Game Review: Mortal Kombat 1

Mortal Kombat, a game that would quickly capture the world’s attention, debuted in 1991, providing a novel perspective on the fighting genre. This bloodthirsty masterpiece featured Fatalities and horrible finishing manoeuvres that not only dominated gaming headlines but also left an indelible effect on the industry. After three decades, the game remains unrivalled, surprising expectations with its latest installment, Mortal Kombat 1 (MK1). This intentional decision places the series in the present and future.

Mortal Kombat 1 takes up immediately after MK11 Aftermath, with Liu Kang advancing to godhood. As the Keeper Of Time, he has the ability to construct a new universe as he deems appropriate, and his creation sends familiar characters down unexpected pathways. Raiden, for example, is no longer the all-powerful Thunder God; he is instead a humble farmer from a little village. Every character undergoes a basic transformation, albeit some are more visible than others.

Since the series’ return to its 2D beginnings more than a decade ago, the combat principles have stayed mostly intact. This is still a fighting game centred around long, sophisticated combos, such as levitating your opponent into the air with a cocktail of punches and kicks, or eliminating half a health bar with one botched, punishable attack. This has always made Mortal Kombat a challenging game to master.

MK1’s narrative mode is a visual masterpiece, rivalling the brilliance of Marvel films in terms of director, photography, and voice acting. It weaves an interesting tale replete with twists, plenty of humour, and, of course, copious quantities of blood.

Mortal Kombat’s whole history has been rewritten: known characters have new faces, backstories, relationships, and powers. It takes up literally aeons after Mortal Kombat 11, when newly minted Fire God Liu Kang took the Hourglass of Time to rebuild the cosmos as he saw appropriate. Earthrealm is at peace, Outworld is fairly controlled by Queen Sindel, and while the Mortal Kombat tournament between realms continues, it’s more of a show of pride and honour than a tool for realm invasion.

Single-player options include the typical towers of Arcade mode, along with distinct endings for each character, and a brand-new style called Invasion. Ascending through the iconic Towers is like playing old-school MK in the arcades. Individual character finishes are brief scenes, like they were in MK11, but the extra lore fluff they provide gives some fascinating possible future strands.

The core single-player narrative of MK1 is a hybrid of a reboot and a sequel, with certain characters learning about earlier timelines while others are left in the dark, while still replicating their previous origins, although in somewhat different ways. When the game is played by its pros, the animation is breathtaking – pure lyrical slaughter as the duelists trade disembowelling 12-input assaults with frame-perfect accuracy.

Mortal Kombat 1 has a tonne of material that will please longstanding fans while also welcoming new players with open arms. It achieves a delicate mix of strategic depth and convenience, making it a must-play title this gamer season.