Let me start by admitting right off the bat that I have always loved the Mortal Kombat series. The first one was even available on consoles at Finnish amusement parks before I played it for the first time, and the rest is history. I’ve had Kong Lao as my favorite since Mortal Kombat II, and he’s been the same in all games. Until now, that’s it.
Mortal Kombat 1 is a reboot of the series, not actually a reboot. It continues after the events of Mortal Kombat 11, but here Liu Kang has become the God of the Gods and he has reshaped the universe to give all humans a chance to live a good life. This resulted in a major role reversal and gave NetherRealm Studios the opportunity to revamp all of the characters. While there are relatively few brand-new names in Mortal Kombat 1, all of the fighters feel fresh as they are updated versions of themselves, with people like Rain, Mileena, and Raiden so different that they could also be considered brand-new warrior.
But arguably the biggest draw and talking point of Mortal Kombat 1 is not primarily the reboot of its universe, but the so-called Kameo Fighters. Choose from 15 boxers, who are ready to jump in and change the conditions of the fight at the touch of a button, before they quickly disappear again (no new phenomenon per se, there are many fighting games like this). On paper, this has the potential to change a lot of fights, and I noticed that even I, as a Mortal Kombat veteran, needed a few games to warm up and learn that even if my main opponent was doing nothing, Attacks will come too.
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One thing that doesn’t get talked about much is how well NetherRealm Studios has simplified the game. The number of super meters has been reduced and made more intuitive, improvising combos easier, and the pace has increased. The latter, combined with very nice animations and 60 frames per second (in my case on Xbox Series X), makes dancing around an arena spreading death and violence a joy in a way that no other game can.
For all the new features, this is still Mortal Kombat we’re talking about. The buttons are right where they should be, you can block by pressing them, throwing works as always, and it’s generally easy to get comfortable.
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but. . . Regarding Gumi Warriors, I can’t quite shake the feeling that it feels a bit gimmicky. Mortal Kombat has long had a way of modifying its fighters, but here you have to choose the right turtle tail fighter to get a really sharp combo, and I automatically think there’s no real balance here. Granted, there are 15 choices, and not all of them make sense, but when I had Konrao get Frost or Kano’s exposition, I felt like it was a little too powerful compared to the helpless Stryker.
Plus, I really don’t think it adds much to the game other than being a flashy thing, which is actually worse. I prefer a more traditional approach anyway, having a bunch of supporting characters jump in and out of the game just seems tedious. However, this has never been a big issue (or an issue at all). Combat was very smooth and the feeling of control I had over my character is new to the series. I also like Mortal Kombat 11, but it’s noticeably heavier and clunkier than Liu Kang’s New Grace Universe.
The new universe is not only an excuse to redo all the fighters, but it also plays an important role in the campaign. This is an aspect I generally don’t care about much in fighting games, simply because it’s usually useless. Basically there are two exceptions, Tekken and Mortal Kombat. Yes. Over 15 chapters we follow an increasingly nonsensical story that has us playing most of the characters. It’s hard to rank the campaigns of different games since NetherRealm is so good at this, but I would definitely say this is one of the best games they’ve released. I won’t spoil the fun for you, but be prepared for a cast of classic characters with brand new characters, a few surprises, and some jaw-dropping moments. I think it’s also easier for newbies to understand what the story is about this time around, since it’s a sort of reboot of the story (although it doesn’t sound like it did in the preview).
In addition to the campaign, there is a new game mode called Invasion. It has a board game feel to it, but is basically just a way to hit, unlock, and level up. I wasn’t a huge fan of Krypton in Mortal Kombat 11 because it took so long to unlock stuff, but I think I still prefer it to Hollow Invasion which I never got into. Of course, the tower still exists and can be played online. However, for me, I’ve always played fighting games, so it felt ok to me, but I think some people will find Mortal Kombat 1 a bit empty when the campaign completes after about six hours. NetherRealm themselves seem to be aware of this and have tried to create some artificial depth by including no less than four different currencies to unlock things.
Graphically, Mortal Kombat 1 is a visual feast. It’s always nice and smooth, except for the cutscenes which only run at 30 frames per second. The staging is well done, the characters are great, the lighting effects are top-notch, and the animation work is top-notch. When I compare it to Street Fighter 6, it almost feels like a console generation for Mortal Kombat. The presentation is also very good, if a bit slow when selecting new characters etc. I also want to give a shout out to the dub, which is really great, but the music is more anonymous this time around. It was never broken, but I don’t remember anything about it either.
Before I start organizing the text and handing out my ratings, I want to mention the game’s ultra-violence. After all, that’s why Mortal Kombat is still widely known. For those of you worried that it will be watered down, I have good news. The violence here is actually more grotesque than in Mortal Kombat 11, and while the fatal blows have always been deadly, here they’re sometimes at downright ridiculous levels. In a good way. As for how they work, they’re also harder to get into and don’t take as much damage, which makes the game more exciting.
When I now sum up the package offered by NetherRealm Studios, I am overall very satisfied. Mortal Kombat is back with Resurrection, and the developers really dared to tinker with the gameplay and overall framework and present everything with great graphics. The campaign is very good and everyone should play it, but other than that there’s not much to do at the moment for those who prefer single-player. Kameo Fighters feel like something that can be skipped, but not because they’re bad, but because they simply don’t add enough. But as long as you’re playing against human opponents, whether online or locally, you’ve got top-notch entertainment to look forward to, and the reboot is a prime opportunity for new fans to get familiar with the series, while us old foxes can enjoy relearning about the universe.
