Summary
Mortal Kombat 1is finally out, at least for those who bought the Premium and Collector’s Edition of the game, and by all accounts it’s a release worth celebrating. Though it isn’t without its slight shortcomings,Mortal Kombat 1’s great elements vastly outweigh them, creating one of the best fighting game experiences of the last few years and definitely one of the best entries in the franchise’s long 30-year history.
Featuring a ton of great game modes, excellent fighting mechanics, an excitingnew Kameo Fighter system, and a genuinely intriguing story,Mortal Kombat 1will surely go down as one of the bestMKgames ever made. And thanks to some phenomenal character redesigns,Mortal Kombat 1will also be remembered for its perfect blend of old and new, taking some classic looks and giving them a fresh, modern spin.
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Mortal Kombat 1’s Ninja Redesigns Are Perfect
When it comes toMortal Kombat’s expansive roster, there are few characters quite as immediately recognizable as its collection of brightly-colored ninjas. An easy way to create new characters back in the day, eachMortal Kombatninja started life as a simple palette swap, resulting in a yellow, blue, green, red, purple, and gray ninja. As time has gone on, each of these characters have been given much more distinct personalities and appearances, and whileMortal Kombat 1pairs back the overcomplicated designs from previous entries, it retains just enough detail and expression to make each character stand out more so than ever before.
Scorpion and Sub-Zero, being the series' biggest mascots, naturally needed the most attention, and their designs inMortal Kombat 1are reflective of the amount of effort that clearly went into them. A simple tunic and mask combo,Mortal Kombat 1’s Scorpion and Sub-Zerodesigns are some of the most simplistic in the entire franchise, but they manage to remain instantly recognizable due to their bold color palettes. Smoke has also received a more grounded look, and Rain’s new role as a sorcerer has completely reimagined his design, largely for the better.
Mortal Kombat 1 Has Reimagined 3D-Era Fighters Very Well
TheMortal Kombatfranchise has undergone a few different phases in its 30-year lifespan, and one of those saw the series venture into the realm of 3D. During this phase, a good few fighters were created, but due to the poor reception of this period many of these fighters had been largely forgotten about in NetherRealm’s rebooted universe - that is, until now. Characters likeReiko, Havik, Nitara, Ashrah, and Sareenaall make their triumphant return inMortal Kombat 1, and all of them have been brought into the modern age expertly, losing their grungier 2000s aesthetics and being given a splash of much-needed color.
Mortal Kombat 1 Gives Some Much-Needed Touch-Ups to Classic Designs
While someMortal Kombatcharacter designs have been practically flawless since the very beginning, even the most classic appearances need a shake-up every now and then, and that’s exactly whatMortal Kombat 1does. One of the series' greatest mascots,Liu Kang, is given a fresh new look inMortal Kombat 1, befitting of his new role as Fire God. Shang Tsung is also given a fresh spin on his classic outfit, giving the character a younger look and wrist-mounted blades. Shao Kahn has also been redesigned, with his demotion down to general bringing about the appearance of more armor and a large axe. And taking on the role of Empress this time around, Sindel has been given a more regal appearance.
Mortal Kombat 1is available now for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
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