Mortal Kombat 1 Has a Fun Foundation, But Feels Slow Right Now

Mortal Kombat 1 is being approached as a new reboot to the Mortal Kombat video game series following the events of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, and that’s been reflected in how much has seemingly changed in the core of the game itself. Mortal Kombat 1 is a fresh start that is also influenced by the past, and that is carried into the way it’s played. The game has a lot of elements that will fill familiar to fans of Mortal Kombat‘s past entries, but has been changed quite a bit from what has come before in the NetherRealm Studios’ produced versions of the franchise. 

Mortal Kombat 1 recently let fans try out the game with an Online Stress Test over the past weekend, and after playing both online and offline matches for several hours over the course of the test, it’s become clear that Mortal Kombat 1 has a lot of depth to dig into. It’s so much that it was impossible to grasp every potential option from the four available characters (and three available Kameo Fighters). There’s a very strong and fun foundation here for the eventual game, but the big problem right now is that movement speed takes some getting used to. 

How Does Mortal Kombat 1 Play? 

The Online Stress Test for Mortal Kombat 1 offered both an offline Klassic Tower option with a few matches, and an online Kasual Match online option to dig into. There were four available characters with Sub-Zero, Kenshi, Kitana and Liu Kang with three selectable Kameo Fighters, Kano, Sonya Blade, and Jax. Kameo Fighters sort of work like the Konsumables from Mortal Kombat 11. With a press of the trigger (and a directional input to change the potential attack), the Kameo Fighter jumps out for a brief moment. 

While Sonya Blade offered the best options to continue combos, Kano seemed to be the best out of the three so far with general attacks (such as a Superman like laser beam that zips across the screen) that covered best. They can also be used as a potential way to break combo chains, and it’s the use of them and finding the best synergy with a particular fighter that will be the main draw for when Mortal Kombat 1 fully releases later this Fall. This is a fun new addition to the franchise that builds off of the Konsumables played around with before, and makes it feel like the next era of the Kombat. 

The same goes for each of the fighters thus far. Yes each of the four are returning characters, but they immediately felt different. There’s the more extreme changes such as with Liu Kang, whose Fire God abilities make him a faster and more explosive fighter than ever before. Then there’s the more subtle such as with Sub-Zero, who has a lot more options in the air than the character did previously. Gone are variations locking any of the moves in a certain style or weapon, and each of these characters is opened up with all sorts of fun options to string combos. 

Mortal Kombat 1 is a very combo heavy game right now. Moves are made with the intention of chaining them into others in fun ways, and there are lots of options to open up an opponent and kick off a combo from there. There’s just a ton of potential that will be fun to explore in the full game, but the main issue right now is the pacing of it all. Mortal Kombat 1 moves at a very deliberate pace. Dashes don’t cover a lot of distance, movement speed is much slower in general, and it takes quite a bit of adjusting if you’ve put in some time into Mortal Kombat 11 before. 

This more deliberate speed is great for the combo chaining as it feels a lot better to connect moves than it was previously, but it might be tough when more projectile heavy characters start joining the fight. The speed isn’t a detriment to the experience, it’s just different and will likely add to the learning curve that’s already more significant when adding in the Kameo Fighter options. Kameos as well are also a bit slow right now as they don’t activate right when you press the trigger (as it seems like your character needs to be in a particular position), and there’s a just a fraction longer of a wait for them to exit the screen and to be able to move again. 

They make for much more elaborate Fatal Blows, throws, and combos (and come with their own Fatalities), but the speed of their use is also something that will be interesting to see when Mortal Kombat 1 hits shelves. It’s a great looking experience so far, and very satisfying when in the thick of it, but right now it had an adjustment period to get used to.