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I’ve been waiting for the new Mortal Kombat since its announcement — and that, if memory serves, was somewhere in late spring. Since then, they’ve been gradually warming up interest, showing all sorts of trailers, and what initially confused me was the cameo fighter system. It was actively promoted, but it seemed strange to me. However, now you can see for yourself what came of it. The story campaign, as expected, is done according to the classics of the genre. Of course, you shouldn’t expect anything incredible from it, but it’s always interesting to see what kind of plot “hodgepodge” they’ve prepared for us this time.
After the relaunch of Mortal Kombat in 2011, it became obvious: since they managed to start everything from scratch once, why not repeat it again and again? Especially after what they did with the timeline in the last part, coming up with a new explanation is now no problem at all. Here we are at the next round of this endless reboot. In the new MK, there is such a mess with timelines that, frankly, the devil himself would get confused. But, as before, this cheerful chaos is still interesting to watch.
Table of Contents
What really stands out from the usual Mortal Kombat canon is the surprisingly peaceful atmosphere in which a good half of the new part takes place. Yes, it sounds strange. Mortal Kombat and a friendly atmosphere are seemingly incompatible things. But here it really works, although at first it causes a slight dissonance. Of course, the game has enough of the usual cruelty, and characters with pronounced hostility towards each other, but the general mood is … completely different. Not oppressive, not viscous, but rather relaxed, even light in some moments. At the same time, the visual style is simply amazing. The locations are like from another game, but in a good way. Bright, rich, worked out to the smallest detail – they seem to be specially created to admire them, and not just rush around them in search of another fatality. These are, without exaggeration, the most colorful levels in the history of the series. Although, I understand that for some fans this may seem like a departure from the “true spirit” of MK. Still, the game has its own dark aesthetics, and when instead of dark temples, cemeteries and lava caves you are given almost heavenly corners, you may get the feeling that you accidentally turned on something wrong. But don’t worry – there are also gloomy locations, it’s just that now the game balances between light and darkness.
What’s important is that this atmosphere didn’t just appear out of nowhere. It is quite logically explained by the plot. If you played the previous part with DLC, then you are already familiar with the direction in which the story has moved. If not – no problem, the opening screensaver introduces you quite competently. From the first minutes it becomes clear that the universe has experienced something like a “reboot”, and now many things look new. More peaceful. More calm. But don’t flatter yourself – this is the silence before the storm. The ending of the DLC from the previous part already hinted that not everything will go smoothly. And although at first it seems that the heroes have everything under control, gradually the plot begins to twist. And here the developers are great – they are not in a hurry to reveal all the cards. The tension grows slowly but surely, and you yourself do not notice how you find yourself drawn into a chain of events, where the stakes become ever higher.
However, despite the overall strength of the script, the ending was still disappointing. Especially the final fight. Seriously, it feels like a bad joke. I remembered Mortal Kombat 4 – there was Shinnok, who, in fact, was no different from an ordinary fighter. But even then, there was a good “boss-preparation” in the person of Goro. Here there is no such feeling at all. The campaign passes without any particular bursts of difficulty, and by the end you feel a slight boredom rather than tension. The final boss is nothing. He does not cause fear, does not challenge, does not make you remember combos. He is just … there. And this, to put it mildly, is upsetting. The only thing that saves the situation a little is the ability to complete the final chapter for any character available at that time. There is also a small variability – depending on the chosen fighter, the composition of opponents changes. But, alas, this feature feels more like a decorative one than one that really affects the gameplay.
But there is a nice bonus: in the campaign, you can play not only for the standard “front” like Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya. This time, such old-school fighters as Reptile, Baraka, Mileena, Sindel and even Shang Tsung are also used. This really adds variety and a feeling that the plot is not fixated on the same composition. A particularly cool idea is to give freedom of choice of fighter in the finale. Want to complete the epilogue for Kitana? Please. For Scorpion? Easy.
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But what I personally really miss is a more large-scale approach to building the plot. Why not finally make two full-fledged storylines – for conventional heroes and villains? With different events, conflicts, characters, and then – a big, common finale that will unite everything into one story. It would be many times more interesting, deeper, and would also allow using all the fighters to the maximum. So far, the developers do not have enough courage for this, or, perhaps, resources. Too bad. As for traditional content like towers – it is, of course, in place. And there is nothing special to say about it. If you have ever played Mortal Kombat, then you know what to expect. These are the same “ladders” where you climb through battles, get rewards, open cosmetics. Works like a clock. But without revelations.
Mortal Kombat 1 has a new PvE mode called “Invasions”. At first I thought it was some kind of replacement for the Krypt – like, run through, collect cosmetics, open brutality, fatality and other “-alities”, and good. These are bonuses – not mandatory, but nice to have to brag to friends or just diversify your style.
But the more I played, the more I became convinced: “Invasions” are much closer to “Towers of Time” from the previous part. Here, too, you need to move from point to point on the map, engaging in battles on each of them. Sometimes, instead of a regular fight, you are given mini-tests – for example, a test of strength or survival for a while. They do not seem particularly difficult, but they dilute the gameplay and give a little break from the constant fights.
As in “Towers”, there are also modifiers – some interfere, some, on the contrary, help. Victories are rewarded with all sorts of goodies, including:
At the end of each location, a boss awaits you. And here the modifiers can really get on your nerves. But it is in these battles that all those bonuses that you collected along the way will come in handy – they can really make life easier.
It’s just a shame that out of all the unlockable cosmetics, few really caught my attention. I don’t like it when fighters’ looks change beyond recognition – especially when Scorpion’s signature yellow and black color scheme is taken away and something that looks more like another ninja is stuck on him. This also applies to the other characters. There is enough of this strange customization here – as, incidentally, in the previous part. At least they eventually added old-school skins and looks from the first film. I hope the developers will please us with something similar in this part too.
But the cameo fighters are just awesome. They look like their classic characters, mostly from Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate. Although there are also characters from other parts. I was especially pleased that their fatalities are the same classic moves that many remember from childhood. Personally, this caused a pleasant wave of nostalgia for me.
Oh yeah, I almost missed an important point. Among other things, you need to unlock finishing moves in the game — those spectacular fatalities for which we all love Mortal Kombat so much. True, only some of them are initially available, and the rest need to be unlocked by upgrading fighters. And this is where some players start to get annoyed. Why? Because upgrading is, to put it mildly, slow. That is, if you want to open the entire arsenal of finishing moves, you have to seriously invest time. And for those who don’t like grinding, this can become a real irritant.
However, in addition to finishing moves, upgrading also gives other goodies. Mostly cosmetics — profile decorations, frames, icons, and other visual bonuses. Here’s what you can get in the process:
The items are not the most necessary, but still nice. It’s like if you were given a badge “I’ve maxed out, sir” – it seems like nonsense, but it pleases the eye.
Personally, I haven’t maxed out any characters yet. And to be honest, I’m not in a hurry. Perhaps it’s worth reconsidering my priorities, since the game gives all sorts of interesting things for it. But, to be honest, so far I haven’t felt any critical need to grind levels – especially if the rewards don’t give an advantage in PvP. Because if leveling affected my strength online, that would already be a red flag. Then we wouldn’t be talking about skill, but about the number of hours spent farming. By the way, regarding the fighters themselves. Not all of them were available from the very beginning. The only thing missing from the main line was Havik, but in the list of cameo fighters, almost the entire bottom row was closed. But, fortunately, it wasn’t that difficult to open them all. I think it’s a pre-order or some kind of starting bonus, because I’ve heard that others had a slightly longer process. However, the fact remains that there are no insurmountable barriers here. And that’s good.
Now a few words about PvP, since we’re talking about it. After all, single is, of course, good. Campaign, training, battles with bots – all this is useful, especially for those who are just getting acquainted with the game. But the real test of strength begins when you enter the arena against real people. That’s where the fun begins – with all its stress, the joy of victories and the desire to smash the gamepad after a couple of painful defeats. I won’t lie – I’m more of a newbie than a veteran in online. But after the first couple of dozen matches, I’ve already formed an opinion: PvP here feels much more pleasant than in the two previous parts. Why? It’s simple – the developers abandoned the old style system, which I personally always considered quite controversial. Yes, it added variability, but in practice, most players simply chose one style and forgot about the others. Because switching between them was inconvenient, and also – the moves were constantly mixed up. How many times has it happened: I changed the style, but my hands, out of habit, do a special attack that is not there. And you stand there like an idiot.
