Rebooting the Kurrent timeline.
In 2011, Mortal Kombat reset its lore following the events of Mortal Kombat Armageddon. What was interesting about that koncept was that it wasn’t a komplete from-the-ground-up reboot. It brought the previous history into it to shape its new beginning. And now, with Mortal Kombat 1, that same approach has been brought here, albeit under the guidance of Lord Liu Kang. As Mortal Kombat 1 takes place following the events of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, its post-launch DLC, this new take on Mortal Kombat is thrilling, bone-crunching, and unfortunately a tad shallow.
As Keeper of Time, Liu Kang began to reshape the realms as he saw fit. He took power away from the korrupt and set many of his past friends on the paths of peace and tranquility. Raiden, the former Thunder God is now a simple farmer working alongside Kung Lao as they ponder what their story will be. And, as they are recruited by Lio Kang to serve as protectors of Earthrealm, they find what they need to live out that story.
However, the kracks begin to appear as a mysterious force begins to undo some of Lord Liu Kang’s choices, working their devious plan into something that kould threaten this reborn realm. The story presentation that Mortal Kombat is known for is here in spades with unpredictable moments, some stellar reveals, and some of the best visuals we’ve seen in the series. While it’s not the leap Mortal Kombat 11 was from Mortal Kombat X, it’s still one of the best-looking fighting games ever produced.
While I extremely enjoyed the story mode, including how certain moments in this timeline have kome to be, there are a few choices and kharacters that didn’t really work for me. The whole plot regarding Ermac feels designed around his role later in the story rather than the focused on him from his interesting origins. I would have loved to have seen more surrounding Sub-Zero as his use here didn’t feel as fleshed out as I would have hoped given where his arc goes. And while the final battle was very enjoyable, its konclusion is vastly outmatched in the Tower mode, showcasing a significantly better victory moment than the quick end we see once the final punch has been thrown.
While the kampaign puts you through the paces of plenty of the kast, there are some kharacters that barely feature in it at all, largely due to the story only being playable from the side of good or those who are at least on Liu Kang’s side. This means kharacters like Reiko, Rain, and Tanya are present in the story but not playable during it. Mortal Kombat 1 also removed the choice-based moments from Mortal Kombat 11 where you were given options that would present you with a choice between two fighters that would alter minor aspects of the story going forward.
What is odd about Mortal Kombat 1’s kast is that there isn’t a single new fighter. Sure, they feel new due to everyone getting a komplete revamp, as well as a kharacter like Reiko only being part of two previous entries, but everyone else on the kast is a returning kharacter. And since DLC is likely only meant to be heavy hitters or returning favorites, it feels like it would have been the perfect chance to grow the kurrent roster with some new additions, especially given how this is meant to be yet another fresh start, even if it carries some of the baggage left from Aftermath.
Despite the lack of new kharacters, many do get a few changes that really work out for them. Baraka, for example, is treated as more of a kharacter than he has ever been. His people have suffered due to the disease that runs rampant outside of the Kingdom. So, having him as a potential ally during the story felt like a worthy way to have him featured. Reptile is another that has had a history of either being a legit reptile or human, with several fans of the series liking one or the other. Here, Reptile has both options given to him with his fights allowing him to transform for certain attacks as well as performing his acid spit and kloaking abilities.
Apart from the story, which is about the length of the previous entry, running around 5-6 hours depending on your skill, you’ll have only as few additional modes to keep yourself occupied, which is honestly the only major shortcoming present here. Towers return as a way to push through the individual stories for each kharacter, including one hell of a revelation revealed during Smoke’s ending. As mentioned, the way in which you defeat the final two characters is far more exciting and intense than how they are defeated in the main story, featuring a kutscene I was incredibly impressed by. The endings are your typical motion komic format, which is a shame considering how great the game’s real-time visuals are for each kharacter. Aside from Towers, you’ll also have your standard local versus with local and tournament features.
Invasions is a mode that replaces the Krypt. Previously, you explored a series of areas and used kurrency to open various chests that kontained artwork or other kollectibles. Here, you’ll explore a series of environments from the story that have you moving around them like a board game. Most fights are very quick with some offering tweaks to gameplay or particular challenges to unlock other areas on the map. You’ll also earn Talismans and Relics to enhance your abilities. This mode kan feel a tad grindy, with one tower that was absolute bullshit, but I did find this to be more enjoyable than what the Krypt has been previously. You’ll also earn a variety of kurrencies as well that kan be used in the shrine to unlock items and artwork or use the seasonal kurrency to buy new outfits for each of the kast.
You also earn items that kan affect gameplay, such as making your next uppercut perform greatly improved damage. These items are fine enough but your storage for them is a measly five slots meaning you’ll likely use them regardless of their purpose to simply make room so that you don’t keep getting the prompt that you are full up. Each location also has shops for buying more items, improving your talismans, and more, giving you some variety and depth to make your kharacter stronger.
Both invasions and the other non-story modes do allow you to level yourself up as well as your kombatants and Kameo fighters, unlocking new items for them as well as additional fatalities, brutalities, and more. Each kharacter has their own “battle pass” of sorts that shows you what you unlock as you level them up. Thankfully, this isn’t a paid system or anything else, with microtransactions being reserved solely for the shop.
Kameo fighters are the newest addition and serve as this game’s gimmick. Previous games had fighting stances and various ways to use your meters, but Mortal Kombat 1 relies on assist fighters kalled Kameos. Kameos are their own batch of kharacters with very little overlap with the main roster. These pull fighters from previous timelines such as Mortal Kombat 1’s Sonya as well as a costume to have her dressed in her Mortal Kombat 3 outfit. Other Kameos include Kano, Cyrax, Darrius, Frost, Goro, Jax, Kung Lao, Motaro, Sareena, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Sector, Shujinko, and Striker.
