Summary
Mortal Kombat 1marks a new beginning for the franchise. It has a full story reboot and a complete gameplay overhaul as well, while making sure the game doesn’t lose theMortal Kombatfeel.Mortal Kombat 11was a very good game, it had incredible visuals, some of the best character designs that gamers had ever seen, and a solid story, with amazing post-release content to boot.
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It remains to be seen ifMortal Kombat 1will live up to its predecessor in terms of post-release support, but in its current form, it has already made aton of improvementsoverMK11,though there are some places where it lags behind a little.
7Better – Visuals
MK11had some incredible graphics and some astonishingly good designs. Many fans believe it’s the best-looking fighting game ever and there is some merit to that. WhereMK11lacks is the color palette, things can feel gray and monotone which takes away from the experience a little.
MK1has improved onMK11’samazing visuals with some adjustments. The color palette is much, much better, the game feels fresh and vibrant, and the environments pop out a lot more. Moreover,some of the redesignsto the 3D-Era are awe-inspiring.
6Better – Stages
Stages inMK11were pretty good, but nothing to write home about. Stages inMK1are indescribably good. The lighting is fantastic, and the environments and backgrounds are detailed and eye-catching. The subtle movement in the scenery is done incredibly well. The Wu Shi Academy with its Sakura trees feels like something out ofGhost of TsushimaorSekiroat times.
Equally, the darker stages such as the Flesh Pits are disgusting and horrifying. The Takartan camp depicts how poorly those afflicted with Takart are treated, with blood and burning corpses everywhere.
5Worse - Quality of Life
Sometimes,MK1feels slightly rushed or unfinished due to theglaring lack of Quality-of-Lifefeatures. What makes it more disappointing is most of these features are present inMK11oreven in other fighting games. The most glaring omission is thatMK1does not have the option to pin strings or special moves onto the screen. This is a very frustrating change.
Beyond that, players can’t select their skins in the fighting menu, the complete gallery of skins and gears isn’t available to see, and players can’t see where to unlock what either. Lastly, players can’t enter practice mode, or any other mode while waiting for an online match.
4Better – Story Mode
This is a tough one to gauge asMK11had a great story, and the additional story DLC through theAftermathexpansion made it even better. Considering just the base story, however,MK1just about edges it. The entire story reboot was done really well. They stayed true to the characters while developing some new relationships as well, such as the Kenshi and Johnny Cage bromance.
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The twist near the final chapters of the game was thrilling as well. And the last chapter as a whole was completely unexpected and surprising.
3Worse – Gear System
MK11had a very comprehensive gear system, as it built off of the foundations ofInjustice 2and let players customize their characters completely. There were some complaints about it being slightly tedious and grindy. These complaints were well-founded and ring true inMK1as well.
Unfortunately, the gear system inMK1has fewer customization options but is equally as tedious to trudge through. Hopefully, as the game has barely just been released, there will be improvements as to how to find certain gear pieces and skins. A reversion to the previous system could work well too. It remains to be seen how Netherrealm Studios decide to tackle this shortcoming, but fingers crossed.
2Better – Core Gameplay
This is probably the most important factor and it’s safe to say that despite the new core gameplay system being a complete overhaul, it has been dealt with exceptionally.MK1,with the addition of Kameos and the new more creative combo system, has definitely surpassed most other games in the franchise.
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The Kameo systemisn’t just a gimmick, it is a comprehensive overhaul of the core gameplay of aMortal Kombatgame, and it has been executed brilliantly. Even with the limited days the game has been out players have come up withincredibly high-octane combos.
1Overall – Mortal Kombat 1
Overall, although it is close, it is safe to say thatMortal Kombat 1is a marked improvement over the previous game. The core gameplay changes and the eye-catching visuals make it one of the best fighting games out there.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of tiny features and QoL aspects in which it is lacking and hopefully, these are addressed in future patches. As things stand,Mortal Kombat 1has the potential to be one of the best fighting games of the last ten years, but it remains to be seen if it will fulfill its potential.
Mortal Kombat 1is set to release on PS5, Xbox X, PC, and Nintendo Switch on the 19th of September.
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