Horror is not always a genre that fans would have instantly associated with NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat franchise, nor is it still defined by any genre it has dipped its toes into. However, Mortal Kombat X sort of became a horror installment in its own right—not because of its macabre injury and death animations, but because of the guest characters it chose to feature in post-launch DLC.
Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, the Predator, and the Xenomorph all made an unmistakable imprint on Mortal Kombat X and perfectly suited the game’s grisly tone. Mortal Kombat 12 has fairly large shoes to fill coming off of a popular entry in Mortal Kombat 11, a game whose own post-launch DLC included some fan-favorite guest characters as well. If it wants to continue down a route of horror, though, it should look no further than Dead Space’s Isaac Clarke.
Mortal Kombat 12 Needs to Get Creative with Guest Characters
The only downside to Mortal Kombat games having iconic guest characters in the past is that it means Mortal Kombat 12 has a tough task ahead of it. Each new game has to try to outdo its predecessor. With Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat having franchise-defining DLC characters, it could be difficult for NetherRealm to think of any top-tier-choices that have not already been tapped.
Mortal Kombat X grabbed as many iconic slasher characters as it could, for example, while Mortal Kombat 11 grabbed iconic action movie characters and miscellaneous characters such as Spawn and the Joker. Of course, the guest characters that NetherRealm decides upon for Mortal Kombat 12 will be decided by what tone the installment is going for. Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11 are drastically different, and Mortal Kombat12 could be equally polarizing.
NetherRealm’s Ed Boon has already commented on The Last of Us’ Ellie joining the next Mortal Kombat, with Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann following that up by asking if a bloater would be considered instead. But if NetherRealm wants to take the path of being even more graphic and gory than before, it has a great guest character already lined up from EA Motive’s recent Dead Space remake.
Dead Space’s Isaac Clarke is Ready to Cut Limbs in Mortal Kombat 12
Isaac Clarke would be perfect for Mortal Kombat 12 because of how prominent he is again as an iconic character, but also simply because his science-fiction weapons and attack style would translate well into a Mortal Kombat game. Isaac would likely be a ranged fighter with weak melee skills besides his heavy haymaker and brutal stomp.
Having to constantly wrench necromorphs off of him could make Isaac a half-decent grappler, but he would probably want to keep his distance and draw the Plasma Cutter, Pulse Rifle, or Flamethrower to keep opponents at bay. Fatalities and Brutalities of Isaac’s could come directly from Dead Space games, even if they were as simple as dismembering the opponent down to a torso before stomping their head into a pulp, but could also invite necromorphs themselves to appear and attack the opponent—such as an Infector turning the opponent into a necromorph.
The potential for Isaac in Mortal Kombat 12 would be endless, especially if each of his weapons and each necromorph type in Dead Space were considered, and his myriad suits could be represented as skins. Further, Isaac’s RIG could represent his health bar on his back and turn red when his health was close to being depleted.
Mortal Kombat 12 is currently in development.