This review contains spoilers
Finished the story mode! As always a fun time with NRS silly writing with this franchise.
There was story DLC for 11 so I anticipate the same will be happening for this. I hope so at least. It was really fun to see Liu Kang's recreated "perfect" timeline. Changing the background and good guy/bad guy alignment for a lot of the cast was really interesting, I hope to see more good guy Baraka someday. I like the new previously unseen character dynamics with regular human Raiden and Kung Lao, Johnny Cage and Kenshi becoming friends, Shao Kahn being relegated to a General under Sindel, and Mileena and Kitana finally truly being sisters. The characters all feel pretty fresh because of it, except Johnny Cage he's arguably more johnny cage in this timeline than ever before. The story beats weren't very predicatble either! I had foolishly assumed the timeline nonsense would be mostly absent from this one as I figured we'd be all in on this new timeline but man I was not expecting it to go the way it did. The ending being at an Armageddon Pyramid of Argus style setpiece with infinite universe versions of every fighter was nuts. Li-Mei as Quan Chi? Subzero Nitara? Baraka Johnny Cage? Massive brain decisions going on at NRS. In-between there's very sweet fanservice moments like Mileena and Tanya's relationship being made more than a tower ending, Kitana Sindel and Mileena getting to see King Jarrod again, Raiden taking Liu Kangs place as Earthrealms champion, The Deadly Alliance joining sides WITH Liu Kang. They're truly on the highest level of comic book nonsense inspiration. Hope to see more guys being bros with Kenshi, Cage, Raiden and Kung Lao.
The game plays alright I'm getting a vague hang of things but it's so much faster than MK11 or SF6 that it'll take longer.
Megan Fox's acting is really bad though.
There was story DLC for 11 so I anticipate the same will be happening for this. I hope so at least. It was really fun to see Liu Kang's recreated "perfect" timeline. Changing the background and good guy/bad guy alignment for a lot of the cast was really interesting, I hope to see more good guy Baraka someday. I like the new previously unseen character dynamics with regular human Raiden and Kung Lao, Johnny Cage and Kenshi becoming friends, Shao Kahn being relegated to a General under Sindel, and Mileena and Kitana finally truly being sisters. The characters all feel pretty fresh because of it, except Johnny Cage he's arguably more johnny cage in this timeline than ever before. The story beats weren't very predicatble either! I had foolishly assumed the timeline nonsense would be mostly absent from this one as I figured we'd be all in on this new timeline but man I was not expecting it to go the way it did. The ending being at an Armageddon Pyramid of Argus style setpiece with infinite universe versions of every fighter was nuts. Li-Mei as Quan Chi? Subzero Nitara? Baraka Johnny Cage? Massive brain decisions going on at NRS. In-between there's very sweet fanservice moments like Mileena and Tanya's relationship being made more than a tower ending, Kitana Sindel and Mileena getting to see King Jarrod again, Raiden taking Liu Kangs place as Earthrealms champion, The Deadly Alliance joining sides WITH Liu Kang. They're truly on the highest level of comic book nonsense inspiration. Hope to see more guys being bros with Kenshi, Cage, Raiden and Kung Lao.
The game plays alright I'm getting a vague hang of things but it's so much faster than MK11 or SF6 that it'll take longer.
Megan Fox's acting is really bad though.
I write this as someone who is bad at fighting games but feels strangely compelled to play their story modes, so take everything I say with that grain of salt.
The past few Mortal Kombats have inhabited a schlocky, campy B-movie vibe that haven't been the deepest of stories but have mostly been fun. With how the previous game ended (along with its DLC) and the possibilities it represented, I was keenly awaiting to see what they chose to do with this new outing.
Unfortunately, they chose to do nothing meaningful with the premise until maybe the last 30 minutes and by that time, I was very much over the game. But maybe I shouldn't be surprised - this is very much the world that someone like Liu Kang would create - one with a very limited imagination of what could meaningfully be different. Insert the pithy saying about how when your only tool are your fists, you treat every problem like a skull waiting to be pulverised.
