As your feet pound your foe’s chest, sending ribbons of blood and splintered rib-bone flying, Mortal Kombat 1 should feel at once both wonderfully familiar and utterly fresh, even if you’re a seasoned brawler. Simultaneously respecting the fighting franchise’s storied roots while embracing change, NetherRealm Studios’ new-look fighter is smooth, slick, and doesn’t pull its punches.
Rebooting any series is a gamble, but it takes a particularly steely resolve to reimagine a series as loved and respected as 30-year-old Mortal Kombat. According to art development director Thiago Gomes it’s that respect that sits at the heart of NetherRealm’s decision to overhaul it.
“You have to do it carefully,” Gomes tells us at Play Days 2023, where we get an opportunity to go hands-on. “You have to do it thoughtfully. You have to pay respect to the stuff that was there before and build on it, and not just throw it out.
“It was really important not to lose that heritage, and I feel like we’ve done a really good job of paying respects to all those old games. And there’s a lot of really fun nods to them in this one.”
Gomes isn’t wrong. You don’t have to have played much Mortal Kombat to recognise that the game’s all-new Kameo fatalities (more on those in a sec) are reimagined interpretations of the violent old-school animations that made the series notorious. Even the costumes your Kameo partners are rocking will look familiar.
KONTEMPORARY KLASSIC
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Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av PLAY Magazine UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Batman: Arkham Asylum
15 years!? Holy depressing passing of time, Batman!
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road
Keeping us engaged with the carat-and-stick approach
Alan Wake 2: Night Springs
Keepin' it weird
GRAND THEFT AUTO VI
The ruler of the crime sandbox returns
WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2
Up to your pauldrons in science-fiction action
DELTA FORCE: HAWK OPS
Teaching an old hawk new tricks
Welcome to the Roughnecks
Blasting bugs and shooting the breeze with Starship Troopers game lead Peter Maurice and star Casper Van Dien
LEGO HORIZON ADVENTURES
Bricks and stones may break robo dino bones
ASSASSIN'S CREED SHADOWS
Presenting protagonist double trouble
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
A delightfully devilish refresh