A new era of Kombat
It has been a long time coming. Mortal Kombat 1 is the longest we have had to wait between NetherRealm games since the 360/PS3 generation. Instead of the usual in-between DC fighter we instead go from one MK game right into the next one, and it is a big change. Mortal Kombat 1 resets the entire universe after the events of MK11. Everything gets a fresh start including the fighting systems, the extras, and probably most impactful, the story. This is by far the most ambitious the story mode has been to date. There is a lot to like about this entry, but there are also some areas where it falls short of the mark. Time to find out if it was actually in my blood.
Mortal Kombat 1 is not just a wacky name, it represents resetting the entire universe. Liu Kang is essentially the new Raiden, except he gets to mold the realms as he sees fit. His goal is to create peace which of course is always a recipe for disaster. Things start to go awry early on and there are plenty of twists, nostalgic Easter eggs, and plenty of gore. This is by far the most interesting story of all the games. I loved how they played on the 3D-era game lore and managed to make formerly generic characters much more interesting.
MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $69.99
The story mode runs about 6-8 hours depending on difficulty and it is A LOT of watching. Even more so than in previous games. There is usually one fight and then upwards of 10-15 minutes of cutscenes. It would be annoying if it wasn’t so dang good. The story makes obscure characters interesting, and the facial animations are absolutely top-tier. The one exception is how bad Megan Fox’s voice acting is for Nitara. It is even more noticeable as every other character is so well done. Johnny Cage is outstanding, Kenshi is perfect, and Shang Tsung is by far the best iteration of the character ever conceived. He is outstanding.
Mortal Kombat games are always packed to the brim with content, and MK1 is no exception. Sadly, it feels lighter in variety with the towers in the main menu basically just being arcade and survival. There are also local and online modes, Kombat League tournaments, and finally Invasion, more on that in a second. Much like all current games there is an abundance of currency in the game. Three that can be earned by playing and one that is paid for. The pay currency is used specifically for cosmetics and easy fatality tokens at least, still it sucks. The main coins are used to load into what they call the shrine, which is essentially a gacha machine that drops a random item for every thousand coins. Then there are season tokens that are earned by completing challenges and can be used for season cosmetics. Again, it is a lot and can be confusing at times. The final currency is strictly to buy items in Invasion mode.
Invasion Mode is where the bulk of content outside of story mode lies. This is like a combination of board game, Krypt, and towers from the previous game all rolled into one. This mode is done seasonally and should be updating every six weeks or so. It features a board game style map where players move from spot to spot doing fights, towers, and even Test Your Might returns. These fights all have modifiers that should feel familiar to veterans of the series. There are also secret fights, items to unlock, and even items that can be used to negate elemental damage, much like items in MK11.
It feels cumbersome as the board is chaotic at times. I wish I could move around the map to see the paths. The camera angles are awkward more often than not, and most of the fights are just not that interesting. I would have preferred the mode be broken down into separate modes instead of shoehorning it all into one mode. It feels sloppy at times and I found myself not enjoying the grind. Speaking of grinds everything in this game has a level up system and is kind of a drag.
There is the normal player level, Invasion Mode has its own level complete with attribute points, and finally the character levels. These are a good idea gone wrong. Each character in the game has their own level as do the Kameos. These max out at 35 and is how you unlock the second fatality, brutalities, players cards, and skin shaders. It is a neat idea, but grinding each of the characters takes way too long. I have mainly focused on one character, have about 10 hours into one specific grind and are still under level ten. Now multiply that by 24 characters and it will take forever to get the good stuff. You can perform the second fatality without unlocking it, but the Brutalities can’t be done unless they are unlocked, and that sucks.
What about the fighting itself? This is my favorite MK of this era, by a long shot. NetherRealm has really found a groove with the system here. I have finally come around on the block button though, I do feel it needs to be retired. Injustice proved this team can make it work, it is time. Even with that this system feels fantastic. Combos are more fluid, air juggles are a blast, and characters I expected to hate are downright a blast to play. The inclusion of the Kameo system is really cool. They can be used to stun, break combos, and even continue chains, which is awesome. The new meter system essentially adds armor to your special moves as well as allowing for combo breakers. It is simple, fun, and very responsive. It truly feels better than the previous entries since MK9.
It goes without saying that NetherRealm makes some of the best-looking fighters out there. The detail on the characters is simply outstanding. The animations have been improved across the board and the game runs at a blistering pace during fights. The stages are more memorable this time around with some familiar locales and plenty of variations. This game looks amazing on these next-gen consoles. The music is equally excellent. While it moves away from some of the more chaotic tunes, it feels more epic and impactful. There are of course some vocal tracks for end credits, but the intro and stage tracks are simply incredible. The game delivers in the presentation department.
Mortal Kombat 1 is a great game that feels like a step back in the extras. They are all here but shoved into one mode that I found more cumbersome than enjoyable. The grind to max character levels needs to be tweaked, but with the promise of support for years to come these are things that can be ironed out. The fighting itself is outstanding and the story mode is the best it has ever been. It is easy to recommend this game, it doesn’t quite hit the mark of best MK game of all-time, but it delivers where it counts the most. I look forward to seeing how the game evolves over time. A new MK game is always an event and this entry is no exception.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
