Mortal Kombat 1

We kame, we saw, we kicked its backside

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