This extends to the cast of characters and even the violence in the game - it all feels a bit rote at this point.
- We're going through the motions of all these x-ray bone breaking special moves because, well, we did it in the last game so we need it here too. Even as someone who occasionally enjoys a gory fatality, these mid-match effects have grown tiring for me, slowing down the paces of a match for no real benefit.
- We have most of the same characters because it would be weird if we didn't have them. Which is a real shame because, as mentioned, the last thirty minutes shows a different world that would have been a lot more fun and dynamic as a player. Perhaps this is because more sweeping changes to the roster and gameplay would have greater implications on competitive balance but I do wish they had found a way for the single player content to be more varied.
The new Invasions mode seeks to deliver this variety by introducing stages with random modifiers but these felt more like chores than anything which made the game more fun to play. Invasions is a big playground designed to eat up my time in conjunction with the daily and weekly challenges for minimal cosmetic differences. I could see this being a lot of fun if its iterated on in future seasons, with more emphasis on player empowerment rather than dealing with weird stage debuffs or other things which aren't really explained well in the UI, but as it is today, I couldn't think of a worse way to spend my free time.
Speaking to positives though,
- the new actor for Shang Tsung really steps up and does a great job of being smarmy in the best ways. He had big shoes to fill and I think he mostly does a great job with what he's given.
- the environment details are pristine and helped inject some life into a game I felt was quite sterile.
- I appreciate there is some meaningful variation in the Asian-themed cultures shown in the game - Mortal Kombat has fumbled this in the past by painting with a very broad stereotypical pan-Asian brush. I was worried based on how similar some of the characters looked in trailers for the game but they've mostly executed on subtle differences of details in clothing and character design in a way I appreciate.
All in all, this game suffers from coming out in the same year as Street Fighter 6 which dared to try some new, fun things and while it didn't all work, it was a breath of fresh air. I'm here wishing for a different timeline where Mortal Kombat 1 was less of a whiff.
The past few Mortal Kombats have inhabited a schlocky, campy B-movie vibe that haven't been the deepest of stories but have mostly been fun. With how the previous game ended (along with its DLC) and the possibilities it represented, I was keenly awaiting to see what they chose to do with this new outing.
Unfortunately, they chose to do nothing meaningful with the premise until maybe the last 30 minutes and by that time, I was very much over the game. But maybe I shouldn't be surprised - this is very much the world that someone like Liu Kang would create - one with a very limited imagination of what could meaningfully be different. Insert the pithy saying about how when your only tool are your fists, you treat every problem like a skull waiting to be pulverised.
This extends to the cast of characters and even the violence in the game - it all feels a bit rote at this point.
- We're going through the motions of all these x-ray bone breaking special moves because, well, we did it in the last game so we need it here too. Even as someone who occasionally enjoys a gory fatality, these mid-match effects have grown tiring for me, slowing down the paces of a match for no real benefit.
- We have most of the same characters because it would be weird if we didn't have them. Which is a real shame because, as mentioned, the last thirty minutes shows a different world that would have been a lot more fun and dynamic as a player. Perhaps this is because more sweeping changes to the roster and gameplay would have greater implications on competitive balance but I do wish they had found a way for the single player content to be more varied.
The new Invasions mode seeks to deliver this variety by introducing stages with random modifiers but these felt more like chores than anything which made the game more fun to play. Invasions is a big playground designed to eat up my time in conjunction with the daily and weekly challenges for minimal cosmetic differences. I could see this being a lot of fun if its iterated on in future seasons, with more emphasis on player empowerment rather than dealing with weird stage debuffs or other things which aren't really explained well in the UI, but as it is today, I couldn't think of a worse way to spend my free time.
Speaking to positives though,
- the new actor for Shang Tsung really steps up and does a great job of being smarmy in the best ways. He had big shoes to fill and I think he mostly does a great job with what he's given.
- the environment details are pristine and helped inject some life into a game I felt was quite sterile.
