetitive variations, Sindel may be the Queen on comebacks in tournaments settings.
Deadly Scream Returns In All Its Glory
The classic fatality from Mortal Kombat 3 is back with a few modifications. Sindel restrains her opponent with her hair and then screams with so much that her opponent has their skin ripped off, along with the lower part of the torso. A second scream destroys what remains of the upper torso entirely. Although we have not seen her second fatality, a reasonable guess would be an adaptation of Hair Spin, where Sindel wraps her opponent in her hair, then pulls it back quickly. The result is that her opponents spins so quickly, that the force rips them apart, sending body parts flying.
Sindel will be making her way into Mortal Kombat 11 in less than two weeks’ time, and so far, her kit genuinely looks to have retained all of the core aspects of her personality from previous games. Her initial dialogue with Nightwolf makes it appear as though we are dealing with a Revenant version of the former Queen of Edenia, but given that she is a DLC character that has no bearing on the main story mode of the game, alternate skins and dialogue are just as likely to present us with a softer and more kind version of the character.
Source: Mortal Kombat 11