Hell Let Loose is a multiplayer shooter set against the backdrop of World War II, and will be exclusive to PS5 owners. Mortal Kombat X is still one of the best fighting games available, although the game is already a part of the PS Plus Collection, which PS5 owners will have access to already (should they have a PS Plus subscription). Lastly, there’s PGA Tour 2K21, which is also a fine enough game.

As it turns out, leaks were right on point again. An interesting point worth noting about this month’s offerings is the fact that Sony was giving a month of PS Plus subscription for $1, as a part of its promotional offer in the US. The games will be available to download for subscribers from 5th October onwards.

Ferra and Torr

One, or rather two, of the most bizarre fighters in the franchise, Ferra and Torr were bodyguards for Kotal Kahn in Mortal Kombat X. While Torr is the muscle, possessing exceptional power, Ferra is a quick and agile warrior. They’re essentially a symbiotic duo and serve as an incredibly interesting combat option but ultimately, they would be set aside after being defeated by Sub-Zero.

According to the aforementioned report. PlayStation Plus subscribers will get free access to multiplayer World War 2 shooter Hell Let Loose, PGA Tour 2K21, and Mortal Kombat X. Hell Let Loose will be available only to PS5 players, and it’s worth noting that, according to the report, Mortal Kombat X’s base version (not XL), will be given away for free. That is, of course, a tad disappointing, but for someone who hasn’t played the game yet, it’s a really good deal nonetheless.

This isn’t confirmed yet, of course, but with September nearly over, it won’t be too long before Sony officially announces next month’s PS Plus lineup. Stay tuned, and we’ll keep you updated on any new details that come our way.

Leatherface

Other fighters in Mortal Kombat X are undoubtedly more effective but the look and feel of Leatherface is well done. Whether you’re driving a chainsaw into an opponent’s shoulder, stunning opponents with Chain Sparks or going into Berserker Stance, there are some decent to good ideas here. It’s almost enough to make you forget about literally everything that’s gone wrong with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to help the mass murderer rise from the bottom of the rankings.

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT

It seems fitting to kick off with one of the most maligned PC launches for a major game in recent memory. Batman: Arkham Knight – the game itself – has a few issues of its own that don’t sit well with a large number of people, but the game’s PC version in particular has become an infamous example of a poorly handled PC launch for a game. WB Games are no strangers to bad PC releases, but Arkham Knight in particular drew all the negative attention in the world for pretty much every reason possible.

Have you ever wondered just how popular some fighting games are? For the United States at least, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella broke down the best-selling fighting games as of October 2019 end. Surprisingly, Mortal Kombat X is on top for both the PS4 and Xbox One.

Though these lists are only the top five best-selling fighters till date, it’s still interesting to behold. In terms of dollar sales, Mortal Kombat X is on top for both consoles. Mortal Kombat 11 is in second place for PS4 while Injustice 2, another NetherRealm property, ranks second on Xbox One (followed by Mortal Kombat 11).

Of course, seeing the Dragon Ball Xenoverse titles in the rankings isn’t too strange. Neither is the fact that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tops the best-selling fighters for Nintendo Switch with Pokken Tournament DX in second place. It’s worth noting that even if Mortal Kombat 11 isn’t as popular on Nintendo’s handheld, it’s still in the top five best-selling fighters.

https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1199746693517824000

Panda King and Dimitri – Sly Cooper 3

Panda King and Dimitri Lousteau have both had run-ins with the Sly Gang before, the former notorious for helping to steal the Thievius Raccoonus. Still, old enemies become new allies in Sly Cooper 3. After the gang rescue King’s daughter and retrieve diving gear belonging to Dimitri’s grandfather, the two former villains are recruited for the Cooper Vault heist.

Sindel

Everybody screams in Mortal Kombat but there’s only one screamer who revels in it – Sindel, the Queen of Edenia. Sindel’s powers are actually derived from air magic – she can hover in mid-air, channel magic to shoot fireballs and of course, screams at enemies to stun them. Not content slaying with her voice, she also uses her hair to grab opponents and toss them around (or slam them multiple times into the ground like in Mortal Kombat 9).

Systemic issues with AAA development in the video games industry have come to the surface with greater force than ever before in recent times. From the likes or Riot Games and BioWare to others like Rockstar and Epic Games, issues with the internal workings of several studios have come to light, and said surfacing of issues has blessedly empowered other members of the industry to speak out about their own experiences.

Recently, several former employees and contractors who worked with NetherRealm Studios on several projects, including Mortal Kombat and Injustice, have taken to Twitter to speak about the issues at the studio, and their accounts paint a bleak picture, from crunch to harassment to poor working conditions.

