Mortal Kombat 11’s infamousNintendo Switchport ran okay for the most part, but achieved notoriety thanks to accomplishing this through glaring visual cutbacks and a butchering of the game’s strong aesthetic in order to accommodate weaker hardware. But this cut back version of the fighter clearly sells, soNetherRealmdecided to ignore criticisms and do the same again withMortal Kombat 1. The sequel/reboot/weird metaverse thing is here, and surprise, it runs like ass on the hybrid console. It also seems the developer forgot to add facial expressions to its roster.
Viral clipsfrom the early access weekend are comparing character introductions before each fight between PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The differences are significant. Johnny Cage flashes a trademark shit-eating grin before readjusting his sunglasses on PS5, but resembles a strangely lifeless doll on the Switch, like he’s staring into our souls with the emotion of a brick wall. It looks awful, and when a port removes so much life and personality from a game like Mortal Kombat, you have to ask whether the compromise was worth it in the first place.
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I don’t think it was, and for Warner Bros. to sell it for the same price as other, superior versions is nothing short of daylight robbery. You know it sucks, but you’re doing it regardless because you know how easy it is to get away with. Missing modes, poor performance, and oodles of bugs paint this version as lazy, cheap, and just not good enough.
It reminds me ofWWE 2K18, which wasn’t great on other platforms, but the Switch release was so riddled with graphical anomalies and gameplay glitches that2Kadmitted to its own mistakes and pulled future releases from the platform. Five years later and the licence has not returned to the underpowered console, and likely won’t until a more capable successor rears its head. Fans spoke up and made it clear they weren’t going to take it anymore, and shouldn’t be taken advantage of because they happen to be confined to a weaker platform. I understand the install base is difficult for publishers to ignore given the potential profits, but you’re nipping and tucking a blockbuster release so much it has become unrecognisable.
Mortal Kombat 1 is designed as a live-service fighter with seasonal updates that expect you to grind for hours in order to unlock new cosmetics and fatalities, where the goal is to ensure we remain engaged for as long as possible. I bet that corporate executives in a room somewhere demanded a Switch version be ready for release even if devs knew it was going to be impossible without major drawbacks. This version is going to make bank, and knowing that Mortal Kombat remains a household name, the Switch release is going to be first on the list of those who aren’t tapped into the industry. It’s transparent greed, and I’m glad fans are wising up to this bullshit and seeing it for what it really is. Mortal Kombat 1 on the Switch is not worth the asking price, and shouldn’t exist at all given how little it resembles what many consider the optimum experience.
It’s the same song and dance seen withFIFA: Legacy Editions thrown out by EA each and every year. It’s an inferior game with shoddy visuals and lesser content, eaten up by those who have no idea they’re being sold a lie. Mortal Kombat 1 isn’t much different, and we’re right to protest its existence until Warner Bros. gives up the ghost and admits a game like this shouldn’t be forced onto a platform that just can’t handle it. What’s the point in a fighter filled with iconic characters and locations on a console where the visuals are so bad you’ll struggle to recognise them? There isn’t one, especially when it costs $70.