- I appreciate there is some meaningful variation in the Asian-themed cultures shown in the game - Mortal Kombat has fumbled this in the past by painting with a very broad stereotypical pan-Asian brush. I was worried based on how similar some of the characters looked in trailers for the game but they've mostly executed on subtle differences of details in clothing and character design in a way I appreciate.
All in all, this game suffers from coming out in the same year as Street Fighter 6 which dared to try some new, fun things and while it didn't all work, it was a breath of fresh air. I'm here wishing for a different timeline where Mortal Kombat 1 was less of a whiff.
So the campaign was awesome, the ending though I was meh on. I preferred MK11 ending. I'm really happy with the rebooted designs they chose for Mileena, Nitara and Scorpion, they are truly my favourite characters in the MK series besides Jade but she isn't in this game. Hopefully she gets a future DLC like Mileena did for MK11! I love this invasion mode, it's pretty cool, the roster is kind of meh in this game compared to mk11 and mk x in my opinion, gameplay is smooth but the thing I hate is again another MK game with poor optimization on PC, we only had 1 graphic setting and couldn't even change the fps above 60fps. I am really excited to see the future of this game and what DLC's/Characters they add! I hope we get Jade in a future DLC, and I am pumped to play as Homelander, Omniman & Peacemaker. I will edit this review log once I have 100%/platinumed this game to put how many hours to 100% in steam achievements!
It's been a while since I've enjoyed a Mortal Kombat game. 10 & 11 failed to hold my interest for too long. Through a comedy of errors with their respective gameplay feel(s), story modes, & DLC rosters (I don't think I even played 11 long enough to touch the DLC or the second campaign). My love for the franchise started to wane & I was well prepared to give up the ghost and drop the franchise and watch from the sidelines. Even Injustice 2 failed to hold my attention for very long. Both it and MK11 felt far too dull & sluggish.
Suffice it to say, I didn't think I'd say this after how their last 3 big fighting games sat with me. But NRS did a pretty bang-up job with MK1. The game feels responsive and alive, every hit feels like it matters and combos are genuinely fun to perform. The core cast of playable and kameo characters feels well-rounded at launch, they all look amazing and it feels like a revitalization of the older aesthetic in some places (specifically the kameos, also very happy to see the classic cyborg character designs again). However, some designs leave a bit to be desired. I think de-gothing Nitara is a cardinal sin in itself and once again Reiko feels like he's not enough of a character to justify his own existence. The limited customization is a little jarring, for some characters you can replace the masks, for others it's the hats or weapons. I just feel like it's a little inconsistent, and would rather take simple unlockable costumes with unlockable color palettes instead. I was surprised to find the story mode is actually quite enjoyable. It felt more like a popcorn movie than the previous MK story modes before it, even if the tie-in to the previous game felt a little pointless. Let this new universe stand on its own before you introduce a multiverse into the mix. It messes with the threat scale that could already exist within this new setting. Invasion Mode feels large enough to keep me invested for a long enough period that I'll actually learn the game indirectly before plain mashing, though the armor every fighter you go up against gets feels more like it to fluff the difficulty more than it is anything else (though it has been getting me into the habit of blocking more which is nice).
Much like the last Mortal Kombat reboot way back in 2011, this is a step in the right direction in a major way. Let's hope Ed Boon & NRS gets it right this time.
Suffice it to say, I didn't think I'd say this after how their last 3 big fighting games sat with me. But NRS did a pretty bang-up job with MK1. The game feels responsive and alive, every hit feels like it matters and combos are genuinely fun to perform. The core cast of playable and kameo characters feels well-rounded at launch, they all look amazing and it feels like a revitalization of the older aesthetic in some places (specifically the kameos, also very happy to see the classic cyborg character designs again). However, some designs leave a bit to be desired. I think de-gothing Nitara is a cardinal sin in itself and once again Reiko feels like he's not enough of a character to justify his own existence. The limited customization is a little jarring, for some characters you can replace the masks, for others it's the hats or weapons. I just feel like it's a little inconsistent, and would rather take simple unlockable costumes with unlockable color palettes instead. I was surprised to find the story mode is actually quite enjoyable. It felt more like a popcorn movie than the previous MK story modes before it, even if the tie-in to the previous game felt a little pointless. Let this new universe stand on its own before you introduce a multiverse into the mix. It messes with the threat scale that could already exist within this new setting. Invasion Mode feels large enough to keep me invested for a long enough period that I'll actually learn the game indirectly before plain mashing, though the armor every fighter you go up against gets feels more like it to fluff the difficulty more than it is anything else (though it has been getting me into the habit of blocking more which is nice).
