Mortal Kombat 1 is shaping up to become the most unique entry in the series. It's packed full of new features and altered mechanics which switch up the combat just enough, while still keeping the core identity of this beloved series intact. Ever since the announcement trailer in May 2023, keen-eyed fans started noticing small features and additions, especially regarding the Kameo Fighters, who have the potential to drastically change the way battles are played out.
As more details are revealed, it's becoming clear that NetherRealm is making an effort to breath new life into this series so that veterans and newcomers alike can enjoy a brand-new experience. Whether it's quality-of life-changes, or huge alterations to the combat and types of fatalities, these features are doing a great job at setting the game apart from previous installments. Together, they make for a fresh take on the legendary Mortal Kombat universe and formula.
8 New Quitality Animations
Quitting during a match is a very common occurrence in fighting games. It will usually happen in the middle of a devastating combo when a player just can't bear to see their character getting mauled by their opponent. However, Ed Boon and the clever developers at NetherRealm have found a smart way to make this shameful act even more embarrassing.
When a player quits or disconnects during combat in Mortal Kombat 1, it will count as a "Quitality." In Mortal Kombat X, this would simply cause the character's head to explode, but in this new game, they will instead be impaled on a giant rock, or their entire body will blow up into bloody mush instead. There is also a chance that the character will snap their own neck, which is a callback to the Hara-Kiri move in Mortal Kombat: Deception.
7 Quick Dashing
Each Mortal Kombat game has put its own spin on the movement system. While it may seem like a small alteration to non-fighting game fans, those who have been playing these games for a few years know how impactful sprinting and running mechanics can be on each battle after seeing its usage in Mortal Kombat X.
This time around, characters will be able to dash extremely quickly, and can also cancel the dash animation at any time with an attack input. This makes the game far more frantic than the slower, and more methodical gameplay of Mortal Kombat 11. It will also make the rush down game a lot more viable and interesting.
6 Unique Loading Screens
Whether in the Injustice series of games or in Mortal Kombat, characters will always have a few seconds to speak to one another before they engage in brutal combat. Thanks to the powerful SSD and hardware built into the new-gen consoles, these small interactions are actually now used to hide loading screens.
Once players choose their characters and stage, the game will hide the loading by having the two opposing fighters get up close and personal. They will engage in a small bit of banter before the bloodshed commences. This creates a seamless transition from the character select screen straight into the gameplay, without the player's eyes ever needing to even leave the screen.
5 Taunting
Anyone who has had any amount of experience with fighting games will know how infuriating spamming crouch can be. This is usually done when a higher-skilled player is making quick work of a beginner and is trying to intimidate them. However, NetherRealm has actually found a unique way to remove this annoying feature that has been present in fighting games since they first came to consoles.
In Mortal Kombat 1, crouching 4 times will result in the character performing their taunt. This leaves them in a vulnerable position for multiple seconds which is definitely going to trip a lot of naive and arrogant players up in the early days of the games release.
4 Up Block
No longer will players only need to focus on protecting their body and legs during an intense bout. Now, thanks to the new Up Block feature, payers can defend against overhead attacks and air combos by blocking in a diagonal position. This small change makes a huge difference in the way the game is played.
Since Mortal Kombat 1 has been putting a lot more emphasis on its air combat compared to any of the previous games, it's a good thing NetherRealm decided to implement this feature. It can help give players a fighting chance without having to back away the entire match from the threat of a divekick for example, which could force them to play more hesitantly.
3 Flawless Block
Very often, when a "perfect parry" system is introduced into a new fighting game, such as the one in Street Fighter 6, it will grant the player who performed it a few seconds where they can punish the opponent and perform their own combo. The Mortal Kombat 1 version of this is the Flawless Block, but it doesn't just give an advantage. It also negates almost all chip damage, and most importantly, drastically slows down the opponent's meter buildup.
Therefore, if a player is constantly spamming projectiles as Kitana or Liu Kang for example, then so long as their opponent is hitting a Flawless Block, the spamming player won't achieve anything from mashing the same input over and over again. The Flawless Block may not be as aggressive as it was in Mortal Kombat 11, but it's still a genius way to remedy the issue of spamming that has plagued so many past NetherRealm games.
2 Air Combos
Many fans were shocked to see Scorpion and Sub-Zero performing lengthy combos in midair during the initial gameplay reveal, with this being the first game in the series that has made this a much bigger deal in its combat mechanics. This isn't to say that air combat has always been absent in the games; characters like Kitana could propel their enemies in the sky. However, these would only lead to small juggle combos, and wouldn't allow the player to stay off the ground for very long.
Now, characters can hover in the air for a few seconds, pummeling their opponent as they would if they were on the floor. The addition of the Up Block combined with these dazzling looking air combos proves that NetherRealm is really trying to open up new combat styles and opportunities to new and old fans alike. It's most definitely a welcome addition.
1 Kameo Fighters
After players pick their main character in Mortal Kombat 1, they will then be presented with another cast of characters to choose from. These are the Kameo Fighters. While players will control their primary fighter for the match, they will also be able to call out their Kameo Fighter by pressing the shoulder buttons who will perform a quick grab or attack that can help to extend a combo.
The Kameo Fighters add so much potential to the game and mean that even players who have mastered their favorite character over the course of several games will now have even more combos to try out on their opponents. Some familiar faces that have been announced as Kameo Fighters include Sonya Blade and Jax Briggs, but considering NetherRealm's track record with implementing weird and whacky DLC characters into their games, it seems likely that many of them will join the cast as Kameo Fighters in the future.
Mortal Kombat 1 will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and Series X, PC, and Nintendo Switch.