Mortal Kombat 1

Mortal Kombat 1 is a triumph in every way. Aesthetically clean, carefully crafted, with a revised and optimized combat approach for each character. The introduction of the Kameo characters amplifies the need to find ever new and lethal combinations.

Mortal Kombat 1 lives up to the hype. The gameplay tweaks to the core fighting keep things fast and explosive, and the addition of Kameos significantly adds to your arsenal in a fight. The story mode is top-notch in the genre, even if it can quickly get weird. Add in Invasions mode, and Mortal Kombat 1 matches Street Fighter 6 in giving solo players plenty to do. It looks and plays great, and the netcode is solid, so it stands alongside Capcom's latest as a strong fighting game that'll be in your rotation for years to come.

There is a lot to enjoy about this new era of NetherRealm's top fighting game. Mortal Kombat 1 casts a much-needed set of fresh eyes across its lore, which reinvents the roster in new and interesting ways. Not every choice works, both in character design and development, but the ones that do make an immediate impact. Fighting with these new characters is awesome thanks to air combos and Kameos, even if the modes outside of campaign leave something to be desired. The future of Mortal Kombat is bright, and MK1 marks the first step on that new path. I just hope the next chapter gives me more to sink my teeth into.

Mortal Kombat 1 is a job well done, but falls short of fully embracing its reboot. While the narrative restart shines, the gameplay cautiously treads familiar ground, occasionally even regressing. Nevertheless, it offers an enjoyable and accessible action experience that's just as visually stunning as it is entertaining to play.

How can we continue to keep a legendary video game series that has just celebrated its 30th anniversary alive? NetherRealm has decided. The apprentice sorcerers led by Ed Boon reanimate the beast and opt for a nice reboot taking care of its accessibility strategy, adding a big touch of RPG (Invasions) and deepening its gameplay with a feature previously unpublished in the series (Kaméos). Despite its aggressive Live service side, fairly classic solo/multi modes and the disappearance of elements loved by fans, the title published by WB Games hits hard if not delivering an uppercut.