DC Comics’ Peacemaker has been playable within Mortal Kombat 1 as a DLC fighter, but only through the Kombat Pack’s Early Access perk. Those that wish to acquire him individually may do so starting today.
He’s the second of three guest characters that have been revealed to be playable, with Omni-Man already being available and Homelander scheduled to be added later. Is Peacemaker worth the money in Mortal Kombat 1 or was he simply a wasted slot?
Before we actually had the chance to see Peacemaker in his first gameplay trailer, I was under the impression that this would be a character that emphasizes using firearms to zone out enemies. NetherRealm Studios has a certain history of designing these sort of fighters, but Peacemaker actually feels more like a brawler, though he’s also armed with some whimsical tools that you wouldn’t really expect from your typical brawler.
In terms of mix ups, Peacemaker really doesn’t have any strings that function as a low or overhead starter. However, this isn’t to say that Peacemaker doesn’t have some tricks to catch his opponents off guard.
One interesting tool that Peacemaker does have is the Head On Approach string that ends with an unblockable command grab. What’s particularly interesting about this command grab is that it can be exclusively special cancelled into enhanced specials, Beautiful Bird Bullet, Kameo attacks, and Fatal Blow.
Peacemaker isn’t quite a grappler character, but this one string by itself can lead into a ton of damage thanks to its cancel properties, inspiring fear just like any grappler would up close. With this, Peacemaker is very unique in how he can keep opponents guessing as he can also punish players that incorrectly anticipate the command grab at the end of this particular string.
He also has a strong sweep that hits as a low. While I was initially concerned that this move would be useless considering its start up time and how much more negative it is on block compared to other sweeps, it makes up for these shortcomings with its amazing reach and disjointed hitbox.
In general, Peacemaker has excellent combo strings, even if they don’t have low and overhead mix ups incorporated into them. Most of Peacemaker’s normal attacks have great frame data and are typically safe on block.
Where Peacemaker really shines though is his damage and combo routes. There are so many different combo routes that Peacemaker can initiate with that can easily deal 40-50% damage without even aiming for his damage cap. As such, Peacemaker’s combos will feel rewarding to those that are creative enough.
Although most characters in Mortal Kombat 1 have to spend meter for their best combo routes, Peacemaker doesn’t necessarily have to do this. Indeed, Peacemaker even has a few combo strings and regular specials that can lead into combos, in addition to the usual enhanced specials that do so.
Of course, Peacemaker won’t have to struggle getting in against zoners as he’s armed with some useful zoning and anti-zoning tools of his own. His forcefield special, which renders him immune to projectiles for a duration, means that he’ll never have to limit himself to Kameos that have access to anti-projectile tools.
Needless to say, fighting against Peacemaker from full screen feels weird. Even though he excels at fighting up close, the option of simply staying away doesn’t really exist versus a good Peacemaker user.
In my last Mortal Kombat 1 DLC review, I noted that Quan Chi felt somewhat weak, which turned out to be a take that NetherRealm Studios agreed with since he was noticeably buffed in the latest balance patch. Peacemaker, on the other hand, feels like a character with a ton of potential right off the bat.
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to playing Peacemaker when the Kombat Pack was first revealed. Out of all the characters, he seemed to standout as the most boring choice.
Even after seeing his gameplay, I didn’t really think much about his addition. However, I ended up being pleasantly surprised at how fun Peacemaker actually is. He really feels like my kind of character and is someone I could see myself using as a main if Baraka weren’t already in the game.
I’m not too familiar with the Peacemaker television series, so all of the references are most certainly going over my head. Regardless, I find myself amused with just how crude Peacemaker can be. Be prepared for a lot of f-bombs when he wins.
Overall, this is a character that I think is, much to my own surprise, worth the money. If you’re the type that likes to play with a rush down character that has a lot of fun tools that are tailored for specific situations I’d say to give Peacemaker a shot.