Much like the last Mortal Kombat reboot way back in 2011, this is a step in the right direction in a major way. Let's hope Ed Boon & NRS gets it right this time.
Finished the story today and my general thoughts? MK stories usually suck but this one was pretty alright, even though I kind of lost interest by the end.
Gameplay wise? Very cool game with a very cool roster, but PLEASE fix the input recognition some of those combo challenges are borderline impossible because of it. Also Krypt was better than Invasion don't come at me
Gameplay wise? Very cool game with a very cool roster, but PLEASE fix the input recognition some of those combo challenges are borderline impossible because of it. Also Krypt was better than Invasion don't come at me
I hope the eventual expansion is called Mortal Kombat 1 2.
I feel the narrative story mode is roughly as strong as that in Mortal Kombat 11, although I prefer MK1’s martial arts focus to the past two games’ obsessions with the boring special forces characters. In fact, the re-contextualization of the characters and backstories is one of the more interesting aspects of the story; nobody wanted to see Raiden fumble the realms a fourth time. The dialogue can be grating and Marvelesque, especially with Johnny Cage, and unfortunately the last two chapters dissolve into a predictable mash of multiverse shenanigans and in-jokes.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the references were pointed at me, basically saying “Conman, this one’s for you.” I mean, Havik’s presence in this game alone feels like a direct Conman appeal. Not to get ahead of myself, but SHUJINKO is a Kameo fighter in this game and his fatality is the five point palm exploding heart technique from Kill Bill. Anyway, the majority of the campaign was quite enjoyable and the new spin on things felt refreshing. Playing the Earthrealm characters without their powers for the opening portion of the game was particularly cool to me. The end is a mess, but there was a novelty to it which I didn’t mind. Also a fun tip, I didn’t turn it off but the Test Your Might stuff can be disabled in the options menu.
While I’m happy NRS decided to pander specifically to my nostalgia for the 3D era MK games, I wish they’d actually just bring back Konquest mode. The new Invasions mode is basically Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s World of Light, which is better the last game’s multiverse gear-grinding towers, but I would've hoped to see them expand on MK11’s Krypt mode instead.
Where this game shines above Mortal Kombat 11 most is in its gameplay. The Kameo assist system/gimmick is the shot in the arm this needed to become more dynamic and interesting than its predecessor, combining different characters with different Kameos leads to different match-ups and unique matches in a way 11 simply never achieved.
I think Street Fighter 6 being so incredible takes the wind out of MK1’s sails a bit (it even basically has Konquest mode), but just because another game is better doesn’t mean this game isn’t good. I like it. I’m gonna stop rambling and go back to playing it.
I feel the narrative story mode is roughly as strong as that in Mortal Kombat 11, although I prefer MK1’s martial arts focus to the past two games’ obsessions with the boring special forces characters. In fact, the re-contextualization of the characters and backstories is one of the more interesting aspects of the story; nobody wanted to see Raiden fumble the realms a fourth time. The dialogue can be grating and Marvelesque, especially with Johnny Cage, and unfortunately the last two chapters dissolve into a predictable mash of multiverse shenanigans and in-jokes.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the references were pointed at me, basically saying “Conman, this one’s for you.” I mean, Havik’s presence in this game alone feels like a direct Conman appeal. Not to get ahead of myself, but SHUJINKO is a Kameo fighter in this game and his fatality is the five point palm exploding heart technique from Kill Bill. Anyway, the majority of the campaign was quite enjoyable and the new spin on things felt refreshing. Playing the Earthrealm characters without their powers for the opening portion of the game was particularly cool to me. The end is a mess, but there was a novelty to it which I didn’t mind. Also a fun tip, I didn’t turn it off but the Test Your Might stuff can be disabled in the options menu.
