When Mortal Kombat 1 developer NetherRealm revealed DLC character Ermac in the summer of 2023, it suffered a backlash from the community for what many considered to be a downgrade compared to the Mortal Kombat 11 version of the soul-obsessed red-clad ninja.

The version of Ermac seen in the Kombat Pack reveal last year showed the character without a mask, which meant fans got a view of Ermac’s new dehydrated mummy face. But that wasn’t the only issue. Ermac’s design was seen as simplistic without much of the detail that fans love from previous versions.

Now, NetherRealm has finally unveiled Ermac gameplay, and it shows a significant improvement in design. For a start, the character now wears a mask, and appears to have a more detailed outfit. Elsewhere, Ermac’s powers now glow in teal.

Here’s the official blurb on Ermac:

Ermac is a collection of souls bound together by Quan Chi’s dark magic that are intended to function as a group mind. But that spell is temporarily undone when Ermac is defeated by Mileena and the mind of King Jerrod, deceased ruler of Outworld and one of the souls in Ermac’s collection, takes control and rejoins the royal family, aiding Empress Mileena’s reign. Eventually, the amalgam of souls reestablishes control, and Ermac retreats to Outworld’s shadows. No longer Quan Chi’s slave, nor bound to the royal family, he must find a future worth fighting for. In the new video, Ermac’s devastating moveset is on full display, including his ability to teleport, levitate, and utilize a legion of souls to grab, lift, and slam opponents to the ground. The redesign is already going down well with fans, and in the gameplay video itself we see NetherRealm playfully reference the previous debate about Ermac’s look. “You’ve changed since we first met,” Reptile quips as the two characters lock horns. “We believe for the better,” Ermac replies.

The gameplay trailer itself shows off Ermac’s telekinesis soul power, which he uses to typically gory effect. We see the character’s Fatality, too, which reduces his opponent to a bag of bones. We also see Kameo character Mavado for the first time, as well as his Kameo Fatality. Mavado is a surprise addition — a somewhat obscure Mortal Kombat character who made their debut in 2002’s Deadly Alliance. In the video we see Mavado use his trademark elastic whips to great effect.

Ermac joins Mortal Kombat 1 in Early Access form on April 16, with a full release set for April 23. Mavado joins the Kameo roster later in May. You need the Premium Edition or the Kombat Pack to play early. The Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack includes the Jean-Claude Van Damme character skin for Johnny Cage (available now); one-week early access to six playable DLC characters – Omni-Man (available now), Quan Chi (available now), Peacemaker (available now), Ermac (coming April 16), Homelander, and Takeda Takahashi; and five DLC Kameo Fighters.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].