Ok I did not expect to have this much fun. I played MK Outworld Assassins ages ago. It was a simple fun MK OpenBoR game, but nothing fantastic or out of the ordinary. What Gurtag did here to the original from Maggga is simply amazing.
The new combat system is super fun. It is very simple but there are so many combos routes. Mixing the different attacks with the special moves that require the classic fighting game input makes it so rewarding. Make sure to read the in game tips on how to play. There are so many things you can do.
Another great thing is the block and parry and how responsive everything is. Defense mechanics in these beat em up games help improve the combat a lot when done right and that's absolutely the case here.
So why the 4 stars rating? (I give it a 4.5 to be honest) The game is too damn hard and has other issues. Enemies have huge health pools. It is understandable at first, as the juggle system allows you to deal tons of dmg when you are skilled enough (and your combos don't get cut because enemies die quickly). But when you start to face 8 enemies at once it starts to get really hard. Its no big deal tho, as the cheats are available, so I used the credits one and I was kicking ass but also getting my as kicked really hard.
Another problem was that some stages are really dark (If you are playing as Noob you can't even see what you are doing). Or simply hard to see (some parts of the snow stage). It was really getting annoying and I had to push trough as fast I could to get to the next stage, it was not much fun.
The Platform stage was fun but hard as hell. It felt like Mythologies done right. What was annoying was when I died I was respawed all the way down. The stage was not that long, so I managed ok. Overall it was fun and a nice change of pace. I would make it easier because of the respawn problem and the annoying respawning enemies.
As a fan of MK I highly recommend you try it. The characters are funny, the story is stupid and funny with their interactions lol. I wish it had more unlockable characters (Kitana, Mileena and Sindel would be amazing in this!). I hope Gurtag keeps expanding it, it is truly a hidden gem!