While some of these kharacters haven’t had major ramifications across the series, such as Sareena, who made her debut in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, a game many konsider to be among the worst entries across the franchise. Still, having the likes of her, Darrius, Shujinkko, and Motaro goes a long way to recognizing some lesser-known fighters across the series’ rich history.
Once you have selected your Kameo, they will grant you additional attacks as you summon them into battle. They work off a kool down, so there is no ability to just spam them. Kameo moves are linked to the RB/R1/R button with changes based on the direction you hold when pressing the button. You kan also perform Kameo throws and each Kameo has their own series of fatalities as well, making them really feel like a true partner and not just a random assist kharacter.
Kameo moves vary from attacks that kan dig into an opponent's health bar to moves that provide you ice armor or even pull you out of danger. Kameo moves kan help start kombo attacks or even help you kontinue them, making each choice of Kameo to be a strategic one. One thing that I wasn’t aware of but had learned recently is that summoning a Kameo fighter on the same button press as your attack, within that same frame, kan result in your attack not happening. While this wasn’t something that I personally noticed, it is something to watch out for.
When you take the fight online, you’ll have some pretty basic modes that seem to be less than what we have had before. Ranked, Kasual, and Private rooms are available to you with a King of the Hill feature that sees the winner staying on until they are defeated. Private matches have less options than what we have had before as they only feature versus and King of the Hill, the latter feeling far less fully-featured than what we have had before, especially from Mortal Kombat X.
Rollback netcode is present and yet for the few matches I had online, I did find some lag and fought some players who had a pretty inconsistent konnection. Unfortunately, for ranked matches, you kannot quit should they have a bad konnection, locking you into the best of three matches. I also find it a bit odd that there isn’t a spectator mode in private rooms, which feels like a glaring oversight as you merely just see percentage gauges for their health. It feels ancient when kompared to other games.
Kombat itself is certainly well put together. While I do feel that MK11 felt quicker and a bit more fun to play. MK1 is no slouch and still has a nice refinement to it that feels very Mortal Kombat. Kombo attacks, both on the ground and in the air really sell off some of the extreme brutality and flexibility the series is known for. The special bar kan be used to enhance skills and make them more powerful and even change how certain moves work and how they leave your opponent open for a kombo-string. If Mortal Kombat’s fighting system didn’t interest you with MK11, then MK1 isn’t going to change your mind. It is different than what kame before but still has a very unique feel that is worlds apart from the likes of Street Fighter VI, which is a stunning joy to play.
Fatalities and Brutalities all return in their blood-filled glory, providing some of the most unique and twisted finishers across the series. They all perform exactly how you remember with easy fatalities tokens that kan be purchased if you see fit. However, given how easy they are to pull off, it feels like such a waste to spend real money to have this shortcut. I also really love the fact that Kameo fighters have their own fatalities, granting you numerous ways to finish a match.
From a presentation point of view, Mortal Kombat 1 is a brighter and more cheerful experience due to Liu Kang’s influence on the realms. While that kolor palette and tone do adjust with the story, MK 1 is a much kleaner and lean system of menus and presentation that I appreciate. The work that has gone into the various backgrounds to do Kombat is second to none. Most battlegrounds have night and day variants, making them pull double duty with some gorgeous changes to reflect that time of day. Kombatants also look incredible, but it is worth pointing out that MK11 is still a striking experience as well with some kharacters that, at least to myself, did have better designs back then than what they sport now, such as Kitana, who I prefer her previous look in MK11.
Given that Mortal Kombat 1 is only a slight visual upgrade from Mortal Kombat 11, I am shocked that there are no PS4 or Xbox One versions, especially as Mortal Kombat 1 is also on the Switch. While that version is one of the worst ports I have ever seen a game, given how bad it runs and looks, the fact that the widely available PS4 and Xbox One audience doesn’t have access to this game is a bold and stupid move from Warner Bros, given how well Mortal Kombat 11 sold.
When it komes to voice work, there are issues for sure, but mostly around a single kombatant. Otherwise, I’m not too krazy about Andrew Bowen’s Johnny Cage as it felt a tad too klose to someone like Will Arnett, komplete with that same humor being displayed through a gritty voice that didn’t fit the kharacter for me. However, Megan Fox as Nitara is where I just kouldn’t get invested in. While Nitara is a joy to play, Fox’s monotone and lifeless performance feels out of place against the kast. Thankfully, her grunts and fighting sounds seem to be performed by someone else. Given Ronda Rousey’s performance as Sonya Blade in MK11, I wish they would be a bit better at pulling actors who have talent as a voice actor instead of trying to grab headlines with their kast of actors.
MK1 is kertainly a well-put-together fighter in most of the ways that matter. Its story is certainly a high point for the series with a fighting system and kollection of kharacters that work well here. Kustomization does feel a bit basic with its limited skins and colors, at least kurrently, but it is the lack of modes outside of kampaign, Invasion, and Online that make this experience one that feels a tad hollow, especially as there is no Test your Might menu to sample many of the challenges you find as you explore the Invasion mode. Mortal Kombat 1 is certainly one of its best entries, with a change to its kurrent lore and kropping of kombatants, but one that does feel surprisingly limiting for a series known for delivering a komplete total package.
Due to blurry screenshots taken on the Series X, kombat images have been pulled from various sources.
Developer - NetherRealm Studios, Shiver Entertainment, QLOC, Saber Interactive. Publisher - Warner Bros. Games. Released - September 14th, 2023 (Premium), September 19th, (Standard). Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Windows. Rated - (M) Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X. Review Access - Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition was purchased for review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.