The twelfth mainline Mortal Kombat title has been revealed as Mortal Kombat 1, and fans are gearing up to hear more. After Mortal Kombat 12 was mentioned in an investor call, fans started to get anxious waiting for the real announcement to drop. Fortunately, the game has been revealed ahead of the 2023 PlayStation Showcase and Summer Game Fest, leaving plenty of opportunities for it to be shown again with gameplay in tow. While Mortal Kombat 1’s initial teaser trailer only demonstrated a few returning characters in a confirmed reboot universe, franchise veterans are already anticipating a quality return by the bestselling fighting game franchise.
Mortal Kombat 1 will be a traditional 2D fighting game featuring MK’s signature gory Fatalities and jaw-dropping visuals. Not much more can be said about it right now, aside from a tease on the game’s website for a brand-new gameplay feature. Ever since Mortal Kombat X, NetherRealm Studios has been experimenting with adding major modifiers to MK’s classic gameplay, often in the form of moveset-altering Variations. Said Variations may not make it to Mortal Kombat 1, but what's there instead is a new assist function that almost sounds like something Super Smash Bros. has experimented with.
Kameo Fighters Bring Assist Characters To Mortal Kombat 1
At the moment, the only gameplay mechanics players know about in Mortal Kombat 1 are the staple Fatalities and the new Kameo Fighters. These are a fresh addition to the Mortal Kombat franchise, which has experimented with team battles and light tag mechanics in past games, but never in regular gameplay. Kameo Fighters have been described similarly to assists in Marvel vs. Capcom 1, where players select special limited-use helpers in addition to their primary fighter or team.
This alone will bring a new dimension to Mortal Kombat 1's fights, as players could gain more opportunities to cover themselves while attacking, extended combos, and other advantages. Of particular interest, however, is the name "Kameo Fighters," and the fact that they are distinct from the regular roster. The implication is that the many characters from Mortal Kombat's history who will not be playable in Mortal Kombat 1 instead have a chance to appear as a Kameo Fighter. Retro versions of playable characters could also be Kameos, like Scorpion in his classic white-eyed undead look, and even more crossover characters could appear thanks to this feature.
Super Smash Bros.' Assist Trophies May Have Inspired Kameo Fighters
Including assist-only characters has always been a great way to extend a fighting game's roster without investing the resources needed to make more playable characters. For example, Pokken Tournament has a wide assortment of Support Pokemon, and certain Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm titles include bit roles as supports for the sake of fan service. However, the king of adding unplayable characters to gameplay has to be Super Smash Bros. Poke Balls have always been part of the series, but Super Smash Bros. Brawl took things one step further with Assist Trophies.
Assist Trophies provided a way to get more participants into fights without the need for full movesets or balance. Not only that, but Assist Trophies also included crossover guests right away, as Shadow and Gray Fox were part of the initial Brawl set. The list of Assist Trophies changed with every subsequent Smash release, but they have always served as nice counterparts to the more fleshed-out playable fighters. Mortal Kombat 1's Kameo Fighters will be a controlled part of regular gameplay instead of Smash's optional, randomized items, but it's likely that a bit of Smash Ultimate's "Everyone Is Here" approach has rubbed off on Mortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat 1 will be released September 19, 2023, for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
