The Mortal Kombat series has taken another sharp turn and has been completely rebooted in, literally, a new universe. This was already known at the end of the previous part, but now we finally saw a new world, renewed heroes and villains. We’ve gathered everything we know about the game in one article about the results of Summer Game Fest 2023.
Parcel
Mortal Kombat 1 – Direct Sequel Mortal Kombat 11 and its expansions aftermath. At the end of the game, Liu Kang defeats Shang Tsung and, using a powerful artifact – the Clock of Time, creates a new timeline. He himself turns into the god of thunder and fire – Lord Liu Kang. The hero also takes over the title of defender of the world, which previously belonged to Raiden.
In the first story trailer, Liu Kang talks about the structure of a new world, where everyone is free to choose their own path – a peaceful existence or an endless struggle. In the middle of the trailer we see the return of one of the opponents of the previous parts – the revived Shang Tsung. Many heroes are defeated by him, but Liu Kang confronts and kills him in a bloody fatality. It is not known how long this victory will last.
In the gameplay trailer, you can see the emphasis on the plot component – more cutscenes, sentences, character interactions. Judging by the lines, Liu Kang plans to assemble a team of defenders to face the threat of the new world.
In the new MK, the relationships and roles of the characters are almost completely different from what we saw in the previous story arc. So Sub-Zero and Scorpio are now brothers, Raiden is not a god, but an ordinary person, and Milina’s disease is just beginning to develop. How the fate of the rest of the characters has changed remains to be seen.
What news do you expect from the series?
Gameplay and graphics
The gameplay of the new Mortal Kombat does not deviate from the canons of the series. Colorful and bloody combat with lots of special moves and combos, fatalities, blocks, dodges and jumps – everything is in its place.
An innovation was the system of cameo fighters. Now you need to choose heroes for the fight twice: the first time – the main fighter, the second – a cameo character who will appear during some combos. With their help, you can build long combinations, interrupt enemy attacks and even get joint kills.
Another feature is the ability to perform combos in the air (Air Combo) – surrendering the enemy allows you to perform a series of attacks, and then continue it already on the ground without interrupting the counter.
The graphics component in Mortal Kombat 1 caused division among the players. Some note the improved backgrounds of the arenas – more details, interesting camera angles, full-fledged “live” and several background locations, which we will visit as part of the story mode. Others shudder at the “cartoonishness” of the photo. In previous games, the authors aimed for hyper-realistic ultra-violence, and in the sequel, the gore, dismemberment, and characters look overly simulated and overly gory. Photorealistic images, as many expected, are not at all.
Another weak point was the facial animations, which look much less developed compared to the previous part. Perhaps this is due to the “covid” restrictions that prevented the studio from using motion capture technologies and fleshing out the picture. Although the epidemic has long subsided.
Many agree that there was no jump in the schedule between MK11 and MK1, and at some points the continuation seems even weaker.
Highlights and other details
- The events take place in a new universe created in the Mortal Kombat 11 finale. Most of the characters have new looks and histories;
- The combat system is supplemented by cameo characters and air combos (Air combo);
- Reviews of the graphics are mixed: the backgrounds are better, but the facial animation is much worse;
- Presumably, many characters’ movements will be different due to their changing destinies and roles in the new world;
- The developers mentioned a “compelling” storyline in the announcement, but it’s unclear exactly what that means;
- At the start of the battle, the game will feature cinematic introductions in the style of another series of fighting games – Justice;
- If the leak is to be believed, there will be some very unexpected heroes in the game. For example, Homelander from The Boys. Also, Joni gets the skin of Jean-Claude Van Damme (Jean-Claude Van Damme);
- The game will be translated into Russian. You need a GTX 980, 8 GB RAM and 100 GB disk space to run. The rest of the system requirements are here;
- The game features both classic multiplayer and story mode. Much more attention will be paid to the latter than to the previous parts;
- The compilation of publications is already available. In the Collector’s Edition, players will find a Liu Kang figurine, a steelbook, a poster, and an exclusive color for Liu Kang, in addition to the Premium Edition content;
- The developers plan to stress test the servers. It will only be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S;
- Crossplay and cross progression are planned for the game, but will be added after release.
List of characters
The list of all the characters we will meet in Mortal Kombat 1 is still unknown. It can be assumed that there will be a total of 24 main and 16 cameo characters in the game – according to the number of “tiles” shown in the video with the gameplay of the game. Shang Tsung is available for pre-order and a mention of Barak has been found on the BT Games store.
List of Mortal Kombat 1 heroes
- Scorpion;
- Below zero;
- Liu Kang;
- raiding;
- kong lao;
- Kitana;
- Milena;
- Shang Tsung;
- Johnny Kooi.
List of Mortal Kombat 1 cameo heroes
- Scorpion;
- Below zero;
- Sonya knife;
- canoe;
- Goro;
- kong lao;
- Stryker;
- Jackson “Jax” Briggs.
The game will be released on September 19 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. You can pre-order the game now.
Screenshots of Mortal Kombat 1
Looking forward to the next Mortal Kombat game?
Source: VG Times
Christina Moncayo is a contributing writer for “Social Bites”. Her focus is on the gaming industry and she provides in-depth coverage of the latest news and trends in the world of gaming.