If platform fighters couldn’t get any weirder this year, a recent leak has claimed that Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm are working on a Super Smash Bros. like game based on Warner Bros. properties.
Yes, the studio that brings you the most gruesome kills in fighting games is supposedly working on a game that will see Shaggy take on Batman. Other characters mentioned in the leak include Gandalf, Mad Max, and Fred Flintstone. Harry & Ron from Harry Potter might also be making an appearance, though the leaker notes that there might be some issues with the rights.
The leaker also notes that it’s reportedly a tag team game, noting that they’re “Not sure if that means you pick two characters and switch between them. Or if each “character” is actually a pair, or if each character is an individual and you only switch when you lose a stock. All I know is there’s synergy between certain characters which implies custom teams.”
Having a tag team twist on the Smash Bros. format could be interesting. Games like Dragon Ball Fighterz have you picking multiple characters to fight with in one match. Figuring out the best combination of fighters is essential if you want to come out on top. It would certainly be a major departure from Mortal Kombat, a game that focuses on one on one fights.
super smash bros. ultra instinct
On how the game came to be, the leaker said that they were told that it was “due to the memes based around Shaggy getting into Mortal Kombat in his “Ultra Instinct” form. Obviously NR wasn’t going to put him in a game like Mortal Kombat, so ideas were tossed around and Warner Bros. loved the idea of combining their properties and establishing more Warner crossovers.”
I’ll be honest, this terrifies me. A bunch of executives in a room saying ‘Yeah, that’s a funny meme, you can make a Smash Bros. game’ doesn’t necessarily bode well. Hopefully the pedigree of NetherRealm can assuage any fears I might have. I get as much of a kick as an Ultra Instinct Shaggy meme as much as the next person, but I hope that isn’t going to be the driving force of the game tonally.
The leaker also later added in a link to a trademark page for a game called “Multiversus” filed by Warner Bros., adding some legitimacy to their claims. We obviously don’t know if this game does exist or not, so we’ll have to wait for an official announcement to see what the final product might be like.
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Featured Image Credit: NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment