I might be biased because MK11 is my favorite MK game of all time (might even be top 5 fighting games for me too), but this was a kinda disappointing release. I don't know if I like most of the characters getting taken off the roster and only having some for just assists. Has that even happened in other games before or am I tripping? Nitara was also my main in MK Armageddon so seeing her take this big of an L with the acting is actually disgusting. Also just think the old DLC characters were better but the ones now are still really good.

Mortal Kombat 1 (2023)

Played on Xbox Series S

For years, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with NRS. On one hand, they’ll make a product out the gate rich with content, quality of life features that other games in the genre don’t have, and glorious presentation. The other hand, the gameplay makes one questionable decision that (usually) fucks it all up in the end. Mortal Kombat 9, Injustice, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice 2, & Mortal Kombat 11 have all suffered from this fate. Does that make these games bad? For the longest time I thought so, but Mortal Kombat 1 had me rethink things.

Despite the name (which is dumb), MK1 is a continuation of the long winded story of Mortal Kombat being a direct sequel to its predecessor, MK11. New timeline, new backstories, and a whole direction they take these characters. The story mode is actually some of the best stuff NRS has ever done characterization wise. Johnny, Kenshi, Kung Lao, Raiden, Kitana, Mileena, Sindel, Repitle & fucking BARAKA all get a spotlight. With characters like Johnny we’ve seen plenty of, but Baraka from being usually just a jobber fight to a man cursed with a disease, trying to defend the only people he has left is really incredible to see. The second half of the story doesn’t pay the same respect to the other characters introduced and it pretty much drivels into typical MK nonsense. Kind of a bummer, but the story mode isn’t horrible.

Gameplay wise, it’s really cool. NRS tried so hard for years to make custom variations work, and all it really took for them to make the gameplay great was just simplifying the move list & dropping variations entirely. Each character feels like a “definitive” version of themselves and in conjunction with the kameo system, allows the player to express themselves freely this time. The Kameo system gives new ways to play without sacrificing a playable characters core gameplay. While it’s not exactly perfect at the moment, with some tweaks for how ambushes could work, it could be so off the rails as a tag game should be.

But that’s the thing. This game SHOULD be a whole lot more. Because outside of its gameplay, MK1 doesn’t have anything else of value to offer. Invasions started out as a mode that was fine into a repetitive mess that’s seasonal rewards are not worth the time and headache, an item shop with ludicrous prices and bundles, cosmetic customization has been extremely pulled back, the Krypt is straight up gone in favor of the shrine, playercards and icons are very cheap looking and void of any artwork, and there’s so much more.

You couldn’t tag moves at launch despite being a feature in NRS games since MKX. There were moves that characters had that were not in the movelist (which they weren’t secret moves, they genuinely weren’t there). A good number of brutalities didn’t work because they weren’t in the game yet despite being unlocked. Countless bugs within the game combo systems, so much so that even the CPU cannot complete the combo trials in demo mode. The game has slowdown and massive frame drops in Imvasions (which used to affect all modes of the game), battle intros we’re completely gone from arcade mode and online, and when they added both in an update, if you are to skip intros online, it would cause desync issues. Now desync issues just happen constantly whether you skip intros or not, making online almost unplayable at certain times. There’s no crossplay (which is apparently coming). There’s been almost no communication from NRS & the community creating such a huge mess and confusion. Capcom & Bandai Namco have been very vocal with their audiences, and I really wish NRS would do the same.

I really am scratching the surface on this one. To release a game so blatantly unfinished and empty is such a slap in the face to its audiences. It’s becoming more and more common with video games these days, and these companies really are getting away with it. I know not all of this is on NRS, WB definitely has some to blame here too. But to get a game so rich with love & quality like Street Fighter 6, to get something like this from the most popular and best selling fighting game franchise is laughable.

It makes me so sad that a game this fun is so barebones and dry everywhere else. I hated MK11, and even I gotta admit that game actually felt like a full product rather than some early access ripoff. I’m gonna stick around until Kombat Pack 1 is over and pray for a Street Fighter V type comeback, but if NRS doesn’t step it up, it’s looking like this gen’s Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite. A game that could’ve really been something.

Absolutely incredible. The story is probably the best in the series and the Invasions mode is a cool new mode that feels a little bit like MK9's challenge towers. I loved it. Klassic towers are still here, obviously, for those who like them. And I honestly do think they add to the experience, given the changed lore for this new timeline. Some of these tower endings have some crazy revelations. This seems to be carrying over into the Invasion mode's seasonal stories too, explaining the lore of some of these other timelines. The main story is chock full of great moments, fleshed out motivations, and playful tone to balance out the brutality. I did feel that attaching the story's events to MK11's Aftermath DLC was not the best move, but that's really the only flaw I can really think of. The characters were all well-written and the story was a blast start to finish. The combat from MK11 is back but with a few changes to make it a little more slower paced. I personally think it's a nice way to differentiate itself from MK11 a little bit. I also think that the kameo system is neat but I'm bummed out that some of these kameo characters aren't actually playable. I was actually looking forward to playing as Sonya too, goddamn it. The actual playable roster is solid though. It's not anything crazy but it's better than MKX's. There are also a few things here missing from MK11. The game's tutorial and practice modes aren't as in-depth and crossplay isn't in the game yet either. I also do think that they need to pump out more content in order to sustain this game's lifecycle in the long run. The Kombat Pack characters have no release date either. Hopefully Netherrealm makes the right steps in the long run, but so far this is a pretty good start! Thank you Ed Boon!

2024 Update: my god this game is dead as fuck lmao. Omni-Man broke the game, Peacemaker was pretty fun, and Homelander just dropped. 9 months after release... The excitement is gone. It's too late, nobody cares anymore. Granted, every MK dies before it blows up again towards the end of its lifecycle, but this one died FAST. It's a shame because I still do enjoy Invasions.

O jogo é muito divertido, o competitivo é bem legal.
Mas a historia é bem fraca, começa bem mas termina mt chata e sem nexo.

Se fosse pra dar notas de 0 a 10 pra cada ponto:

graficos: 10
jogabilidade: 9
historia: 4
trilha sonora: 8

I won't lie, I do find this game good, but I am let down by it. I was really expecting a much better game than it ended up being, I was hoping for this to be a 4/5.

The story is good, but it did feel tiring after a bit, it felt a bit too over the top at times, which is fine. I like the idea of this being a story reboot, and I think that's a cool way to change up relationships of characters, and bring the game series into a new direction.

The graphics, and from a technical standpoint, this game is great. It's absolutely stunning to look at, everything looks lifelike. My issue is the gameplay, it just didn't do it for me. It lacked that great feel that MKX and MK11 had.

The fatalities also didn't do it for me, I found them quite lackluster, and maybe it's because I've become totally desensitized to them.

Overall: 7/10

The Good
- Combat is crisp, responsive and intuitive
- Graphics are incredible. Seriously among the best this console cycle
- The story mode, although a little safe and inconsequential, was fun enough to play through

The Bad:
- Serious lack of content. Invasions is the big deal breaker, this is repetitive and poorly conceived
- Server issues. I've been booted out of offline modes multiple times due to server drops (why?)
- Lack of replayability. In all of Netherrealm's recent stuff I've found it rewarding coming back and unlocking different customisation options for characters. This has been really scaled back in MK1
- Monetisation. Characters locked behind paywalls that are clearly part of the base game. Netherrealm's/WB's greed is becoming increasingly intrusive when trying to enjoy their products in general

Overall, fine from a gameplay perspective but there was nothing here which made me want to come back after completing a 4-5hr story mode. As a big fan of the MK universe this is the least I've enjoyed an instalment in this franchise

Este juego es bueno, a secas, me gusta su sistema un poco más pausado aunque sigo prefiriendo los juegos como DBFZ. Pero igual está bien, la verdad soy muy casual en juegos de pelea y no estoy muy familiarizado con estos. La razón por la compra fue Homelander. Este juego, contiene un modo el cual se llama "Invasiones"; la verdad es un modo aburrido aunque tiene sentido, digo, es una especie de modo aventura en el que vas derrotando CPUs para conseguir items, skins o subir de nivel al personaje que usas para que te de más skins o desbloquear coleccionables y fatalities. El modo historia no tengo que decir nada, es como el 11, Injusticie 2, etc. Este modelo lo han implementado en todos estos juegos de pelea y siento que no esta mal para este modelo de juegos. Mejor que el de DBFZ sí es.
Ahora, creo que a la gente le molestó el gameplay y es que sí es más lento que el del 11, se siente un poco tosco en algunos personajes y los combos cambiaron un poco. Por parte del rediseño no me enoja la verdad, se ven bien menos Shao Kan. Todos los personajes me gustaron y el que más fue Jhonny Cage, siendo mi main y favorito.
-Juego Platinado así que considero haber acabado el juego.