In Mortal Kombat 1, this whole thing was reworked. Instead of styles, there is a system of cameo fighters. These are partners that you call to help in battle. And, I admit, at first I treated this system with distrust. It seemed like some kind of strange novelty, for the sake of novelty. But over time, I got into it. I can’t yet boast that I use cameos to the fullest – I often just forget to call them, especially in the heat of battle. But when you begin to understand how everything works, there is scope for interesting combinations and tactical moves. More than once, I’ve encountered opponents who skillfully weave cameo strikes into their combos – it looks cool, and, most importantly, really effective. It seems to me that this system gives more flexibility and less confusion than the old styles. Because cameo is an addition, not a replacement. You play your main fighter, as you are used to, but you can add an unexpected element on top. And it works.
The picture in the game is a separate conversation altogether. Mortal Kombat 1 looks simply gorgeous. Technically – no complaints: the animations are smooth, the effects are powerful, the interface is neat. And the art design is a real feast for the eyes. Especially the arena backgrounds and fatality special effects. True, there is a fly in the ointment: some characters, in my opinion, are not very visually successful. For example, Shao Kahn – well, he did not impress at all. Outwardly, he has lost the charisma with which he initially frightened and fascinated. As for the sound – everything is also top notch here. The voice acting is well done, the voices are well chosen, the emotions are read. The musical accompaniment is not annoying, but, on the contrary, helps to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the battle. When everything around is roaring, exploding and screaming – you feel that you are participating in a real battle, and not in another soapy action.
Overall, Mortal Kombat 1 has had a very strong start. There are nuances that can be found fault with – how could it be without them. But in terms of sensations, progress and innovations – this is definitely a step forward. It is especially pleasing that the developers were not afraid to change the usual mechanics and try something fresh. Not everything turned out perfectly, but the general direction is correct. The main thing now is to continue to develop the project, listen to feedback from the community and not slide into grinding for the sake of grinding. Then the game will have a great future.
In terms of the technical side, I have no particular complaints. On my system with a 6700XT video card, the game stably maintains 60 FPS at maximum settings – without any dancing with a tambourine. In the almost 30 hours that I managed to play, I did not notice any serious bugs. It seems that something happened once – either a crash or just a glitch, I can’t remember. The only really strange moment is the cutscene before the final battles in the storyline. There the game freezes on the cutscene so much that the first time I even thought that everything was frozen, and I restarted it. But then it turned out that this is just a feature of this episode – it always slows down a little. However, on repeated playthroughs, it “freezes” for a shorter time.
As for my wishes, I would really like the developers to reduce the number of useless skins and repaints, and instead add fewer, but more distinctive variants. Such that the characters could be recognized at first glance. I understand that, most likely, this is a utopia, but still – you never know.
And, of course, I really want the game to live as long as possible. It would be great to see:
Of course, it’s hard to believe, but there’s no harm in dreaming.
Overall, Mortal Kombat 1 left me with very pleasant impressions. I’ll definitely return to it more than once – despite my far from pro-level skills. And I wish you the same – good fights and fatalities!
Mortal Kombat 1 — System Requirements
Do you dream of immersing yourself in a world where punches, not words, decide? Mortal Kombat 1 is not just a game, it’s a real adrenaline ride, where every fight is on the brink of life and death. The new chapter of the legendary universe brings back iconic fighters, adds fresh heroes and takes the spectacle to a new level. Want to experience what it’s like to perform a perfect fatality? Now you have a chance, and yes, it’s completely free.
We’ve simplified everything to the limit. No long installations, hassles with settings or unnecessary movements. Just go to our website, create an account and you’re done: Mortal Kombat 1 is already waiting for you with detailed instructions and a ready-made free steam account. Log in, choose your champion and go straight into battle. Yes, it’s really that simple.
After a couple of powerful fights, don’t forget to tell us what it’s like to return to the fighting classics with a modern face. We read every review, and even if the comment doesn’t appear right away, don’t worry, just tweak it a little. As soon as it passes moderation, all the necessary login data will be sent to your email.
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I would love to play this game soo desperately
I loved this game since i was a child its soo cool. And thanks to vpesports i will play it for free.
mk1 is a very good game and can be played.
Kameos are a unique roster of partner fighters who assist the main fighter during matches, creating expanded gameplay possibilities for players.
nice game i gonna to play mortal kombat 1
Mortal Kombat 1 is fire! I need to play this game ASAP, I’m going crazy over here!
I really wants to play this game
Very good game so easy when i win against my friend Core he is awfull but great game
thanks vp esports for this game ❤️❤️
let’s do some combat man let’s fight
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