Mortal Kombat X Old Lady Blanche Now Fights Back

Blanche, the little old lady that wanders around in the background of the Outworld marketplace stage, has just received an upgrade. Instead of being used like a sack of potatoes, Blanche has gained some agency by having some new Brutality alternatives added to her limited but notable repertoire.

Eurogamer did a brief write-up about the new update and tossed in a video so you can see exactly what NetherRealm added to the game, courtesy of YouTuber Maximilian Dood.

The new stage Brutality comes courtesy in the most recent patch update for Mortal Kombat X. The video above describes how you achieve the Brutality, which comes in two different forms. If you need a little help achieving the Brutality, Maximilian explains...

So just to recap, you have to use two of the stage's interactive elements throughout the match and then when your opponent's life is low enough, you can interact with Blanche in the background. If you just use the basic interaction button the pugilist will throw Blanche at the opponent and she'll smash into them, exploding in a party bag of gib with blood and guts going everywhere. If you hold 'Down' on the analog or digital pad while interacting with Blanche, instead of just smashing into the foe and creating a blood explosion, she'll instead tackle them down and begin performing MMA-style ground-and-pound punches on the foe until their head is smashed into teeny bits of brain matter and head gore. The real treat is the pageantry after Blanche finishes up her foe... she gets up, walks away and then brushes some of the blood splatter and gib off her shoulders. Classic.

While Mortal Kombat X has definitely come under fire for its grotesque depictions of mortal violence and extreme, graphic gratuity, there are still times when the game can just as likely make you turn your head away in disgust as it'll make you chuckle with a bit of guilty pleasure and naughty glee. Seeing Blanche, a once thought to be helpless little old lady, pummel and beat kombatants down into a pulp is both hilarious and disturbing all at the same time.

NetherRealm Studios really pushed the boundary in some areas of Mortal Kombat X, but unlike the original release of Mortal Kombat back in the early 1990s, there's no Congressional hearing about the game and no new rating implementations being set into place to bar kids from getting their hands on the game (even though, really, anyone under the age of 17 shouldn't be playing Mortal Kombat X anyway).

I'm curious if we'll see the usage of Blanche in FGC tournaments or if she'll only be whipped out during non-tournament bouts between players? It would be a real treat to see someone during this year's EVO whip out a Blanche Brutality on the live-stream. It would definitely fit in nicely as part of Mortal Kombat X's highlight reel.