Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek: "He seemed to be there [in MK3] because throwing a Native American into your fighting game series was the in-thing to do back in the '90s." In a 2008 feature on Native American stereotyping in video games, GamesRadar exemplified Nightwolf for the "Warrior" trope. "[W]hile this pro-Indian sentiment is certainly heartwarming, much of Nightwolf’s character is wide of the mark." The site added that the act of "sin-eating" (his role in Deception) was actually European in origin, and criticized his Animality in MK3 as being "for gratuitous shock value." Topless Robot said, "Nightwolf’s design and backstory are standard-issue for Native American characters in fighting games ... [but] his look is actually less stereotypical than, say, Chief Thunder’s from Killer Instinct." Other reception The character's presence in the 2011 reboot was better received. UGO ranked him 20th in their 2012 list of the top fifty series characters. "Nightwolf uses the magic of the shaman to ward off evil-doers and to bring peace to the realms...by kicking everyone's ass." Fans voted him the series' 28th-best character in a 2013 online poll hosted by Dorkly. Den of Geek placed Nightwolf 51st in their 2015 ranking of the MK franchise's 73 playable characters, calling him "the most ho-hum member of the Mortal Kombat 3 cast," yet lauding him for killing Sindel in the MK2011 story mode "when she went all John Cena" on the Earthrealm defenders. Complex ranked him among the MK series' most underrated characters, stating that "the fact that he can transform into a wolf and maul you to death should tell you he's nothing to play with." In 2012, Game Informer unfavorably compared the "uninspiring" then-new Soulcalibur V character Z.W.E.I. to Nightwolf in that, he "summons a spirit wolf, and his move set is more annoying than practical." His "Ascension" Fatality from MK2011 was ranked ninth in Paste's selection of the reboot's top nine Fatalities. Nightwolf's DLC appearance in Mortal Kombat 11 has been reviewed by Mitchell Saltzman of IGN, who praised his "versatile playstyle" and his outro animation, opining "Netherrealm did a great job of making Nightwolf’s moveset feel unique and fun, despite the fact that many of his signature moves are actually kind of plain." Saltzman also felt his gear and skins were "respectfully done and avoid the pitfall of stereotypes." He was also reviewed by Patricio Kobek at TheGamer, who described him