The world’s goriest fighting game is rebooted in Mortal Kombat 1 – with classic characters getting a complete rewrite, but gameplay undergoing fewer changes.
Most fighting game franchises don’t need a reboot. Although they all have stories only the most hardcore of fans pay any real attention to them. Mortal Kombat is different though, as unlike its rivals it has, at least in the modern era, always put a lot of effort into its story campaigns and while they’re pure shlock, and you’d still have to be a major fan to remember everyone’s fate by the end of them, it is all consistent and at the end of Mortal Kombat 11 the entire universe was remade. And so Mortal Kombat 1 is a reboot.
This isn’t the first time the series has been rebooted, it happened before with 2011’s Mortal Kombat. So we’re sure in 2035, or thereabouts, there’ll be Mortal Kombat Zero, then maybe Mortal Kombat Rebirth in 2047. We doubt the gameplay will have changed much, as is the case this time, but if that’s what it takes to keep the series feeling fresh, and to stop it being consumed by its own continuity, then so be it.
The conceit this time round is that after his ascent to godhood, Liu Kang has created a new universe in which all the old characters exist, but where most have very different roles (why he didn’t just get rid of the bad eggs we don’t know but that’s inscrutability for you). As such, Raiden is just a normal human, Shang Tsung is a conman, and Scorpion and Sub-Zero are loyal brothers. Whether such changes mean anything to you isn’t the point, as the game designers are clearly enjoying mixing everything up and that enthusiasm is evident in every other part of the game.
The base game features a roster of 22 characters (plus Shang Tsung if you pre-ordered, otherwise you have to pay for him) with an odd mix between the most famous characters from the first three games and much more obscure fighters from the 3D era of the early 2000s. Most of these haven’t been playable characters for well over a decade and so while they’re not technically new the likes of Havik, Ashrah, Li Mei, Nitara, and Reiko still manage to feel like it, whether you’ve heard of them before or not.
We don’t want to ruin all the twists and turns of the story mode, since finding out the new status quo for each character is one of the key appeals, but we do want to praise the excellent presentation, with some top notch facial animation and cinematography. The campaign gets the balance just right between non-interactive story segments, that segue into fights, and a pitch perfect tone that’s somewhere between Evil Dead 2 and a Saturday morning cartoon.
In terms of story campaign, Mortal Kombat 1 is arguably the best there’s ever been in a fighting game, although the rest of the single-player content is a step down from the last few titles. This is primarily due to developer NetherRealm trying to do something new each time, which is admirable, but the new Invasion mode feels more like a grab bag of pre-existing idea rearranged in a different order, and it’s not as cohesive or fun as the Krypt or Konquest modes from previous games.
It’s also clearly verging into live service territory, complete with microtransactions for cosmetic items and seasonal content, which is distasteful. Nothing is play to win though, and it can still be a lot of fun as you pick a character and kameo combo to move around a map with, and take part in one-off fights and mini-games. It is all very grindy though and takes forever to unlock anything for even a single character, which quickly begins to make it all seem too much like hard work.
The game’s status as a reboot really is only in terms of the story and character line-up; in terms of the actual fighting relatively little has changed. The big new gimmick is the addition of kameo fighters, an idea shameless borrowed from Capcom, where you can pick an additional character to pop on screen for a moment and help take a hit for you or extend your combo.
Bring them in at the right moment and they can turn the tide of battle or twist the knife in deeper. Pick the right team-up and you can also help compensate for weaknesses in your main character if, for example, they lack distance attacks or are not good in the air. Kameos aren’t just there to add a new element of gameplay but also to provide even more fan service, with all the fighters being additional returning characters that aren’t otherwise playable.
At first it seems as if kameos are going to the only real difference in terms of combat, but the pace of the fighting is notably faster than the last couple of games, which is clearly a purposeful thing as pop-up attacks, where you can launch an enemy into the air by first hitting them to the ground, are also back. There’s also a new combo system for in the air and the game is back to using just one meter for special moves.
Surprisingly though, and unlike Street Fighter 6, there’s no simplified control system and while there’s some good tutorials the story campaign, which is surely where most players will start, does little to teach you how to fight. It doesn’t even explain the unique moves of each new character you take control of, which is odd.
What hasn’t changed about the fighting is Mortal Kombat’s traditionally arthritic animation. The beautifully modelled characters, who seem so alive and fluid in cut scenes, suddenly start moving around like 16-bit sprites as soon as a fight breaks out. We’ve been hoping for years that NetherRealm would break that connection to the original arcade games but alas, not this reboot.
As a result, it all looks ever more unnatural and weird the better the graphics get, although it’s probably not just that way for the sake of tradition but also to make sure the animation matches up with the equally stiff controls – which is one of the main reasons the series has never been popular in professional fighting game circles.
There’s a similar issue with the violence, which was all very funny when graphics weren’t able to show anything in any real detail but now that they’re so realistic there’s a very thin line between over-the-top gore played for laughs and some genuinely disturbing sequences. However, the balance is better in Mortal Kombat 1 than some of the previous games, with the more Itchy & Scratchy style fatalities – such as Nitara using your opponent’s entrails to bungie jump their skeleton out of their body – being genuinely funny.
The online modes are a little bare bones at the moment – just unranked, ranked, and King of the Hill – but more are promised, for free, in the near future and so far lag doesn’t seem to be an issue. Given the seasonal approach to Invasion, hopefully the multiplayer will continue to get attention for many months to come.
Mortal Kombat 1 is a slightly odd sequel (reboot, whatever) in that some parts are the best it’s ever been and others are inarguably inferior to the last few entries. That means it misses the opportunity to become the definitive modern day Mortal Kombat, but since it’s the more important elements that excel it’s still a very worthwhile entry. We just hope it doesn’t take until the next reboot before it manages to get everything running at full strength in one game.
Mortal Kombat 1 review summary
In Short: The story campaign and, arguably, the fighting are the best they’ve ever been for Mortal Kombat, although there’s currently a lack of other modes and Invasion is a disappointment.
Pros: Great combat system that works well with the new kameo gimmick. Excellent story campaign that sets a new standard for fighting games. Fun multiplayer and great graphics.
Cons: Invasion mode is overwhelming and not much fun. Too few online modes at launch. Beyond the kameos the gameplay has seen few changes for something that’s supposed to be a reboot.
Score: 8/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Price: £64.99
Publisher: Warner Bros. Games
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Release Date: 19th September 2023*
Age Rating: 18
*14th September for Kollector and Premium Editions
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