How Does Mortal 1 Compares to Mortal Kombat 11?

Every new game in every single franchise has to demonstrate why it exists. This is true in gaming, and one could even argue for the vast majority of media out there. Still, there is something more particular about fighting games that makes the idea of accepting a new entry into a franchise have more friction than usual.

All of these games have to prove that they carry the same DNA as the original franchises but also show something new, something different, something newcomers and old players can tinker with, that's a very delicate balance that is hard to find, even incredible developers will struggle to do.

Unsurprisingly, many of them keep a lot of their senior staff, particularly those in Creative roles, to allow the DNA to only slowly evolve instead of massively making sweeping changes to the formula. Perhaps there is no more remarkable example of this than with Mortal Kombat, as Edм Boon continues to be the voice and the face of the NetherRealm studio.

In today’s DashFight video, we are exploring the different components between Mortal Kombat 11 and Mortal Kombat 1, giving you a wider perspective on how things were. We also do want to make an essential note here that this is not a brand-new discussion. This has happened and will continue to do so into the future. As time passes, two key factors can misshape how we view video games. 

The first, perhaps the most obvious, is that we grow older. If you played Mortal Kombat 11 at release when you were 16, well, congratulations, you are likely turning 20 now and maybe playing Mortal Kombat 1. The things you like or don’t like about video games, the trends happening in the industry, and your own lived experience have all reshaped how you enjoy games. Memories of them might be sweet, and for MK quite gory. But they are just that, memories, rose-tainted glasses you put on when looking back.

The second important factor is that in modern gaming, updates are king. Over the past three years, plenty of games with mediocre releases suddenly got a new Lifeline, thanks to their dedicated developers. The most common example cited is No Man's Sky, which had a mediocre release and is now seen as a classic for the space exploration and survival genre. Similarly, Cyberpunk 2077 had a terrible release, especially for those playing on consoles. Yet three short years later, it developed into a great first-person RPG.

Of course, this carries an Onaga-size asterisk of needing developers to consistently put out more updates that improve the game, which unfortunately is not always the case.

Mortal Kombat 11 did have, For the most part, good support, especially considering that the major expansion a year after its release set up the critically appraised story in Mortal Kombat 1. There is some room to argue that we should allow NetherRealm Studios to show us what they can do with Mortal Kombat 1 over the years.

That said, Mortal Kombat 1 could leave a sour taste in many players. We hope NetheRealm Studios listens to the community and takes steps to address those issues. No one likes it when a game becomes abandoned ware, that risk is all the more present in the age of always online.

Because for all we said about embracing new entries into these franchises. There still is the argument, and we think it is an incredibly valid one, that all titles be in Street Fighter 1, Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 1 the very old one, or Mortal Kombat 2, 3, or any one of the 3D era, all of those games should be accessible whether you have an internet connection or not and whether or not the developers have stopped support for those titles long ago.