Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath goes above and beyond the typical fighting game expansion. In addition to the expected additional characters and stages, NetherRealm Studios also added Friendships and a whole new story mode, which takes place after base game's conclusion.
The five chapters take between two to three hours to complete, and follows Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, and Fujin as they travel back in time to steal Kronika's Crown of Souls to prevent time and existence from falling apart. Along the way, they run into countless fighters from the series, and the story takes tons of turns, some of which change the franchise forever.
10 Sindel Never Killed Herself
Sindel's story since Mortal Kombat 3 has stated Shao Kahn revived her after she killed herself following her former husband's death. This turned out to be a lie all along.
She never committed suicide, but instead was done in by Quan Chi, who then made it look like she took her own life. All this time she was a willing spouse to Shao Kahn, changing a story fans have been familiar with for well over twenty years.
9 Shao Kahn Regains His Throne
Shao Kahn does not start this stor in a good place. Fortunately for him, Sindel rescues her husband from torture and inevitable death just in time.
She heals the king and the two set out to reclaim his throne from Kitana. They use the Tarkatan army to overthrow their child and defeat Liu Kang. Shao Kahn has lost so many times throughout the franchise, it is kind of nice to see him get the upper hand for once.
8 Nightwolf Returns
The last fans saw of Nightwolf, he gave up his life to stop Sindel's massacre in Mortal Kombat 9. He comes back as one of the main characters in Aftermath with nary a scratch on him.
Kronika tried to recruit him for her nefarious scheme resetting the timeline, but he was banished into a void for refusing. He's honorable for rejecting the offer, even though it would have netted him a lofty place in the new timeline.
7 Kotal Kahn Dead
When one is forced from the throne in Mortal Kombat it often does not end well for them. They are either tortured for millennia or immediately killed. Whichever fate is worse is up to the player to decide.
Kotal Kahn received the latter for his defeat at the hands of Sindel and Shao Kahn. The last shot of the former emperor sees his head rolling off a ship.
6 Shang Tsung Comes Back
Shang Tsung sat out Mortal Kombat X because Shao Kahn stole his sole to revive Sindel. However, he comes back after Kronika's defeat since her death allows him to escape the void she sent him into, much like Nightwolf.
He sets up an unfriendly alliance with Raiden and Liu Kang in order to retrieve Kronika's crown. Nobody is happy with the arrangement, but they side with him for the time being. After all, if time existence ended, whom could the sorcerer double-cross?
5 Timeline Is Reset
Ultimately, the timeline resets anyway after the crown is taken and an epic battle ensues following Sindel's betrayal.
This is similar to the original ending to Mortal Kombat 11's base story mode, although Liu Kang will certainly make some changes to the new era in an effort to prevent any of the foreseeable disasters. In classic Mortal Kombat fashion, fans can expect these well-intentioned plans to make things worse than they once were.
4 Sindel Killed Her Husband
Not only was Sindel willing to ally with Shao Kahn, but she admits to killing her first husband, King Jerrod. To her, he was weak and unfit to be a king, so she changed sides and became Shao Kahn's wife.
Kitana must have been completely destroyed by this revelation. All this time she believed her mother was an innocent victim of an evil emperor, but she was ultimately in cahoots with him the whole time.
3 Fujin Returns
Of the returning fighters in the new expansion, Fujin is the one who was benched the longest before coming back into the roster. He shows up in Mortal Kombat X, but was ultimately not playable.
His last playable appearance was in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, which included every fighter in the franchise up until that point. Fans must have been extra excited to see him play a significant role in Aftermath's story.
2 Shang Tsung Wins The Crown
The game has two endings, and it is difficult to say which one is canon. If players choose Shang Tsung for the final encounter, he beats Fire God Liu Kang and takes Kronika's crown, becoming the most powerful being one existence and conquering all of the realms.
It would be interesting to see what the future of the franchise holds if the developers set the next game in this ending.
1 The Great Kung Lao
If players choose Liu Kang for the last fight, he takes the crown and restarts the timeline. The last scene shows him encountering a young Kung Lao in training and selecting his friend as Earthrealm's new champion.
It is not the Kung Lao fans know for his hat attacks, but instead the Great Kung Lao who first represented Earthrealm in the tournament. Perhaps this hints at the next game being a prequel of sorts following the often talked about, but little seen hero of the lore.