MKX Frame Lab gives Mortal Kombat X players a much closer look at what's happening during a fight

Ever get absolutely demolished in Mortal Kombat X and find yourself wondering how the hell your opponent managed to hit you when you were positive your attack should've landed first?

Well, sometimes the answer is buried in a few miserable little frames of animation.

Pluralmite's MKX Frame Lab gives players a much closer look at the mechanics behind the fighting, displaying attack startup, active frames, recovery, cancel windows, and other timing information directly in practice mode. It also visualizes hitboxes and hurtboxes, so you can actually see where attacks connect and where your character is vulnerable. There are tools for freezing and advancing the action one frame at a time, studying projectile behavior, and identifying gaps in attack strings.

For anyone serious about improving their fighting-game skills, that kind of information can be incredibly useful. Instead of repeatedly guessing why a move isn't working, you can study exactly what's happening and start figuring out how to punish an opponent's mistakes.

The creator built the tool specifically for the Steam PC version of Mortal Kombat X, and its features are restricted to practice mode. They're disabled during online matches, story, towers, and other modes, so this isn't some sneaky way to gain an advantage over unsuspecting players.

It's a training tool, plain and simple. Although we should probably warn you that discovering precisely why you're losing doesn't necessarily make losing any less irritating.