While I’m happy NRS decided to pander specifically to my nostalgia for the 3D era MK games, I wish they’d actually just bring back Konquest mode. The new Invasions mode is basically Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s World of Light, which is better the last game’s multiverse gear-grinding towers, but I would've hoped to see them expand on MK11’s Krypt mode instead.
Where this game shines above Mortal Kombat 11 most is in its gameplay. The Kameo assist system/gimmick is the shot in the arm this needed to become more dynamic and interesting than its predecessor, combining different characters with different Kameos leads to different match-ups and unique matches in a way 11 simply never achieved.
I think Street Fighter 6 being so incredible takes the wind out of MK1’s sails a bit (it even basically has Konquest mode), but just because another game is better doesn’t mean this game isn’t good. I like it. I’m gonna stop rambling and go back to playing it.
Story was surprisingly enjoyable, great incentives to keep playing in the form of cosmetics through playing invasions or ranked online, and mechanics feel like a giant step up from mk11 in terms of speed and combo variety.
This review contains spoilers
Mortal Kombat: Secret Wars
or
Mortal Kombat: Crisis on Infinite Earths
Take your pick
or
Mortal Kombat: Crisis on Infinite Earths
Take your pick
when sindel said "MK12_148_154, 11" i cried. truly an emotionally gripping moment.
Boom! Divorced!
This review contains spoilers
I swear to god if they mess up Havik I’m going to burn down NetherRealms studios
bi-han is a bitch
zerado em 15/09:
obs: por enquanto só joguei o modo história, um pouco do invasões, fiz 2 finais e algumas partidas contra meu irmão
gameplay está perfeita, não tive nenhum problema e está um beleza fazer os combos, os personagens estão como smp 10/10, e a história, tenho minhas críticas ao final (especialmente o boss), só que os plots e algumas partes são surreais de ótimas! achei o modo invasões interessante, só que preciso jogar mais... e sim, é melhor q o mk11.
8/10
obs: por enquanto só joguei o modo história, um pouco do invasões, fiz 2 finais e algumas partidas contra meu irmão
gameplay está perfeita, não tive nenhum problema e está um beleza fazer os combos, os personagens estão como smp 10/10, e a história, tenho minhas críticas ao final (especialmente o boss), só que os plots e algumas partes são surreais de ótimas! achei o modo invasões interessante, só que preciso jogar mais... e sim, é melhor q o mk11.
8/10
I enjoyed the story mode more than I thought I would. It's nothing mind-blowing, but they did a good job at getting me invested.
Characters have a lot more tools and interesting combos compared to MK11. Not to mention the Kameos, which add even more depth to everyone's moveset. I can see myself playing this game online for a long time.
My only major complaints are with Invasions Mode, and how grindy character mastery feels. Invasions just has so many fights you have to go through that can be won simply by uppercutting a few times. Only the bosses pose even a slight bit of challenge. It's better than the MK11 Krypt, but still feels like a grind due to the sheer quantity of these boring battles.
It's cool that each character and kameo gets its own progression system for unlocks, but it takes way too long. You can go through the entire invasion season and only make it about halfway through one character's mastery. Make sure you do the uppercut brutality at the end of every fight for extra xp. You're gonna need it.
This game is a step up from MK11 in both story and gameplay for me, but the grindy progression systems seem like they're here to stay.
Characters have a lot more tools and interesting combos compared to MK11. Not to mention the Kameos, which add even more depth to everyone's moveset. I can see myself playing this game online for a long time.
My only major complaints are with Invasions Mode, and how grindy character mastery feels. Invasions just has so many fights you have to go through that can be won simply by uppercutting a few times. Only the bosses pose even a slight bit of challenge. It's better than the MK11 Krypt, but still feels like a grind due to the sheer quantity of these boring battles.
