Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay was finally shown in detail at Summer Games Fest following its initial reveal in May, and it’s already looking like the most cinematic entry to date. Classic characters like Sub Zero and Scorpion are back in their full glory, and the finishing moves have never been quite as visceral or engrossing — with “gross” being the keyword to focus on if you’re particularly sensitive to watching characters sawed apart limb from limb.
Mortal Kombat series co-creator Ed Boon took to the stage shortly after the gameplay presentation to describe some of the new gameplay elements in a quick interview with Summer Games Fest host Geoff Keighley, noting that this entry represents a series reboot that is designed to introduce a new spin on classic Mortal Kombat lore.
Within the context of a new story, we can expect twists and alliances (Sub Zero and Scorpion are friends now!), formulating a story reason for Mortal Kombat 1’s brand-new cameo system. From what we’ve seen, this works similarly to tag-team systems in games like Marvel vs. Capcom, where the R1 button or equivalent lets you summon a cameo fighter into the fray for quick carnage.
Publisher Warner Bros has taken fire in the past for its alleged treatment of Mortal Kombat developers. One who spoke to Kotaku in 2019 claimwd to have been subjected to such a level of gore in their research for Mortal Kombat 11 that they’d been left with “extremely graphic dreams”.
And yet the new Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay thrills through visuals that are even more intense than we’ve seen previously, revealing a push even further to the edge of over-the-top video game violence.
Mortal Kombat 1 is set to release later this year on September 19 for Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Switch.
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