Mortal Kombat 1

So does Mortal Kombat 1 live up to its hype? Absolutely. Despite how short the story is, it is a great story nonetheless, and beyond that is lots of single-player content that will keep you coming back day after day. And of course, the finishing moves are bloodier and grittier than ever before. This is an entry that I can't recommend enough.

The brand-new Invasion mode mixes MK brawls with Mario Party minigames, the progression of Soul Calibur 2’s Weapon Master, and the character customization of an roleplaying game. Sounds cool on paper — but it quickly becomes a repetitive slog. Walking around the world map and fighting samey battles with goofy effects thrown in, can be a bit underwhelming, but it’s a decent distraction for those moments when you just want to turn off your brain and mash some buttons.

Mortal Kombat 1 is another great fighting game that released in 2023. While it exhibits some of the same faults previous entries did, the Kameo system adds a new depth to the main mechanics.

Fighting games are no stranger to reinventions—they do it with every iteration. However, something as grand as an entire narrative reboot is a slightly bigger undertaking. Crafting a timeline is hard work. There’s lore to rewrite, worlds to build, and fanservice to find space for. Fortunately, these responsibilities also present an opportunity for imaginations to run wild. Just what would you do with power over time itself? Thanks to one iconic Shaolin, we now have quite the answer.

Mortal Kombat 1 isn't a flawless victory, but it feels close to one.

Unfortunately, the lack of appealing single-player content beyond the story and barren online matchmaking variety will limit the time casual players spend with the game once their friends stop playing or if Invasions doesn’t grab their interest.

Mortal Kombat 1 serves as a love letter to fans of this thirty-one-year-old franchise and as a pseudo-reboot it also has potential appeal to newcomers alike. There's still room to grow and I'm sure it will just keep getting better, but Mortal Kombat 1 is already definitely worth your time.

Liu Kang has spent eons crafting timelines, taking lessons from one era and applying them to the next. All of his meticulous planning has resulted in a new era, one that bends previously sacred rules in order to lead to a better tomorrow. NetherRealm Studios’ journey mirrors Liu Kang’s, and while it didn’t take eons, the studio spent an unusually long time rebooting the Mortal Kombat universe for Mortal Kombat 1. These efforts to reshape the series have led to a more freeform gameplay style where creativity and player expression rule like an empress in Outworld. But such innovation has been pa...

“Mortal Kombat 1's creative Kameo system helps reinvent the classic fighting series, but poor single-player offerings feel like a step back.”

Three additional characters and brutal Animalities are overshadowed by an uneven, head-scratching story expansion.

Mortal Kombat 1 on Nintendo Switch manages to deliver this superb game's Story and Towers modes in a state that's playable, but only if you've got plenty of patience. There are frame rate issues, big resolution dips, input and timing problems related to performance drops, missing content, game-breaking bugs in Invasion mode, long loading times, and unresponsive menus. If you are a huge Mortal Kombat fan whose only option is Switch, you may be able to press through all of this. However, if you have any other option, we suggest you stay away from this one for now.

With Mortal Kombat 1, NetherRealm has made an admirable effort to refresh its gameplay mechanics and differentiate its latest entry from the recent trilogy of games. On some fronts, particularly around the story, audiovisual presentation, and accessibility, it’s a huge step forward. But some very visible elements, especially online play, do not represent the same leap. Even after a four-year gap since Mortal Kombat 11, Mortal Kombat 1 feels like it needed a bit more time to cook. But with a commitment to seasonal content and the next six fighters already revealed as part of the game’s first Ko...