When Liu Kang changed the timeline to what we know it to be in Mortal Kombat 1, he created a whole new universe of possibilities. In this New Era, some characters have been reimagined. Sektor first appeared in Mortal Kombat 3 as a cybernetic ninja, famous for punishing enemies with missile barrages and flamethrower attacks. In Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns which launches September 24 on PS5, Sektor emerges as a reinvented character with an arsenal of new abilities. Including a devastating new Brutality, which we’ll be sharing for the first time here.
Design-wise, we wanted to explore the idea that in this new timeline Sektor fights in a cyber suit as opposed to being completely robotic, a precursor to the origins of the Lin Kuei’s cybernetic initiative before they reached the level of fully converting humans into cyborgs. For Mortal Kombat 1, the goal was to convey strength and overwhelming firepower through her use of heavy weapons. Sektor’s power comes primarily through an exosuit that deploys her assortment of weapons but also enhances her hand-to-hand fighting ability using thrusters on her palms and feet. Despite Sektor’s new appearance, it remained imperative to design abilities that retain the DNA from the klassic version of the character, while simultaneously complementing her toolkit with new powers that highlight the technology of her new exosuit.
To highlight these new attacks, we continually looked for opportunities to design Brutality moments that pair well with key special moves. Brutalities are prominent moments during gameplay where an opponent gets destroyed in a compelling, over-the-top way. The recipe for a good Brutality often lies in a combination of imagination while creating a visceral reaction with comedic elements. For us, Sektor’s Tug of War Brutality ticks each of those boxes. The attack is based on a move she had in Mortal Kombat 3 where a mechanical arm comes out and throws her opponent. In Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns, we wanted to pay homage to this by having the mechanic arm tear off the victim’s head and hold it up like a trophy. This then presented a unique opportunity in terms of how the opponent’s head could be best demolished in the most audacious way possible. After mulling it over, our design group decided on having her grind the head up as if it was jammed into a garbage disposal, with the liquefied remains ejecting outward from the flaps in her suit, which we think will elicit a reaction from players.
Gameplay-wise, Sektor is an accessible space control character with good mid to long-range zoning potential. Additionally, she has excellent air mobility options primarily due to her use of air thrusters capable of propelling her in any direction, acting similarly to a double jump. One of Sektor’s new attacks is SkyDrop, where she blasts into the air using her thrusters and slams down over the opponent. For the enhanced version, Sektor crushes the opponent with an uppercut before slamming down and blasting them into the air for a juggle opportunity leading to potentially big combo damage. Moreover, Sektor’s new Blast Shield is a unique special move where she deploys a large shield while at the same time clamping her feet to the ground. While the shield is deployed, incoming projectiles can no longer push Sektor back, and successfully blocking projectile attacks charges up secondary weapons and gives her certain cancel options into special moves.
Sektor has always been an enormous fan-favorite in the Mortal Kombat Universe, and now in Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns, her arsenal of devastating weaponry and abilities give her a target-rich environment among the cast of kombatants in the game. We’re excited for players to finally get their hands on Sektor and experience all the fun and interesting things she is capable of.
Sektor will be available as a playable character when the Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Expansion releases digitally on PS5 on September 24.