Highlights

  • Mortal Kombat 11 has aged well in its graphics and gameplay, with vibrant arenas and satisfying combos. It also has a few advantages over the newer game MK1.
  • MK1 offers a solid campaign, Challenge Tower, and Invasions mode, but lacks a Krypt like in MK11, with the Invasions unlocks not being as charming as satisfying as those in the Krypt.
  • MK11 Aftermath DLC sets a high standard with a 3-hour campaign and new characters, offering a refresh to the game. MK1's story DLC would be wise to take notes from Aftermath, as it was very well received.

Originally released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC back on April 23, 2019, Mortal Kombat 11 turns five years old today, though that might be hard to believe for some fans. Generally speaking, Mortal Kombat 11 has aged fairly well, both in terms of graphics and gameplay. Though they might not shine quite as brightly as Mortal Kombat 1's, MK11's arenas still look vibrant and lively, and though they might not be as fluid or responsive as Mortal Kombat 1's, MK11's combos still feel great to execute. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to comparing the two most recent entries.

Despite releasing four years after its predecessor, Mortal Kombat 1 is still regarded as a slightly weaker game by some fans. While it's a common staple of the fighting game genre to hate the current entry and believe the last one was actually superior, there are a few lessons that Mortal Kombat 11 could still teach its younger sibling.

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Mortal Kombat 11 Still Has Some Lessons to Teach Five Years Later

Mortal Kombat 1 Could Still Learn From MK11's Krypt

Mortal Kombat 1 had a decent amount of content on launch. Though it still only clocked in at around six hours, Mortal Kombat 1's main story featured some of the best presentation, writing, and set pieces that the franchise has ever seen, making it a definite highlight of the day-one Mortal Kombat 1 experience. On top of this great campaign, Mortal Kombat 1 also offered its classic Challenge Tower mode, and an intriguing board-game like Invasions mode, which would continue to see new content via seasonal updates.

However, one big thing that Mortal Kombat 1 lacked was a Krypt. One of the big highlights of Mortal Kombat 11 was its extensive Krypt mode, which MK1 dropped completely. While Invasions technically offers similar rewards to those normally found in the Krypt, actually unlocking them in Invasions doesn't feel quite as rewarding as it does in Mortal Kombat 11's bonus mode.

Mortal Kombat 1's DLC Should Learn From MK11 Aftermath

Mortal Kombat 11 also has a lot to teach MK1 when it comes to its eventual story DLC. Announced rather nonchalantly back in December of last year by Ed Boon during a talk at CCXP23, Mortal Kombat 1 will have a "second part with more story...just like [NetherRealm] did with MK11." Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath DLC expansion launched just a little over a year after the base game and brought with it a 3-hour campaign, along with a handful of new playable characters. These playable characters offered a nice balance of returning franchise staples and guest characters, and its campaign moved the series' main story along in a meaningful way.

Mortal Kombat 11's Aftermath DLC breathed new life into the fighting game, and if Mortal Kombat 1's own story DLC can offer a similar amount of content and a similar level of quality, then it could repeat history in the best way. Mortal Kombat 1 is still pulling in solid numbers, likely due to its drip-feeding of DLC characters, but its active player-count has definitely been better, and this upcoming story DLC could be the refresh it needs, just like Aftermath was for MK1.