Series co-creator Ed Boon is no stranger to teasing fans desperate for new Mortal Kombat X information on Twitter, and yesterday he once again took to social media to begin a 22-hour countdown. Previously we've seen character trailers for series stalwarts like Kano and Raiden, and today was the turn of Quan Chi.

Introduced in animated TV spinoff Defenders of the Realm and playable for the first time in Mortal Kombat 4, early appearances of Quan Chi came at a middling time for the series, and left some fans cold. However, 2011's excellent Mortal Kombat did a great deal to flesh out the character — and it looks like his next appearance will be even better.

'Warlock,' 'Summoner' and 'Sorcerer' variations will be available to players choosing Quan Chi, and all three look to offer something unique. Particularly notable is the array of portal-based moves available to 'Warlock' Quan Chi, which look like they could lead to some outrageous combos during high level play.

Like the other character trailers, the end of the video gives us a peek at Quan Chi's fatality —and it is brutal. Similarly graphic is his portal-based x-ray attack shown earlier in the clip. Mortal Kombat has never been a series for the faint of heart, but its latest incarnation looks like it's going to stretch the limits even further than it has done in the past.

The focus of this trailer is Quan Chi himself, but it's also a chance for us to get another look at one of the game's locales. Undulating waves crash over a grim dock, with bloated corpses occasionally washing up around the fighters. It's a perfect fit for the series' aesthetic, and yet more evidence that developers NetherRealm Studios are set to once again produce an instalment that stands up to the best that this series has to offer.

We've been eagerly anticipating Mortal Kombat X for quite some time now, and with every extra shred of gore-filled gameplay it looks like a more appealing prospect. The last Mortal Kombat game was a huge return to form for the series, and it certainly looks like the follow-up takes is doing all the right things to maintain that momentum.

Mortal Kombat X is set for release on April 15 on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PC.