It's cool that each character and kameo gets its own progression system for unlocks, but it takes way too long. You can go through the entire invasion season and only make it about halfway through one character's mastery. Make sure you do the uppercut brutality at the end of every fight for extra xp. You're gonna need it.
This game is a step up from MK11 in both story and gameplay for me, but the grindy progression systems seem like they're here to stay.
OH MY GOD! NRS OUTDID THEMSELVES! MK1 was the best reinvention of the timeline and brought back so many older faces to the new gen! Mileena is still my sweet baby and main! Definitely watch a playthrough or experience yourself!!!
8.5/10 Mortal Kombat campaigns are always great, and this one is no exception. The team at NetherRealm have delivered nothing but high quality games since Mortal Kombat (2011), so I had high hopes for this one. The only pretty bad thing that stood out to me instantly is Megan Fox’s voice acting. Everyone does a pretty good to great job, but it’s clear she is not a voice actor. I enjoy when a game has a main stream as part of its cast, but this is one case where it doesn’t work. The gameplay is top notch and plays beautifully. Hopefully next up is Injustice 3 (or DC vs Marvel…).
They did make both Mortal Kombat 11 endings canon. Also, I got this game before it was released, and I beat it on the same day
Better than MK11 in some way, also worse than it in some ways. Either way NRS don’t miss
Liu Kang has spent eons crafting timelines, taking lessons from one era and applying them to the next. All of his meticulous planning has resulted in a new era, one that bends previously sacred rules in order to lead to a better tomorrow. NetherRealm Studios’ journey mirrors Liu Kang’s, and while it didn’t take eons, the studio spent an unusually long time rebooting the Mortal Kombat universe for Mortal Kombat 1. These efforts to reshape the series have led to a more freeform gameplay style where creativity and player expression rule like an empress in Outworld. But such innovation has been paired with a surprising amount of stagnation elsewhere.
Read the full review here:
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/review/891713-mortal-kombat-1-review-ps5-worth-buying/
Read the full review here:
https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/review/891713-mortal-kombat-1-review-ps5-worth-buying/
This review contains spoilers
i'm going to reserve rating this game until later, for now this review is just going to be about MK1's story mode. usually it takes me a while to meditate on how i feel about a fighting game in totalality, but i do have thoughts i want to share about the narrative they're trying to craft.
okay so did they really and sincerely want us to not laugh at that one cutscene where they're about to do infinity war and then liu kang says MLK's "the arc of the universe bends towards justice" quote? there's such a definite point where this game's story goes from "self-serious and dramatic" to "tom and jerry x scooby doo crossover". on the one hand, it's fucking jarring and threw me off so hard. on the other hand, it's incredibly fucking funny in that way that you know NRS is in on the joke and wants you to laugh. it's disappointing that the tonal shift has to come out of left field due to me actually being relatively invested in a lot of these character stories that go nowhere, and i imagine this was a game meant to establish more than develop a setting.
i think my largest complaints come from the fact that, outside of the campy nature of the last like 20% of the game, the game is largely incredibly unfunny yet tries desperately to be so. i think i laughed one time (at kitana's reaction to johnny being like "OMG you're 1000 years old?!"), but basically every other joke fell flat or went on for too long. despite never having seen an MCU movie, so many lines made me go "MARVEL SHIT". the crowd of normies that NRS wants is obvious. either way, i was interested in seeing where the game was going to go with the switchup of liu kang and raiden but it kind of just. . . doesn't do anything with that? there's other fun character wrinkles, like sindel not being evil or having killed jerrod, or mileena managing to reverse her transformation that makes her tarkatan, but these are more treated as status quo than reveals. the game has these changes, but they're not played with in any significant way. like i said, it's more interested in establishing than developing.
