Fighting games are no stranger to reinventions—they do it with every iteration. However, something as grand as an entire narrative reboot is a slightly bigger undertaking. Crafting a timeline is hard work. There’s lore to rewrite, worlds to build, and fanservice to find space for. Fortunately, these responsibilities also present an opportunity for imaginations to run wild. Just what would you do with power over time itself? Thanks to one iconic Shaolin, we now have quite the answer.
Marking our fourth venture into NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat universe (or, technically, first?), Mortal Kombat 1 is the latest entry in the storied fighting game franchise. It’s bloody, it’s bombastic, it is absolutely brutal in all the right places. And yet, it’s an incredibly safe title, making some significant changes while largely sticking to the rebooted series’ basics, even with a second reboot. This lack of major experimentation isn’t a fatal blow, but it does hold Mortal Kombat 1 back a little.
That isn’t to overly criticise the gameplay. The basics may still be the majority of the experience, but they’re rock solid after this many iterations. Characters have such cool movesets it’s hard to pick a main, hits have satisfying impact, and special moves are as fun as ever to pull off. Perhaps most importantly, combos have been greatly extended compared to 2019’s Mortal Kombat 11. A great addition over the last jaunt are proper air combos, making their return from the PlayStation 2 3D fighter era of the series. Meterless launchers make air kombat immediately accessible, and the possibilities with special cancels, downward bounces, and the new Kameo system are near limitless.
That last one is the top billed feature for Mortal Kombat 1. Revamped lore and returning cast members are great, but the Kameos are a big part of what set this latest round of the bloodsport apart. Acting as assists, Kameos are a select roster of characters who can enter the fray for a single move at a time. A single button press brings your selected partner in, and they can be used to either extend or finish a combo. Kameos can also be used defensively, either for classic Kombo Breakers or with special assists like Sub-Zero’s ice armour for your active fighter. They add an extra layer of split-second decision making to kombat, which generally makes each fight that much more engaging.
Kameos are not without their kaveats, however. Timing’s already tight enough on combos, even with practice. Bringing another set of moves to time just right for maximum efficacy can feel overwhelming at times. You can just ignore kameos or focus on your basics, but you’ll be at a disadvantage against others if you do. What’s more, despite experimentation always being a key feature of fighting games—especially here with different main fighter/Kameo combos—these new additions aren’t too well balanced. Certain picks like Sareena and Cyrax far outweigh others like Stryker and Kano, and it shows in who you’ll mostly find online. This is obviously subject to future balance patches, but as it stands, there’s a bit too clearly defined meta presented.
Speaking of presentation, it’s as excellent as ever for a NetherRealm game. Characters look great, fatal blows and Fatalities are engaging spectacles, and the stages look downright gorgeous. The graphical fidelity across the board is generally brilliant (questionable Switch port aside). Nowhere is all of this on greater display than the story mode.
We generally know what to expect with NetherRealm stories, especially in Mortal Kombat. Sweeping cinematics, a dramatic central tale with intriguing subplots, and a steady back-and-forth cadence of fights and cutscenes. With Mortal Kombat 1, the studio flexes its years of experience. The production value is better than ever, with a grand, bombastic story filled with fan service and great set pieces. There’s a new timeline with interesting remixes of established lore. Every character is wonderfully expressive as their shining worlds slowly fall apart. Liu Kang’s new role as Keeper of Time suits him well, with Matthew Yang King bringing a confident maturity to the Shaolin poster boy that is great to listen to. There’s growth to be found just in how Liu Kang speaks. The same can be said of many fan favourite characters, with engaging performances across the board.
One major but understandable complaint I’ve always had with Mortal Kombat stories is how even a slightly deeper fleshing out of personalities is often left to background lore and fandom interpretation. Of course, with such a large ensemble cast and world-ending scenarios in every game, it’s hard to make room for smaller moments. Yet, Mortal Kombat 1 makes plenty of time for them. Reptile and Baraka have been upgraded from throwaway henchmen to genuinely interesting good guys, Johnny Cage and Kenshi have a great bromance, and the angsty Bi-Han usually confined to memories is fully realised through Kaiji Von Tang’s brilliant rendition of the elder Sub-Zero.
Even with these narrative upgrades, though, there’s still a significant downgrade with expression through player customisation. Mortal Kombat 11 had a ridiculous wealth of gear, colour palettes, intros, taunts, victory poses, and more. In comparison, Mortal Kombat 1 feels quite pared down with that part of its presentation. Not reaching those same numbers is fine, but most of these elements have been stripped down, with intros and victory poses removed entirely. Simpler is better to avoid grind, but it’s sad to see the wild costume and personality potential of the last game so small here.
That said, unlocking these new cosmetics is still fun. Instead of the usual Krypt, a more exploratory game mode to nab extras, Mortal Kombat 1 offers Invasions. Invasions are tabletop-style board games to explore, expand, and fight across. It’s a fun new spin on the standard secondary mode for Mortal Kombat, with clever use of its tabletop format. It’s also weirdly balanced with its flow. Single-round fights keep things moving, but slow movement along the board’s paths can make backtracking and exploration a bit of a slog.
Joining Invasions are the standard practice mode, klassic towers, and combo trials. Practice and combo trials are fairly robust, with good bot settings in the former and interesting Kameo mixes in the latter. Classic towers are fine, and have the usual variety of small, large, endless, and survivor. Disappointingly, however, classic towers lack the narrative punch they usually have.
Based on whatever the main story’s conflict was, classic towers have always been a great opportunity for NetherRealm to play around with fun “what if?” scenarios. In Mortal Kombat (2011), players fought to eliminate Shao Kahn and claim his power for their own. Mortal Kombat X offered the Jinsei, Earthrealm’s very life force, and Mortal Kombat 11 rewarded each character’s tower run with control over time itself. There were wild stories and implications every time. In comparison, a lot of Mortal Kombat 1’s tower endings just boil down to “and here’s what I did after the main story” for each character. It’s fun to have epilogues and closure, but this lacks the charm and pizazz I’ve come to expect from the series’ towers.
When the fight draws to a close, though, I am only left satisfied. The path to mastery that fighting games offer is always a joy, and Mortal Kombat 1 is no exception. Fun characters, unique Kameo combinations, and stellar presentation keep me coming back for one more round. Mortal Kombat 1 is more Mortal Kombat, but after this much time away, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
Sarim reviewed Mortal Kombat 1 on PlayStation 5 with his own purchased copy. Mortal Kombat 1 is available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
