game news Mortal Kombat 1: We played the bloodiest game of the year and here’s our first feedback
Violence, cheesy costumes, rich content and… more violence. Yes, this is how the license became known and will even lead to the creation of the ESRB, an American organization that rates the age categories for playing video games. More than 30 years after the release of the first episode, Mortal Kombat returns with Mortal Kombat 1. That’s what awaits you in this new episode with 5 things you should know.
Summary
- Mortal Kombat, a video game legend
- Mortal Kombat 1, yes?
- What’s new in this episode? cameos of course!
- Official modes and fighters
- Versions and bonuses galore
Mortal Kombat, a video game legend
Mortal Kombat is a series of fighting games, the first installment of which was released on an arcade machine in 1992. But that’s how it is the best selling fighting game franchise in the world, before series like Smash Bros. or Street Fighter. The game is attracting attention for two reasons: its digitized characters and the very bloody side of the title, which was not common at the time. After this success, “Mortal Kombat” will also end up in cinemas, despite their quality in cult films, with Christophe Lambert at the top of his game. The peculiarity of the games is that once the player has defeated his opponent, he has the opportunity to humiliate him through one thing: the killing blow. The transition to 3D was difficult for the franchise as it struggled to find a true identity. 2011’s Mortal Kombat 9 will reboot the machine and make the series the fighting game standard.
Mortal Kombat 1, yes?
This new episode entitled Mortal Kombat 1 is actually the twelfth part of the saga. This “1” suffix is intended to underscore the desire for a “fresh start” for the franchise, a kind of universe reboot that reinterprets the characters and the connections that bind them. For example, we have the famous duality Sub-Zero and Scorpion, who will be on the same page this time since they are brothers now. All of this is justified in the screenplay by the character of Liu Kang, who has become the god of fire and from whose spirit this new world emerges. While everything formally points to a reboot, it’s actually a direct sequel to Mortal Kombat 11. And this new imaginary world is almost heavenly, which is in contrast to Mortal Kombat’s usual artistic direction. The sets are much more colorful than usual, with arenas in busy and green locations.
What’s new in this episode? cameos of course!
The JV team was able to try out Mortal Kombat 1 in two modes and two phases with four playable characters: Sub-Zero, Kenshi, Kitana and Liu Kang. The title introduces a “cameo” system that takes the form of a support character who can intervene at any time during combat. The three supporting characters available during the test were: Kano, Sonya and Jax. The character is only there to make a move before leaving, so it’s not an exchange system like this Dragon Ball FighterZ. Once you’ve been “summoned,” you’ll need to wait for the gauge to recharge to bring the cameo back into play. With this new system, you can pull off devastating two-player combos with a little practice. As pointed out by Ed Boon, one of the creators of the Mortal Kombat series, it’s entirely possible to have one Sub-Zero as the main character and another Sub-Zero as a cameo.
Official modes and fighters
The series has accustomed its fans to showering them with unlockable content but also with more or less crazy game modes such as the crypt and the towers. The software will obviously have new modes and new deaths, although Ed Boon hasn’t given any further information at the moment. Currently, we know of the existence of Campaign, Classic Towers, and Versus modes. For the official main characters, here is the list: Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Kitana, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Mileena, Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Shang Tsung (as a pre-order bonus). And for the list of cameos revealed so far: Goro, Jax Briggs, Kano, Kung Lao, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade and Stryker. We’ll see if there are any good surprises in store for us until the game’s release, because at the moment the list isn’t very big. For a game that sells for $80, we’d like to see some additional characters.
Versions and bonuses galore
Mortal Kombat 1 was developed for four years by the same team as the previous games, namely NetherRealm and published by Warner Bros. games. At the forefront of the project is Ed Boon, one of the fathers of Mortal Kombat for 30 years. The title is scheduled for September 19, 2023 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The base game is offered for $79.99, while the $119.99 Premium Edition includes Mortal Kombat 1, Early Access (available September 14), a Jean-Claude Van Damne skin pack for Johnny Cage, six playable fighters, and five cameo fighters. Finally, the Kollector Edition for $249.99: Mortal Kombat 1, all the bonuses of the Premium Edition and a 42 cm statuette of Liu Kang. Additional character names are included in the Premium and Kollector editions of the game, according to an apparent bug by Amazon Italy. If we rely on this source, we would find characters like Homelander from The Boys or Omni Man from Invincible.
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