Unleashing Mayhem: Mortal Kombat 1 (2023)

Written by,
UkNO

Prepare for bone-crushing action and intense battles as the highly anticipated new installment of the Mortal Kombat franchise takes us back in time with a reimagined story.

On May 18th, NetherRealm Studios announced the latest the next Mortal Kombat game that many believe will be a refreshing take on the franchise as a whole. The first trailer depicts familiar faces like Liu Kang, Raiden, Scorpion, Katana, Mileena, Sub-Zero, and the franchise’s recurring baddie, Shang Tsung. NetherRealm Studios has confirmed that Mortal Kombat 1 will be a reboot of the entire series coming this September. Along with an early access beta released this August, but only available for players who pre-order the game.

Ed Boon, NetherRealm Studios’ Chief Creative Officer, states, “Mortal Kombat 1 marks a new beginning for the franchise”, with Boon noting the game’s “original storyline and fresh take on classic characters.” The story picks up from the ending of Mortal Kombat 11, where Fire God Liu Kang defeats Shang Tsung, who took Kronika’s crown from restarting time in his own image. After this, Liu Kang creates a new universe with all-new backstories with twists on classic characters.

In addition to the cinematic reveal of Mortal Kombat 1, it was confirmed that a brand gameplay mechanic will make its introduction. This follows in the footsteps of previous Mortal Kombat titles with brand-new mechanics. Mortal Kombat X had a variation system resembling character load outs. At the same time, Mortal Kombat 11 took the gear system introduced in Injustice 2, allowing players to further express their specific styles through character customization. Mortal Kombat 1 will feature a Kameo Fighter system.

Essentially, Kameo Fighters will act as assist characters that will bring uniqueness to each fighting style across the roster and players worldwide. The roster is a unique secondary roster based on classic versions of the characters from the franchise’s 30-year history. You can call them out to perform various special moves along with the characters from the main roster. The Kameo characters that have been confirmed are Goro, Kano, Kung Lao, Jackson “Jax” Briggs, Scorpion, Sonya Blade, Stryker, and Sub-Zero.

Another piece of news for Mortal Kombat 1 was the reveal of legendary martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme that will be a skin for the recurring character Johnny Cage. In 1992, Ed Boon hoped to have the entire franchise centered around Van Damme, but plans changed. Fast forward 30 years later, and that hope of finally featuring him in some capacity has officially come true. Alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme, guest characters like Homelander (The Boys), Peacemaker (DC Universe), and Omni-Man (Invincible) will be part of some Kombat Pack DLC in the future. Still, word has yet to be officially confirmed by Ed Boon. However, given NetherRealm’s long history of including characters from other pop-culture properties like The Terminator, Rambo, RoboCop, The Predator, Jason Voorhees, Kratos, The Joker, Alien’s Xenomorph and Freddy Krueger, the possibility is high for them to appear in the game.

Mortal Kombat 1 will be released on September 19th, 2023, on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and the Nintendo Switch. It’s also available for pre-order today, which includes Shang Tsung and the early access beta.