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Mortal Kombat 1 was released years after the successful launch of MK11, and while fans were waiting for the ultimate fresh start to witness the return of the classic MK, things started to get a little bit shaky. In fact, MK1 wasn’t a bad game at all, many of us did enjoy the fight. However, Mortal Kombat 1 got killed by its own developers, and here are the main reasons why this game is the shrine players don’t pay a visit anymore.
Lack of Game Modes
Heading straight for the biggest issue with the MK1, the lack of game modes. After I’m done with the main story and beaten the towers to see every character’s ending, MK1 is nothing but an online mode and the Invasions. Online goes dry after a while, considering that there’s nothing but fighting a foe in it, and the Invasions is nothing close to MK11‘s Krypt.
Some of the best ideas to keep MK1 fresh and not killed could be the inclusion of a game mode with no kameo fighters or some sort of Konquest. The Kameo system in MK1 was a nice addition, but the classic MK combat system is still a winner’s ticket that NetherRealm shouldn’t have removed.
I remember back in the 3D era of Mortal Kombat I spent hours unlocking new characters and following the deception tale of Shujinko or Taven in Armageddon. But now, it’s nothing out there. Motor Kombat, MK Chess, and Puzzle Kombat are from the days when Mortal Kombat really had something to offer besides its main story.
Weak DLC Story
Speaking of which, the story of MK1 is somewhat of a paradox. We end things in MK11 so that Liu Kang gets to start a new world in MK1. The name is MK1, but we’re still bound to everything that has happened in the previous titles, including the cliche of the multiverse where every main character has their own timeline.
The way that we get to know about MK11 Shang Tsung’s return to the scene makes sense. But then the story neglects Deception, Armageddon, MK4’s arc, and everything in between in a speed run. And while we were waiting for a narrative to end this multiversal madness, the Khaos Reigns DLC came along and proved that MK1 can be killed pretty easily.
I myself was waiting for a DLC story with a villain that ends all timelines until there’s only one remaining. Titan Havik really does have the potential at the start. But as the story goes on, all his outcries of “Anarchy” and “Chaos” mean absolutely nothing. And don’t get me started on how useless the Kamidogu are in this story.
Lack of High-Quality Seasonal Content
Aside from the story, the seasonal content for Mortal Kombat 1 isn’t reviving the dry lake. When I first saw the customization menu for each character in this game, I thought that we were going to receive a ton of different gear and skins. Visiting the same menu for two years; however, it’s a desert. Even if you go on a full grind like I did with the Invasions mode, you’ll still unlock nothing amazing like the $5 bundles on the store.
Aside from that, Mortal Kombat 1 tried to make the Invasions mode its frontman by updating its story every season. Season 1, it’s awesome. Season 2, it’s the same place, with new enemies. And then it’s the same for 8 seasons. That’s what killed Mortal Kombat 1 for those following its seasonal content, making active MK1 players less than MK11 right now; brutality!
PC Optimization Is Off The Menu
In the end, I’d like to dedicate a small part of this article to how bad the optimization of the PC version of MK1 really is. I played this game on an Xbox first and had fun in the first months after release. But I always heard the criticism that my friends had for the game on Steam, so I switched over to PC for the Khaos Reigns bundle. Never do that if you’re planning to keep MK1 on your 2025 gaming schedule.
First of all, it takes ages for the shaders to load no matter if you’re playing on a last-gen SSD and a high-end PC/Laptop. It might happen every time you open the game, so, be ready for that. Then, there are the menu bugs and low FPS, and the same goes for the in-game experience as well. Even if you reach 60 FPS in Mortal Kombat 1, the amount of lags you’ll see when performing a Fatal Blow or a finisher is beyond annoying.
No new game modes, bad optimization, weak DLCs, and removal of what was fun in the previous games like the character variations are the things that’ve killed Mortal Kombat 1 in my opinion. According to recent rumors, NetherRealms Studio’s next project is another MK game, so all we can hope for is a better time with that one. May Lord Liu Kang save us all.
