One of the big guaranteed numbers at Summer Game Fest 2023 was a first look at Mortal Kombat 1's gameplay. And it's exactly what you expect from the franchise — ramped up to 11.
The trailer (which is almost definitely not Switch gameplay) looks utterly fantastic. Some of the fighters we got a good look at today were Kenshi, Mileena, Kitana, Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub Zero, and — of course — Johnny Cage, who is being played by action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme. Mortal Kombat creator (kreator?) Ed Boon confirmed the news on the stage after the trailer debuted, part of which was spent in Cage's house.
Classic fatalities are, of course, back, but this new trailer gives us a look at the game's Kameo fighter system, which allows players to summon an ally to perform an attack for them. You'll pick your Kameo fighter after you pick your main fighter. Kameo fighters will include Kano, Sonya Blade, and Jax.
Mortal Kombat 1 launches on 19th September on all consoles. Who are you hoping to see return to the franchise? Let us know down below.
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Comments 31
Honestly the best thing I've seen about this game so far is that Jax, Kano, and Sonya are relegated to Kameos. Nothing really against the characters but long thought they needed a break for a game or two.
I'm glad Johnny Cage is finally getting the Jean Claude Van-Damme treatment he rightfully deserve. Not saying Daniel Pesina and Linden Ashby aren't cool either but Van-Damme is the real Johnny Cage.
Love the environments and the brutality The game just looks ... cozy
Looking soooo gooood
I will be shocked if this game runs well on Switch.
MK11 worked because it was just 1-on-1 fights. But with tag assists thrown in, I can only imagine slowdown and frames dropping like wild.
Will get it when I finally get my PS5, after Warner Bros releases the "Super Turbo" edition with all the DLC included.
My only nitpick and this just my personal nitpick, is that they brought back Stryker instead of cooler characters like Night Wolf, Sindel, Smoke, or Cyrax. Unless they'll be in it later. But I don't have to use him so no biggie.
@CharlieGirl Not sure why that's an issue, the Switch is known for having fighting games with tons and tons of interferences both from characters and backgrounds (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, KOF, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Brawlout, Naruto, Brawlhalla, Dragon Ball FighterZ, etc.).
Definitely getting this. Hopefully we get Switch footage soon and even more characters revealed.
Might as well be showing us a completely different game if MK11 is any indicator of how horrible it will look and run on the Switch, as that's not the experience we will get.
Also I'm sure it will use rollback code and seems like every switch version of fighting games lacks that.
@Serpenterror Yes, but those games weren't designed with Unreal 5. MK1 is made for PS5 and Series X, which outclass the Switch by lightyears.
Will be interesting to see how the Switch can run this.
Looks great but after seeing that footage I'm intrigued as to how the switch will handle it especially at 60fps. I personally really liked the switch version of MK11 and the team that did that port are doing this one to and they've got a better understanding of the hardware so they might just pull it off.
I think it'll run fine but there will be details missing like the people and fighters in the background of the stages and I'd imagine the dynamic transition from the character select screen will be absent and that's how they'll get things working like they did with MK11.
@SteamEngenius horrible!?
That's a bit harsh, each to their own but I play MK11 on series x and switch and no way is it horrible or unplayable in my opinion.
Apart from the hair, the hair does look weird on switch
@SteamEngenius MK11 on Switch didn’t run horrible.
The actual fighting game gameplay was a consistent 60 FPS with the story cutscenes at 30. It was only the Krypt mode that would have dips in certain rooms, but that was hardly a significant portion of the overall game.
Graphics wise MK11 obviously is a downgrade. Don’t think anyone in their right mind would have expected a 1:1 conversion though.
I expect the very same thing to happen for Switch MK1: Still get optimal 60 FPS performance for the actual fighting gameplay, but graphics take an obvious hit.
I'm still impressed how well MK11 ran on Switch. If they manage that again, I'll definitely pick up the new game. Since they seem to have run out of numbers, I'll also be looking forward to the eventual Mortal Kombat 111 after 1 and 11.
If it's ever released with zero online requirements and all dlc on a cart, sure thing!
I just wish that it has decent online. MK 11 ran well but had a lot of online issues on Switch.
I think NR's decision to just go all Dr. Who with the lore, and work in a plot aspect that includes a mad god resetting the universe whenever they feel like it is ingenious. They get all the benefits of a consist roster of characters players can invest in, but at the same time they can take the series in whatever direction they want and never feel obligated to justify or continue early entries.
I feel old and confused… Lui Kang is a God now? Last I heard he was a zombie? I wasn’t even paying attention when that happened. And Raiden’s a Mortal? Did MK11 end with them resetting the universe in universe?
The Cameos are a little odd, doesn’t really strike me as a Mortal Kombat mechanic, that’s more a Marvel Vs Capcom thing… was it 2 that did that?
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Gonna Take You For A Ride~!
@CharlieGirl the Switch is fully compatible with UE5, but this game doesn't use it. Netherrealm Studios said their using in house technology, and this game have the Switch in mind as a console from the start, so it should work even better than MK11, which already worked well on the Switch. Also, the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles are already old tech, based on today's components for super powerful PC play, so that argument of "power" is dumb on itself.
Can't wait to play it on my Zelda OLED! I'm going through Aftermath right now, to get ready for this game, looks fantastic and waaay better than 11. Netherrealm Studios just keeps on making amazing fighting games, SF6 looks 15 years old compared to this.
The fact that Stryker is back has me excited. He's genuinely one of my favorite characters because he's just a normal cop dude with no powers. Love him.
"Huh...its not quite as violent as the oth-"
'FINISH HIM'
"OH😳...nevermind🥴"
Looks great! I've always loved this series better than any other fighting game! The characters are way more fleshed out and the fatalities are gory good fun! Yeah i might be a gore hound but after seeing how much fun it can be to rip a guys insides out i just never stopped wanting to play. Welcome back MK!
@FishyS XD
I always loved the stiff moves MK does
@Edu23XWiiU Street Fighter 6 looks 15 years old? I mean it looks far better then what MK11 does on Switch and it will look better then what MK1 will look like on Switch because the visuals shown in the gameplay trailer will not look like that on Switch.
Isn't Jean Claude van Damme only an alternate skin for Johnny Cage? Did I missed it in the video?
@WallyWest umm, no. The artstyle of SF6 and how the character models look, that's stuff that was seen before. MK models tend to look more detailed and realistic every time, and, besides, having an "open world" mode, that was something MK did better before. And, no portable mode for any version of SF6, so, MK1 on Switch wins!
@Edu23XWiiU bro. Just stop. I love my switch, but even TOTK doesn't run perfect 🤣🤣🤣😩😩
@Kiliomp it runs well, both of those games do. You are just too much of a ***** to accept that.
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