Killer Instinct Season 2 Is a Killer Update
One of my favorite games of last year was Killer Instinct. An amazing long overdue update to the Killer Instinct games of the 1990s, Killer Instinct provided a unique fighting game experience that, despite a lot of updated game mechanics, stayed faithful to the Killer Instinct style. Since the game’s launch, new characters have been added into the Season 1 roster, such as the skeleton Pirate Spinal, the man-turned-werewolf Saberwulf, the secret agent B. Orchid, tiger monk Jago, the ice alien Glacius, the Native American Thunder, the spider assassin Sadria, and my favorite, the cyborg poster boy of Killer Instinct, Fulgore. On top of new characters, and stages, a story mode was added. Season 1 was very successful, and because of that we got Season 2 for Killer Instinct.
After original development team Double Helix was bought by Amazon, Killer Instinct has been taken over by the Iron Galaxy team. Iron Galaxy has been responsible for bringing back some of our favorite fighting games back with HD remastered editions like Marvel VS Capcom Origins, and Street Fighter 3rd Strike, so I have no worries in their abilities. And I believe they showed that with the launch of KI Season 2.
Launching back in October, Season 2 added new characters, stages, as well as a redesigned system to the game, new online ranking, and further developed the Killer Instinct story mode. With the launch came two new characters added to the roster, and KI Veterans. Fan favorite TJ Combo, and Maya both received updated looks, moves, and new stages. Each plays very reminiscent of their original iterations, but also with a few new tricks.
However another notable change of Killer Instinct is the previous cast receiving a character overhaul, with cast getting both buffs, and nerfs making them more balanced. Also some of the cast receiving new moves, and abilities like Jago’s double fireball, Black Orchid’s shock wave attack, and Fulgore nuke bar receiving a complete overhaul making him feel almost like a new character.
Speaking of new characters, Season 2 brings nine new additions to the roster. I already mentioned TJ Combo, and Maya. However 6 new characters have been revealed — the living mummy spell caster Kan-Ra, the cybernetic Raptor Riptor, the Herald of Gargos Omen, the War Golem Aganos, the ghost girl Hisako, and fan favorite the fire body criminal Cinder. Also new is the Season 2 final boss Aria, an artificial intelligence, and head of the Ultratech Corporation that takes the form of an android. Each of these characters all have unique play styles, stages, and abilities, making the already crazy cast even crazier.
Another nice addition of Season 2 was the introduction of Stage Ultras. From the original game as well, these are another way to finish off your opponents. However these can only be done on certain stages, such as TJ Combo’s stage in which you are knocked up into a wrecking ball and sent flying into a neon sign in the background, or Kan-Ra’s stage in which you are sent through a black hole, or Aganos’ stage in which you are turned into a stone statue then blown into the wind, or Aria’s stage in which you are sent through her office window and sent crashing into the lights on street level. Sounds pretty crazy if I must say but I rather enjoy playing as all these characters. And doing Ultra Combos are satisfying, and when you are good enough you can keep an Ultra Combo going even longer.
One thing Killer Instinct does well is their online multiplayer mode. Fighting games must have a fully functioning multiplayer in order to stay relevant, and be enjoyed more and more. And I have to say Killer Instinct has the best multiplayer online I’ve seen in a fighting game in a very long time. The net play is smooth, and the only problems I have with online is when the person I am playing against has a bad connection on their end. You can do your traditional player match, ranked match, in which there is a leveling system, which is unique as it keeps rank on all characters you use. As you rank up each character you’ll unlock new character colors, and accessories. Also there are retro costumes for each character which give each character a whole new look. For returning cast they get costumes based off their original looks, just modernized. Some of the costumes are pretty funny. For example Riptor classic costume has an accessory line in which she wears a cheerleading outfit, not to mention TJ Combo has a Shaft costume, and a Dillon costume from the Alien movies. Nice little touches in their game which I thought was fun to see.
Another new feature which came toward the end of Season 2 was the introduction of the Shadow Matches. This was a whole new way to face AI, aAs it trains your character to fight certain characters in the game. As your Shadow ranks up, it learns how to fight against other characters in the game. It adds a new way to play the game, and I found it pretty unique.
The story mode for Killer Instinct is just being completed. While the story mode was very impressive, the Season 2 characters’ story modes were far superior to those of Season 1 characters, almost making the previous characters story mode inadequate. These story were very well designed to add even more character and personality to the Season 2 cast. Not to mention you can actually get a solid story concept through Season 2. While the Season 1 characters’ stories seemed to branch off into different endings depending on how well you did, Season 2’s story is solid all the way through, giving a clear picture of each character and their part in this story mode. While I now feel the Season 1 story mode is lacking in an actual story, Season 2 makes up with it with a solid story element hinting at possible Season 3 which I am really hopeful for. I would really like to see a full story mode similar to how Mortal Kombat has been doing their story modes complete with actual cutscenes, and see what the Iron Galaxy team can come up with.
Killer Instinct is a well made next gen fighting game with a very supportive community. This community helps make the game better and keeps it thriving. The announcement of Killer Instinct coming to PC at E3 shows just how much fans love the game, as it was the second highest trending topic on Twitter. With a PC release in the future and a possible third season for the game Killer Instinct will just get better and I look forward to what this game will bring in the future. It is a 4 out of 5. Possibly one of my favorite fighting games I have played for a very long time. If you own an Xbox One I highly recommend checking it out, and if you a PC gamers, stay tuned.
