Let’s discover together, in this complete review, what are the strengths and weaknesses of Mortal Kombat 1, the reboot of the NetherRealm Studios series that recently arrived on PC and console
Getting your hands on Mortal Kombat 1 was like opening the doors to a new universe, a new reality, where everything we knew went out the window. Relationships of strength and power, of friendship or enmity, of alliance and rivalry: NetherRealm has decided to start over, throwing themselves into a new venture in a historical moment full of great 1v1 fighting games, such as Street Fighter 6 (without forgetting the imminent arrival of Tekken 8). We spent several dozen hours in the company of the eternal Kombats and we finally decided to talk to you about Mortal Kombat 1 in this review: it won’t be easy, we admit it, but we’ll try. Fight!
A sidereal distance | Mortal Kombat 1 review
Four years after Mortal Kombat 11, NetherRealm takes the narrative that has carried the franchise forward for thirty years and starts it all over again. Literally. After defeating Kronika and Shang Tsung, Liu Kang, god of fire, uses Kronika’s hourglass to recreate the universe from scratch. Subsequently, he entrusts control of it to Geras and decides to become, in effect, the protector of the Earth kingdom. Very soon, however, he will realize that things are not going exactly as he had planned and that evil always finds a way to sneak through the cracks of space-time.
With Mortal Kombat 1, recently arrived on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series Yes, all the backgrounds of the twenty-two fighters playable at launch (a roster that will, obviously, expand over time via DLC) have been completely changed. For example, Kung Lao and Raiden are two laborers, while Johnny Cage is a decadent actor, Kenshi Takahashi is an ex-member of the Yakuza and so on. The need to reformulate every single character, as well as the relationships that arise from them, derive from the fact that the franchise had definitely reached a point of stalemate, as far as the narrative sector is concerned.
Interesting… | Mortal Kombat 1 review
The first hours of the story mode game are truly convincing, exciting and full of details and new nuances for the various protagonists. Seeing them in other clothes has a charm that is rarely describable, especially for a brand that has been around for so many years that it has made many of its fighters iconic and easily recognizable by anyone, even those who aren’t exactly familiar with them. From the middle of the campaign, however, and especially towards the end, the dynamics and events spiral towards the banal and the obvious and, inevitably, to also clash with the tracks of the past. A real shame because as a narrative reboot it was really convincing us, but we had to take a timid step back.
Although it did not convince us on the narrative front, Mortal Kombat 1 does one thing well: amuse. Even the Story mode, divided into chapters (with each a unique protagonist), does its dirty work and makes the Basic Training almost useless. This is because, over the course of the ten hours needed to complete it, we will be able to practically pass the complete roster through our hands, trying out the moveset and the various skills. Then the classic Towers return, which those most fond of the brand will certainly know well, and the single player section is completed with the Invasions mode.
Invasion from Kameo | Review of Mortal Kombat 1
In the latter we will be led to experience a sort of board game, with various RPG elements. Moving from box to box, with the aim of reaching the end of the selected path, will not be so easy: we will have to face clashes, bosses and minigames of various kinds, or directly some Towers. The rewards we will obtain, however, will be quite substantial and will vary from accessories to consumables to simple coins, a factor which, however, makes the Invasions mode quite useful for all those who want to collect all the collectibles.
What we particularly liked about Mortal Kombat 1 is in fact its generosity. The title does not spare itself in throwing large quantities of coins at us, to carry out the classic “fishing” with which to obtain new accessories of various sizes to customize our Fighters. The twenty-two fighters are then joined by the fifteen Kameos, characters that cannot be used, but can be recalled during the fight by pressing one of the back buttons. Warning: we are not faced with a tag-team type fight, in which it is possible to swap characters. The Kameos, as we also explained in the preview (you can find it by clicking here!) are real extemporaneous aids, useful for interrupting an opponent’s kombos or, more simply, prolonging ours.
Training, Kombo and… | Mortal Kombat 1 review
And although we told you that completing the Story mode will at least act as a basic tutorial, this does not take away the fundamental importance of Training. Yes, because we remind everyone that Mortal Kombat is a very technical franchise, where button smashing has never worked (and it will never work) and in which it is essential to know the character you are playing by heart, in his strengths and weaknesses. Also consider that the Story mode on Normal can be easily completed even by the less experienced, but if you decide to try it on Hard you will have a lot to worry about if you don’t know the Kombattenti.
The system is also of great importance Kombo aeree, much more present than the chapters of the past, which complicate the characters’ moveset even more, enriching it at the same time and providing further possibilities of constant damage once you start stringing together the Kombos. This, especially, in the online sector: very solid and held up by the equally always impenetrable NetherRealm netcode, online multiplayer is as always the competitive cornerstone of the entire Mortal Kombat 1 experience.
Matchmaking and technicalities | Mortal Kombat 1 review
The presence of the season pass did not particularly scare us, as did that of the seasonal currency, because the matches are channeled one after the other, between one victory and one hundred defeats. However, we have noticed that matchmaking, once it has taken place, can no longer be abandoned, regardless data on the stability of the connection and its quality in the clash are obtainable only after pairing. If you leave the screen, you actually get a nice penalty on your head. This is a factor that didn’t particularly bother us, simple enthusiasts and quite poor ones, but we admit that if we had been professional players aiming for competitions and challenges… it would have been a big problem.
From a technical point of view, Mortal Kombat 1 maintains the very high levels of NetherRealm productions. The character models are excellent, detailed and with some variations compared to the past that will only please lifelong enthusiasts. The same goes for the settings, very rich in details and with colorful and varied colours. The fluidity of the animations and the sensation of the blow dealt or received are excellent: the heaviness can be felt, indeed.
Finally, if the soundtrack remains averagethe Italian dubbing didn’t impress us all that positively, especially in the choice of some cast members (a little too pompous even for the atmosphere of a Mortal Kombat). It’s a shame, but all you need to do is play it in English to overcome this problem, while if you don’t care about the cast of voice actors… go ahead with Italian!
Ready? Fight!
We conclude this review of Mortal Kombat 1 by confirming what was said at the beginning: NetherRealm has effectively opened a new window on a classic dimension, which we have all learned to appreciate over time. Although the narrative sector has mostly disappointed us from mid-Campaign onwards, it is undeniable how much the renewal and in-depth gameplay makes the new Nether creature incredibly fun pad in hand. Some inexplicable uncertainties in the online component made us take a timid step back, but nothing particularly traumatic. Mortal Kombat 1 absolutely deserves to be played, experienced and explored by every fighting game enthusiast. And now… Fight!
Mortal Kombat 1 is currently available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S. Let us know what you think below in the comments, we at techgameworld.com will continue to keep you updated with all the news, guides and reviews on gaming and tech themes! And if you want to buy it at a decidedly advantageous price on Steam (30% less is always very convenient!), we recommend you take a look at the dedicated InstantGaming page that you find here!
Points in favor
- A restart of the narrative…
- Renewed and damn fun gameplay
- Technical, profound and not at all banal
- Aesthetically and technically excellent
Points against
- … not convincing from mid-Campaign onwards
- Some matchmaking things to review
- Not very convincing Italian dubbing