Mortal Kombat 1

Mortal Kombat 1 is a fighting game from NetherRealm Studios. Fire god Liu Kang has recreated the timeline and, in doing so, changed the relationships of familiar characters. The campaign combines staged cutscenes with direct duels.

Mortal Kombat 1 came out on September 19, 2023. Buyers of the Premium Edition could play from September 14. The story expansion Khaos Reigns followed on September 24, 2024.

The game came out natively for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. The PC version was developed by QLOC, while Shiver Entertainment and Saber Interactive handled the Switch version. A standalone PS4 or Xbox One version is not part of these releases.

Fights take place from a side view. Attacks, throws, blocks and combos decide the duels. New is the separate choice of a Kameo fighter, who performs special moves and thereby extends attack chains, rescue moves and counterattacks.

Khaos Reigns expands the story with the conflict involving Titan Havik and adds playable characters Cyrax, Sektor and Noob Saibot. Ghostface, Conan the Barbarian and the T-1000 are also part of the second fighter pack. Animality finishers were made available to owners of the main game independently of the paid expansion.

The PC version requires Windows 10 64-bit, at least 8 GB RAM and DirectX 12. Steam lists GeForce GTX 1660, Radeon RX 590 and Intel Arc A750 as minimum graphics cards, among others. Around 140 GB of storage is needed for installation.

Fire god Liu Kang tries to give the realms a more peaceful future. Old rivalries arise again under different circumstances. The campaign explains the changed character constellations through encounters, fights and cinematic scenes.

Before a fight, a separate assist fighter is chosen alongside the main character. Their abilities add to the repertoire with attacks, defensive moves and combo options. Kameos are not regular controllable second fighters, but provide support at key moments during the duel.

Alongside the single-player campaign, there are direct duels against other players. Invasions links smaller challenges with a walkable overview and character progression. The mode uses changing themes, while the basic system stays the same.

The base game includes Liu Kang, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Kung Lao, Kitana, Mileena, Kenshi and Johnny Cage, among others. The choice of main character determines the fighting style, while the additional Kameo team further changes the possibilities.

The PC version supports German menus, text and voice-over, among other things. English, French, Italian and Spanish are also available as dubbed versions. The available languages may differ depending on the platform.