Mortal Kombat 1has just recently been announced and is set to bring a multitude of changes to the tried and trueMortal Kombatformula in terms of both gameplay and story. The trailer hints heavily at a timeline reset and a complete re-imagination of some of the most popular characters in the franchise. The biggest change is Liu Kang taking over the mantle of protector of Earthrealm from Raiden.
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Alongside these changes, there’s a massive shift in the gameplay ofMK1confirmed by the website. The introduction of Kameo or assist charactersis a big revolutionfor the generalMortal Kombatformula and probably the biggest step Netherrealm Studios has taken in shifting the combat system of the franchise in over a decade. While other games, such asDragon Ball Fighter Z,have been popular for their assist character mechanics, this is a new direction forMortal Kombat, and it is, most definitely a welcome change for the future ofMortal Kombatand evenInjustice.
5Change is Good
While there is very limited knowledge as towhat the exact Kameo Fightersystem is going to be for this game, what is clear is that this will be the first major change to the combat style after a long time, and this is a good thing.
MK9, MKX, MK11,and even the twoInjusticegames had a largely similar combat style in terms of how a match plays out, with some minor tweaks here and there. While there was nothing inherently wrong with this, it had the potential ofgetting stale quickly, so this new feature could be great for spicing things up.
4Kombatant Variety
AMortal Kombatfan is never happy with the selection of characters. Even with a gigantic roster as incredible asMK11,there were still some complaints of certain characters being underappreciated anddeserving a spotin newer games. Along with this, came the obvious complaint that a certain character is unnecessary and could easily be replaced by someone else.
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Mortal Kombathas been around for decades, which means there are hundreds of characters for developers to pick through. A modern game roster is limited by the time and resources that the developer team has to fully flesh each character out.
Mortal Kombathas always done a good job with its rosters, but Kameo fighters present an opportunity to give the spotlight, to some extent, to characters that would not have been featured otherwise. It’s also a chance tophase out some charactersthat alwayshaveto be in the game but could do with some time off, such as Kano and Sonya Blade. Overall, more obscure characters are likely to finally enter the spotlight.
3Departure From MK11
Mortal Kombat 11was an incredible game. It featured a fantastic roster, amazing graphics, and a really solid campaign, but its combat system was polarizing. While a focus on neutral game and footsies was welcome, the way the game was balanced made it so matches slowly devolved into zoning fests. Admittedly, zoning is an important part of any fighting game, but it was way too powerful in MK11. This made the meta somewhat stale, with the same 5 or 6 Kombatants featured inevery online and competitive game.
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As a result, the game became slower than it was intended to be. With Kameo fighters, not only will the game be much faster in pace, but certain Kameo characters can help overcome the weaknesses of rush-down characters that are susceptible to zoning.
2Shift In Play Style
A Kameo or assist system can pivot the gameplay ofMortal Kombat 1from a slower, more methodical system, to one that is focused on pressure and offense, similar toMKXbut more balanced and reliant on assists covering the gaps between strings and unsafe moves. Looking at games likeDragon Ball Fighter ZorSkullGirlscould show how this would develop.
A big benefit of this could be an overall improvement in the viewing experience for the competitive and e-sports scene, which is super important considering the imminent release of the newStreet FighterandTekkengames as well.
1Player Freedom
A big focus of bothMKXandMK11has been players' freedom in developing how their characters play, be it the variation system inMKXor the load-out system in its successor. This has clearly been an important development that Netherrealm Studios cares about. While it’s not guaranteed that similar systems will feature inMK1so far, Kameo fighters on their own already allude to tons of player choice.
Players would be able to pick their Kameo fighters and see how they interact with the normal Kombatants they already use. This could lead to tons of diversity in terms of the combinations players make of their fighters and assists. Different assists could be picked for the same character for completely different objectives, meaning that no one character would be piloted the same way. Of course, fans are still far from seeing how this actually will play out, butit’s an exciting changenonetheless.
Mortal Kombat 1is set to release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