James Longstreet, former programmer at NetherRealm Studios, spoke about his work on Mortal Kombat 9, where he described overbearing crunch conditions, which saw crunch not as something voluntary that employees would volunteer for, but something that was mandatory. “This was not a wink-wink-nudge-nudge ‘passionate hardworking’ thing,” he wrote. “This was a mandate.”

Longstreet says that the Mortal Kombat team sees crunch as necessary, and as something that has always worked for them in the past, in light of which they see it as “clearly the right thing to do”. He also describes poor working conditions for contractors, saying the studio hires “as many contractors and interns as they can, pay them s**t (much less than I started at 12 years ago), and work them to death”.

Beck Hallstedt, a contractor concept artist who worked on Injustice 2, also recounts her own experiences during the five months she spent working at the studio, calling their practices “predatory and abusive”. She describes poor infrastructural issues and a culture of harassment, such as contractors being stuffed into small workspaces with not enough room to work, female contractors being paid less than the usual rates, female employees not being allowed into certain meetings, contractors getting treated poorly and blamed for several issues by the higher-up employees, and them not getting credited with the nature of the work they are doing.

Her accounts are backed up by former QA analyst Rebecca Rothschild, who says she can “confirm everything” described by Hallstedt, before saying there are “lots of amazing people work at NRS [NetherRealm Studios], but there are serious, systemic issues that need to be addressed.”

You can read the aforementioned accounts in the tweets below. One can only hope that with such issues having come to light, NetherRealm Studios will be forced to take action and get to work on fixing these internal issues, which are clearly not sustainable or healthy in any way. Accounts don’t mention whether similar issues have persisted with the development of their most recent project, Mortal Kombat 11, but in the absence of evidence to the contrary, in light of what’s surfaced, it would be hard to assume that anything has changed- not until change is forced, at the very least.

on MK9 crunch officially began after new years day 2011. of course, we did a bit of pre-crunch before that, just to make sure we were in a good spot for crunch. this was on schedule documents. this was not a wink-wink-nudge-nudge "passionate hardworking" thing, this was mandate.

— Jiminy Snackmouth 1 (312) (@jlongstreet) April 23, 2019

i took one day off between jan 1 and the day the day1 patch was approved. it was my birthday, and it was on a sunday, so it was ok if i was just on call. i was allowed to go to a friends' wedding (on call of course) on a saturday night, after working an 8 hour shift first

— Jiminy Snackmouth 1 (312) (@jlongstreet) April 23, 2019

those were the only two days i didn't work from at least 10 am to at least midnight. we were all doing this. i mean, except the bosses, of course, who would leave after dinner

— Jiminy Snackmouth 1 (312) (@jlongstreet) April 23, 2019

from what i've heard the crunch cycle has gotten worse since i've left. a friend i talked to in september said they were crunching already. they hire as many contractors and interns as they can, pay them shit (much less than I started at 12 years ago) and work them to death

— Jiminy Snackmouth 1 (312) (@jlongstreet) April 23, 2019

the MK team's stance is that crunch works, and MK games are always profitable, so it's clearly the right thing to do. it's wrong — crunch doesn't work, the workers don't see the profit (bonuses at WB games are capped to a small percentage of salary), and it ruins lives

— Jiminy Snackmouth 1 (312) (@jlongstreet) April 23, 2019

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Super Smash Bros. may have taken the crown of fighting game king in the wake of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s success, but Mortal Kombat is not far behind. Speaking to Game Informer in a rapid fire interview, Ed Boon of NetherRealm Studios revealed that Mortal Kombat X, the previous entry in the franchise, sold a staggering 11 million copies, which would probably make it the highest selling fighting game of all time that doesn’t have Super Smash Bros. in the title.

“Mortal Kombat X, sold almost 11 million copies,” Boon said, when asked about what his top selling game ever is. This number presumably includes the Mortal Kombat XL re-release, but even so, it’s a remarkable success, and goes on to show you why NetherRealm’s fighting games generate so much more hype than most other contenders in the genre.

On a more humorous note, Boon also revealed why the new game is called Mortal Kombat 11, and the answer to that is every bit as obvious as you may have expected.

”Because 11 comes after 10,” Boon said, in response to a question about the new game’s name. Which, you know what? Fair enough, Boon, fair enough. I cannot argue with that logic.

That apart, Boon also revealed that the Switch version of Mortal Kombat 11 will run at a full 60 frames per second, will not have blurry backgrounds, and look “very good”.

So that’s all great. Mortal Kombat 11 is due out on PC, Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 on April 23. If you are interested in the game, make sure to check out the trailer for it debuting the new character Cetrion.