beyond that, this story feels very safe in that it doesn't kill off any characters besides sindel (who will probably come back in a sequel, probably as DLC because "jerrod saved her soul", whatever that means) and capitalizes on the title being Mortal Kombat 1 so it can try and nab as many newcomers as possible. MK1 is so much more appealing as a title to an outsider than MK12, so i can't blame them. i just wish the story ended up having more of a point. things largely end where they start with only a few characters (raiden, kenshi) having meaningfully changed by the conclusion of the story. again, i get it, you want the lore and setting to be established without alienating newcomers that this game is invariably trying to wrangle in, but the story didn't need to feel so empty and nothing to accomplish that same goal. newcomers want to be impressed by your story, they will feel emotions for these characters if you establish the context and make the relationships clear. this was your opportunity to make newcomers care about longstanding themes in the series, like the rivalry between mileena and kitana. instead, it's acknowledged like once or twice and then nothing ever comes of it. no head, no resolution, it just fades into the ether.
and yeah, "at least the game looks good and fights are choreographed well", but this game very clearly wants to present as a movie in the same way that 11 did, and where 11 largely suceeded, 1 fails. i'll withhold some of my assholeish comments about frame rate chugging or some animations looking goofy because i would rather games look worse and dev teams be crunched less than the inverse. but there's more that could've been done here. we could've had more from this story, and resetting the timeline with this many differences had such fun potential. i feel ultimately this story fails to live up to what we could've had with this premise and these characters. it squanders so many characters that i wanted to know more about, like smoke, reiko, tanya, etc. and there's no large emotional beats that i can attach to. i said it in my review of X, but even having little frame of reference for the lin kuei/shirai ryu conflict, i still felt something when scorpion and sub-zero mended that wound. no such moment could be found in this game's story.
i would rank the modern MK stories as 11 > X > 1 > 2011 (god i fucking LOVE NRS's titling for this stupid series). 1 doesn't fall flat entirely, but it doesn't evoke many positive feelings out of me. NRS has been able to do better in both the entries above it having more against them (pre-existing lore, entirely new characters to introduce to newcomers and oldies, etc.), so i'm hopeful that this is just a misstep.
okay so did they really and sincerely want us to not laugh at that one cutscene where they're about to do infinity war and then liu kang says MLK's "the arc of the universe bends towards justice" quote? there's such a definite point where this game's story goes from "self-serious and dramatic" to "tom and jerry x scooby doo crossover". on the one hand, it's fucking jarring and threw me off so hard. on the other hand, it's incredibly fucking funny in that way that you know NRS is in on the joke and wants you to laugh. it's disappointing that the tonal shift has to come out of left field due to me actually being relatively invested in a lot of these character stories that go nowhere, and i imagine this was a game meant to establish more than develop a setting.
i think my largest complaints come from the fact that, outside of the campy nature of the last like 20% of the game, the game is largely incredibly unfunny yet tries desperately to be so. i think i laughed one time (at kitana's reaction to johnny being like "OMG you're 1000 years old?!"), but basically every other joke fell flat or went on for too long. despite never having seen an MCU movie, so many lines made me go "MARVEL SHIT". the crowd of normies that NRS wants is obvious. either way, i was interested in seeing where the game was going to go with the switchup of liu kang and raiden but it kind of just. . . doesn't do anything with that? there's other fun character wrinkles, like sindel not being evil or having killed jerrod, or mileena managing to reverse her transformation that makes her tarkatan, but these are more treated as status quo than reveals. the game has these changes, but they're not played with in any significant way. like i said, it's more interested in establishing than developing.
beyond that, this story feels very safe in that it doesn't kill off any characters besides sindel (who will probably come back in a sequel, probably as DLC because "jerrod saved her soul", whatever that means) and capitalizes on the title being Mortal Kombat 1 so it can try and nab as many newcomers as possible. MK1 is so much more appealing as a title to an outsider than MK12, so i can't blame them. i just wish the story ended up having more of a point. things largely end where they start with only a few characters (raiden, kenshi) having meaningfully changed by the conclusion of the story. again, i get it, you want the lore and setting to be established without alienating newcomers that this game is invariably trying to wrangle in, but the story didn't need to feel so empty and nothing to accomplish that same goal. newcomers want to be impressed by your story, they will feel emotions for these characters if you establish the context and make the relationships clear. this was your opportunity to make newcomers care about longstanding themes in the series, like the rivalry between mileena and kitana. instead, it's acknowledged like once or twice and then nothing ever comes of it. no head, no resolution, it just fades into the ether.
