This week, NetherRealm Studios will release the Horror Pack bundle for Mortal Kombat X. The new DLC pack features horror movie icon Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise as a playable character. Previously, Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street movies was a playable character in Mortal Kombat 9. In addition, the Predator monster from the Predator franchise will be a playable DLC character later on. NetherRealm Studios has done a great job of incorporating horror movie icons as special guest characters in its fighting games. The next step for NetherRealm Studios entails making a fighting game with nothing but horror-movie icons.
A game like this does not need to be a massive Triple-A game release. It could be as simple as a digital console title, or it could even be a mobile freemium title. Case in point, NetherRealm recently worked on a mobile WWE-themed fighting game called WWE Immortals. It featured exaggerated, supernatural takes on WWE Superstars in a fighting game type setting. NetherRealm actually does a pretty good job with its mobile titles–especially the mobile version of Injustice: Gods Among Us.
So, imagine a fighting game similar to NetherRealm’s recent releases. Instead of Kombatants of the Mortal Kombat franchise, the game would feature the likes of Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers from Halloween, the Xenomorph creature from the Alien franchise, etc. The fighters would essentially be classic monsters or villains of horror movie franchises. The game should add in Bruce Campbell from the Evil Dead franchise for good measure. Fans will appreciate that due to the Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash project that was once kicked around. The battles for this prospective game could be epic.
A mobile or a digital-only platform is appropriate because I do not think that NetherRealm needs to work on a Story Mode for this type of game. It would be all about players getting to take the role of the classic characters in a fighting setting. The only issue I see is obtaining the license rights to the creatures to appear in a game that would likely be published by Warner Bros. Interactive. Warner holds the rights to Nightmare on Elm Street, but the other characters I mentioned are spread out to other rights holders. If the concept catches on, then maybe NetherRealm could expand on the idea.
The only reason I am suggesting this concept is because NetherRealm did such a great job with the horror movie characters with its recent Mortal Kombat games. After Mortal Kombat 9, NetherRealm developed a new DC Universe game with Injustice: Gods Among Us. Then came Mortal Kombat and the WWE Immortals mobile game. It would be fun to see NetherRealm make a fighting game with cinematic horror icons.
I hope they have Sam from Trick r Treat in it.