Mortal Kombatmade a name for itself with its grisly fatalities and buckets of blood, but that was never the reason it was my favourite. I’d be lying if I said that the gore didn’t play some part in getting nine-year-old George hooked, but it’s the characters like Johnny Cage, Kitana, Kenshi, and the rest who have stuck with me all these years later.
That love has madeMortal Kombat 1’s lofty goal of starting a brand new timeline and changing characters I’ve been following for the past two decades an exciting, yet scary, prospect. Would Liu Kang’s new era still have the heart and soul that I’ve come to expect from Mortal Kombat, or wouldKuai Liang’s Scorpion be a deal-breaker?
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Thankfully, Mortal Kombat 1’s soft reset was a smart choice, as the campaign is one of the series’ best, mostly thanks to its fantastic characters. Many are similar to their past selves like Johnny Cage and Kenshi, but they’re more humanised and given more depth and personality than they ever had in the past.
Special mention has to go towards the characters that have changed a lot, too. Not only are the 3D-era fighters actually interesting this time around (apart from Nitara thanks to a wooden performance from Megan Fox), but B-tier members of the roster like Reptile and Baraka are finally given more to do than just stand behind Shao Kahn and snarl.
I was a little disappointed to see the storyline end up focusing on multiple timelines towards the end instead of having a singular focus on the new era, but it also makes for some of the most epic moments in a Mortal Kombat game. I just hope the next entry dials it back a bit and focuses on the characters who carry the campaign so well, rather than the prospect of infinite realities and infinite possibilities, ironically dwindling the stakes.
As refreshing as the story mode is, what most stands out is how great it feels to play. I wasn’t a fan ofMortal Kombat 11’s slower pace and time-wasting mechanics like Krushing Blows, but MK1 is much, much faster this time around, rivalling the speed of Mortal Kombat X at times. Increasing the speed didn’t take away from how satisfying and weighty the actual attacks are.
Matches are far more tactical thanks to the addition of Kameos, where fighters from a separate roster can be called in as assists with unique moves and even fatalities. I was sceptical about this new mechanic when it was revealed, but having to consider your fighter, your backup, your opponent, and who they might be calling in for help all at once makes matches a lot more interesting. Combine that with the best launch roster and most toe-curling fatalities in the series so far and Mortal Kombat 1 is incredibly hard to put down.
Outside of the main campaign,Mortal Kombat 1 has a brand-new seasonal mode called Invasionsthat combines parts of the Towers of Time and the Krypt, while also mixing in light RPG elements. Don’t let the board game aesthetic fool you though - all you’re doing in Invasions is making your way through each area while getting in a bunch of fights, albeit against enemies with occasional super armour and unique battle conditions like being able to summon missiles.
And… that’s really all there is to it. There are some Test Your Might minigames, challenges focusing on movement, and a few secret fights, but it’s just a dressed-up version of the Towers of Time with mechanics that don’t make much of an impact. The seasonal model with continued support offers the chance for iteration and growth, and I had fun turning my brain off and getting into fights for some neat cosmetics, but Invasions is like a mode after a Scorpion fatality - stripped of its flesh and left with just a broken skeleton.
Mindlessly playing through Invasions also clued me into Mortal Kombat 1’s biggest problem - its progression systems. Each character and Kameo can be levelled up the more you use them, which unlocks rewards like brutalities, colour palettes, and taunts, incentivising you to give everyone on the roster a decent amount of time while learning their movesets.
That sounds great on paper, but levelling up takes so much time and commitment that it ends up putting you off ever trying anyone but the few fighters you want to unlock things for. Worse yet, some of the best rewards (like each fighter’s second fatality) are locked behind high levels that take hours to grind for.
I stuck with Liu Kang for almost my entire time playing Invasion and some of the online modes, and in around three hours, I just barely reached Level 14 to unlock his second fatality. Times all that work by 22, and it’s likely that most players will only ever see a fraction of these iconic moves everyone loves so much.
Mortal Kombat 11’s progression wasn’t much better, but at least there it made some kind of sense with the in-depth gear system and amount of customization on offer. I’m fine with Mortal Kombat 1 focusing more on Kameos and having a light version of this system, but keeping the arbitrary and grindy progression that went along with it is a huge downgrade. I just hope that an option isn’t introduced later down the line that lets players skip with real-world money (games have added these systems before the post-review period) because then the reason for the grind will become painfully clear.
It’s a shame that Invasions and the snail’s pace progression drag Mortal Kombat 1 down a little because, if it wasn’t for them, this would easily be the best Mortal Kombat to date. Even with those problems, MK1’s excellent gameplay and story mode make it a much-needed breath of fresh air for the series and a great first step into an exciting new timeline.
