Mortal Kombat 1 review: Flawless victory

Mortal Kombat 1 was among my most anticipated games of this year, right alongside Final Fantasy XVI, Armored Core 6, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Having enjoyed every single NetherRealm Studios game, despite their glaring shortcomings, I had high hopes for their latest title. And honestly, Mortal Kombat 1 more than surpassed my expectations.

From a technical standpoint, Mortal Kombat 1 is arguably one of, if not the best-looking fighting game out there, that doesn't compromise its gameplay for pretty graphics and animations. Apart from its raw visual fidelity, Mortal Kombat's real strength is in its single-player offering, which is a highlight of any NetherRealm Studios venture.

I spent more than 40 hours playing Mortal Kombat 1, and of this, only two to four were dedicated to online gameplay. Most of my time was spent playing the single-player story, Invasions mode, and Towers. As someone who adores the story and other single-player aspects of NetherRealm's fighting games, I wasn't let down by their latest title.

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Mortal Kombat 1 feels like a more refined, better version of its predecessor, with a few key new additions and changes that I found to be immensely fun and engaging. Despite having issues with its online matchmaking and connectivity, those are very minor gripes against what is possibly one of NetherRealm Studios' very best titles.

Mortal Kombat 1: An excellent fighting game, backed by an amazing story

Visuals, presentation, and performance

NetherRealm are among the very few developers, besides Epic Games, who are skilled with the Unreal Engine. Their previous titles, Injustice 2 and Mortal Kombat 11, featured incredible visual fidelity despite being built on the aging Unreal Engine 3. With Mortal Kombat 1 targeting current-gen consoles and PC, the studio finally made a switch to UE4, and the results are truly outstanding.

Mortal Kombat 1 features highly detailed character models for each fighter, as well as a dedicated photo mode in the customization menu (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

From character models and highly detailed arenas to even the most grotesque of fatalities, everything looks incredibly crisp and detailed. I played the game on my PlayStation 5 on a 4K monitor, and honestly, that's how I wish everyone to experience this fiesta of violence. Although the game uses dynamic resolution scaling, it often sticks to the 2160p ceiling, dropping close to 1440p in select instances.

Mortal Kombat 1 shines in presentation, especially when it comes to the environments, i.e., arenas. Every single arena, this time around, feels unique and much larger than the previous entries. The only aspect I felt missing was a dedicated photomode during gameplay, which wasn't restricted exclusively to the character customization menu.

In terms of performance, Mortal Kombat 1 is as flawless as its visuals, boasting silky-smooth 60fps during gameplay. However, there's a catch: most of the game's UI elements, as well as cutscenes (story mode, Invasions, and finishers, i.e., Fatality, Brutality, etc.), are all locked to 30fps, which admittedly, can feel a bit jarring, especially on a high refresh rate monitor.

Some of the arenas in the game are breathtakingly beautiful (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

The 30fps lock for cutscenes is nothing new in NetherRealm's games. However, I would've liked to see the framerate being uncapped on the current-gen consoles. Lastly, I should mention the game's loading times, which arguably was the biggest and most important highlight in terms of its presentation.

You see, I loved every second of my 300+ hours-long playtime of Mortal Kombat 11 on the PlayStation 4. However, I despised the amount of time spent staring at its loading screen. Prior to each bootup, I dreaded having to sit through those 20-30-second long loading screens. Although it didn't affect gameplay, it still was a hindrance.

With Mortal Kombat 1 targeting the current-gen consoles exclusively, the improvements to loading times are among the biggest facets I wanted to check. And NetherRealm did not disappoint in that regard. Capitalizing on the current-gen hardware, Mortal Kombat 1 essentially addressed my biggest issue with its predecessor by completely eliminating the loading process.

The transition from character selection to gameplay is seamless (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

Believe it or not, Mortal Kombat 1 doesn't have any loading whatsoever. Once you boot the game up and get past the initial splash screens, everything is seamless, from choosing the game mode to selecting your fighter and entering combat. There's not a single loading screen in between any of the game modes, not even in Invasions.

Gameplay improvements and Kameos

In terms of gameplay, Mortal Kombat 1 feels essentially the same as its predecessor, albeit with one major new addition - the Kameos. While I wasn't initially sold on the prospect of having a specific move like the guard break and combo extenders on an additional character, I did start to like it over time, especially in Towers.

It still feels satisfying to pull off a fatality at the end of a fight (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

Kameos are basically additional characters that you must choose alongside your main fighter. These characters can be summoned mid-combo by pressing R1 to either break the opponent's guard, deal additional damage, or extend a combo string. The Kameo system adds a ton of depth to the game's combat, giving you more tools and movesets to tinker with.

NetherRealm Studios has taken the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach for their latest title, as apart from the Kameos, most of MK11 has been translated into Mortal Kombat 1, without much alteration. This might feel like an inherent shortcoming, but it isn't. In my opinion, 2019's MK11 was already a great fighting game, built on a rock-solid foundation.

And Mortal Kombat 1 is essentially a more refined version of the existing fighting system, which I adored back in 2019, with a few key changes and additions. In my playthrough, I also found combat to be a lot more reactive, with every move being susceptible to a counter with another. No longer can you spam projectiles and crouch blocking.

Smoke returns to the franchise after having skipped out the last two mainline entries (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

As much as I liked MK11, there were some characters that just felt absurdly overpowered over the rest of the roster, such as Jade, Noob Saibot, and Spawn. This isn't the case with the latest title, as all fighters and their movesets feel properly balanced. I did not find any particular character that obliterated the entire roster.

