Mortal Kombat 1 Hands-On Preview: The Culmination of Three Decades of Fighting

In a year that may go down as the best in decades, gaming-wise, Mortal Kombat 1 seems to be slipping under the radar. It’s no secret it is releasing, of course, but the hype from fans seems to be reserved for Starfield and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Understandable, but after a hands-on during Gamescom 2023, I can safely say that fans need to be getting hyped for Mortal Kombat 1, because not only is it shaping up to be the biggest and best Mortal Kombat video game, but it is lining itself up to be the best fighting game full stop.

During the hour I had with the game one thing became apparent pretty quickly. This is everything the fighting franchise has been working towards for years. From universe resets to re-imagined game modes, there’s a clear line from the first game in 1992, to the reboot in 2011, and then to the re-reboot now, both in content and intent.

Related: Dr Disrespect Wants to be a Guest Character in Mortal Kombat 1 – His Ideas are… Unique

Mortal Kombat 1’s Invasion Mode is as Much the Krypt as it is Konquest

Long-standing fans of the franchise well remember Konquest mode from the earlier titles, as well as the exploratory Krypt mode from the more recent entries. Invasion mode is both of them, whislt also managing to be its own thing entirely.

Compared to a ‘giant board game’ by those involved at the preview, this description ended up being incredibly apt, as the whole mode reminded me of exactly that. Set in one of a few distinct maps including the much-marketed Cage Mansion, as well as others, players will spend their time in Invasion Mode moving from node to node, attempting to clear the board and fully open up the map.

From having smaller, easier fights with those involved in the map, to harder fights with conveniently placed antagonists, you’ll quickly work your way through the map, picking up unlockables, keys for doors, fetch quests in general and more, making Invasion Mode one of the most polished and well-thought-out single-player modes the Mortal Kombat franchise has ever had in its storied history.

These collectibles you pick up will include the standard cosmetics for characters, allowing you to customize your favourite characters, stat boosts to give you an edge in the next fight, talismans, which are considerably stronger and more limited buffs than the other stat boosts, and more.

Shown from a third-person perspective, the movement may be on rails, but the exploration of the maps never feels limited, allowing for back-tracking and different routes, there seems to be some care involved in the design here. In the half hour spent purely with Invasion Mode, I managed to cover perhaps half of the first map on offer, Cage’s Mansion, and that was one of many available. With the news that this mode will also feature a season like set-up, similar to many games these days, this will be the mode that players will be playing for years to come, and with the seasons being six weeks long, it’ll allow for plenty of progress for even the most casual of gamers.

Related: NetherRealm May Be Ignoring Injustice 3 in Lieu of Mortal Kombat 1 Sequel

Mortal Kombat 1’s Story Mode is Something Else

The second half of the hands-on was dedicated to the story mode for Mortal Kombat 1, and it certainly threw some surprises at me from the off.

As everyone knows by this point, after the ending of Mortal Kombat 11’s Aftermath DLC, Liu Kang reset the universe, resulting in the removal of some characters, the reviving of long dead ones and the origins of others being completely different to the established lore. Gone is the Thunder God Raiden, here to stay is the humble farmer Raiden, for example. The two most infamous characters, Sub-Zero and Scorpion have had their stories changed, and now find themselves brothers, members of the Lin Kuei and potential antagonists, at least early on, in the story of Mortal Kombat 1.

From the opening scenes it’s clear this may not be the case the entire game, and certainly not for any future installments, but it does provide a much needed change-up for the duo, but it will be interesting to see how it is handled, and how fans take to the new iterations. Don’t worry though, the iconic “Get over here!” is present and unchanged, and while the fighters certainly have some new tricks, the customary spear from Scorpion and ice-clone from Sub-Zero are present and accounted for.

Related: Dave Bautista Talks Mortal Kombat 1 And How He Is a Fan of the Franchise 

I was lucky enough to play the opening chapter of the game’s story, and in between some fast-paced and frenetic fighting came some genuinely humourous moments, one involving Madam Bo and her extortionate bill for food, and the second coming with an unfazed elderly man who just wanted to finish his beer, amidst the chaos of the type of over-the-top fights that Mortal Kombat is known for.

In the early stages of the story you’ll fight as both Kung Lao, friend and compatriot of Raiden, as well as the new-look character himself, albeit at this point with no lightning powers, although maybe that’ll change? Unfortunately the story mode hands-on had to come to an end, but it did so with a particularly cold quote from Raiden that seems to be a sign of things to come from the character.

“You really call yourself a Grand Master?”

New Game, New Fighting

Just like sports simulation games like the soon-to-be-renamed FIFA franchise, UFC and so on, fighting games can struggle to reinvent the wheel with every new entry. However Mortal Kombat 1 feels the freshest it has since Mortal Kombat 9 in 2011.

The game is both the most refined it has been in years, with veterans of the franchise finding their rewards in learning the combos, how to utilize the new Kameo feature – amongst others – to continue combo’s and more besides, but it is also the most welcoming to franchise newcomers, something fighting games, and Mortal Kombat specifically, have always been notoriously bad at.

Gone are the spacing requirements for fatalities, as well as the extremely long, unnecessarily complicated combos for the different characters and their multiple different fatalities. The Kameo fighters offer a unique aspect to the ebb and flow of a fight. Used right, they will allow you to start and finish a fight in long, unending combo’s that’ll no doubt infuriate your competitor… but they’ll look and feel incredible to pull off.

Related: Gamescom 2023: Mortal Kombat 1 Gets Incredible Gameplay Trailer

There’s the standard i-frame invulnerability moves, as well as the combo interruptions, this time represented in a handy, if quick, blue highlight that’ll give you an indicator when to attack to try and break up the barrage of bloody punches.

All-in-all though, Mortal Kombat 1 looks to be the complete package, with multiple modes, new timelines, new fighters with new origins, a well-balanced fighting system and more that I didn’t get the chance or permission to see at Gamescom. Fighting genre fans are spoiled, with Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1 and Tekken 8 releasing within months of one another, but to me, and to many others, this is the clear front-runner.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 1? Are you more of a Tekken fan? Let us know in the comments!

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