and yeah, "at least the game looks good and fights are choreographed well", but this game very clearly wants to present as a movie in the same way that 11 did, and where 11 largely suceeded, 1 fails. i'll withhold some of my assholeish comments about frame rate chugging or some animations looking goofy because i would rather games look worse and dev teams be crunched less than the inverse. but there's more that could've been done here. we could've had more from this story, and resetting the timeline with this many differences had such fun potential. i feel ultimately this story fails to live up to what we could've had with this premise and these characters. it squanders so many characters that i wanted to know more about, like smoke, reiko, tanya, etc. and there's no large emotional beats that i can attach to. i said it in my review of X, but even having little frame of reference for the lin kuei/shirai ryu conflict, i still felt something when scorpion and sub-zero mended that wound. no such moment could be found in this game's story.
i would rank the modern MK stories as 11 > X > 1 > 2011 (god i fucking LOVE NRS's titling for this stupid series). 1 doesn't fall flat entirely, but it doesn't evoke many positive feelings out of me. NRS has been able to do better in both the entries above it having more against them (pre-existing lore, entirely new characters to introduce to newcomers and oldies, etc.), so i'm hopeful that this is just a misstep.
This review contains spoilers
As soon as it became a big multiverse clash of ages the story lost me, but luckily that isn't until the very end so the rest is still pretty great
Mortal Kombat 1 é um excelente jogo de luta porém com algumas coisas que deixam a desejar. Primeiramente nenhuma ressalva ao gameplay que eu achei impecável e realmente não botaria nenhum defeito porém como nem tudo é perfeito... infelizmente o jogo se prejudica em 2 pontos que são a história e o modo invasão. O modo invasão no geral é fraquíssimo se for comparado com a cripta, a intenção foi boa em tentar trazer algo diferente porém o modo invasão é extremamente cansativo e entediante depois de algumas horas jogando. O modo história para mim foi a grande decepção, ela começa muito boa e promissora porém se perde totalmente quando você está perto do arco final, o jogo vinha com uma proposta de "reboot" na história mas poderia facilmente ter sido chamado de Mortal Kombat 12.
Kool Kampaign! No rating yet i gotta play more of this game Lol.
This is the worst game I have ever played. My usb stopped working and I couldn't connect my controler after 3 minutes playing, 0 stars.
this is my avengers endgame
Fuck you MK11.
this one is good!
this one is good!
WE ARE SO BACK!
Story mode was so fun. Shang Tsung the absolute fruitloop he is was an absolute highlight, and I ADORE how the tower endings are all continuations of the story mode, it made getting them so fun, and a majority of them were great continuations and setups for the future.
I suck at fighting games so I can’t say much for the gameplay, I’ve had my fair share of online matches and am decent I guess.
Invasion is a great new mode, walking through the whopping 6 different maps got a little tedious after a while but the cosmetics you get (especially the last one) make it all worth it, fun mode and can’t wait for the future seasons.
Overall as a relatively new MK fan this is probably the best first game on launch I could’ve asked for. Really fun game even though I suck ass
I suck at fighting games so I can’t say much for the gameplay, I’ve had my fair share of online matches and am decent I guess.
Invasion is a great new mode, walking through the whopping 6 different maps got a little tedious after a while but the cosmetics you get (especially the last one) make it all worth it, fun mode and can’t wait for the future seasons.
Overall as a relatively new MK fan this is probably the best first game on launch I could’ve asked for. Really fun game even though I suck ass
Um jogo cinematográfico e lindo, isso é literalmente um multiverso da loucura só que bom.