Yeah, the Shao Kahn thing is more comparable to Tira in SC6, who had story content in the base game, but was locked out of it behind the fighter pass. At least Goro and Darkseid in the last NRS games I could kinda stomach to a point since they were just bonus characters who had no part in the story or anything, but now... Eh, I suppose it's a distinction without a difference, but phuck the preorder character BS in general. I'm fine with getting MK11 without preordering. Don't feel I'll suffer without Shao Kahn who I wasn't that particularly hyped for anyway.
Yeah, Cassie looks better here than she did in MKX, though not much a fan of her.