Of course, there will be some meta characters down the line, which will populate most of the online lobbies. However, during my playthrough, across single-player, offline co-op, and online, I didn't find any instances that replicated the sheer absurdity of Noob Saibot's teleportation grab or Jade's muti-hit stick combo, which is commendable.

Lastly, the character customization system from MK11 returns in Mortal Kombat 1, but in a more streamlined format. Instead of getting overwhelmed by the amount of currencies and modifiers, you have just one currency to unlock new cosmetics. You still have to grind Towers and Invasions (Krypt) for some of the rarest (and coolest) rewards, but the whole system feels much more intuitive.

Character customization is back (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

Customization has been one of my personal favorites in MK11, and I'm glad to see it return with some well-needed refinements, making the system much more engaging and rewarding. From skins and colorways to even certain accessories, there's plenty to unlock and adorn your favorite fighters with in Mortal Kombat 1.

Story mode and Invasions

While I always love to dabble in fighting games like Street Fighter, those franchises never gripped my interest, like Mortal Kombat. This is in part due to the heavy focus NetherRealm has on delivering a robust single-player story campaign. And unlike other fighting games, stories in Mortal Kombat titles are delivered akin to a traditional action game.

There are some clever alterations in Liu Kang's new timeline, such as Sub-Zero and Scorpion working together as the Lin Kuei (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

From Mortal Kombat to Injustice, NetherRealm has consistently proved that they are the masters of crafting impeccable campaigns. And their latest offering cements them as one of, if not the best when it comes to creating single-player story mode for fighting games, going toe-to-toe with some of the best narrative-driven classics out there.

While brief, Mortal Kombat 1's story genuinely amazed me with its quality and cinematic flair, something that's usually missing from most traditional fighting games. Don't get me wrong, I do adore the story aspects of Street Fighter, Tekken, and Guilty Gear universe. However, in my opinion, none of these games and their stories have the cinematic flair of NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat titles.

As for Mortal Kombat 1, the story here is a continuation of Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath DLC, with Liu Kang, having gained godhood from Raiden, begins to reset the timeline of his universe. I personally found the premise of MK11 fascinating, as it merged the past characters from the Midway-era games with the new NetherRealm-era ones.

Despite being rendered in-engine, the cutscenes in Mortal Kombat 1 look breathtaking, akin to a pre-rendered CGI (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

And with Liu Kang essentially taking the place of Raiden in this new timeline, NetherRealm gained a blank slate to work their narrative magic. Following the events of the MK11 Aftermath, Liu Kang completely resets the timeline, altering certain factors, which resulted in a more stable and peaceful universe under his watch for a while at least.

However, peace was eventually disturbed by a certain someone who aims to overthrow Liu Kang and conquer the timeline. While the plot is filled with cliches and corny dialog, it has always been a staple of the Mortal Kombat series. In my opinion, it doesn't detract from the overall exuberance of the story.

I cherished the reversed dynamics between the new era's Raiden, a regular warrior from Earthrealm (akin to past Liu Kang), and Fire-god Liu Kang (who's akin to past Raiden), the protector of Earthrealm. I also liked the new take on Outworld, which, instead of Shao Kahn, is being ruled by Sindel and her daughters with help from the Umgadi.

The Invasions mode is one of the best new additions to the series (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

All-in-all, Mortal Kombat 1's story is easily one of its highlights, alongside the stellar combat system and visuals. I should also mention the Invasions mode, which replaces the Krypt, for the better, in my opinion. As much as I liked the Krypt mode, it did feel stale and, dare I say boring after a while. Invasions, however, is different.

The Invasions is basically the Towers mode, but with a faster frequency of cosmetic unlocks and some enthralling mini-games to break the monotony of fights. After finishing the story, most of my time on Mortal Kombat 1 was spent in the Invasions mode. Despite having unlocked most of the Kameos, and some cool cosmetics, fatalities, and brutalities, I still can't keep myself from returning to this mode.

Few shortcomings

This section will be brief, as there are very few inconsistencies I found with Mortal Kombat 1. Firstly, although the game performed almost flawlessly on my PS5, a few occasions saw its framerate drop from its 60fps target to the upper 50s. Also, there are a few texture pooping issues in certain cutscenes.

Brutalities are back, with some cool new ones to be unlocked via Invasions mode (Image via NetherRealm Studios, Sportskeeda)

However, I do feel these issues will soon get ironed out with a couple of post-launch updates. Now, the only big complaint I have with the game is regarding its online modes. Despite being a multi-platform title in 2023, Mortal Kombat 1 did not ship with cross-play, making the online experience quite restricting for most players.

The online mode also feels quite antiquated and, despite featuring rollback netcode, barebones, especially when compared to the recently released Street Fighter 6. Fortunately, NetherRealm Studios has confirmed the arrival of cross-play in future updates. That said, its absence at launch does make the game feel a tad incomplete.

Lastly, I do feel the game should feature a character-specific tutorial section before each new chapter in the story mode. Although switching between different characters while going through the campaign wasn't much of an issue, it's bound to bother newcomers. Having a dedicated section that takes you through the basics of a character's combos would help a lot.

In conclusion

Mortal Kombat 1 is a fantastic new entry in the long-running fighting game franchise. NetherRealm Studios once again delivered an exceptional fighting game experience that appeals not only to veterans of the genre but also to newcomers and casual players. The game improves on almost every aspect of its predecessor, from the general flow of combat to progression.

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It even dispels one of the series' biggest technical handicaps - the loading screens, while simultaneously boasting great visual fidelity, thanks to current-gen console hardware and PC. Mortal Kombat 1 is an excellent game that propels the legacy of the iconic series to new heights. It is indeed a "Flawless Victory" for NetherRealm Studios.