Mortal Kombat 1 (2023) Official Gameplay Trailer

The very first gameplay footage of NetherRealm's new Mortal Kombat 1 was showcased at Summer Game Fest 2023 (hosted by Geoff Keighley). The trailer features Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Scorpion, Raiden, Johnny Cage, a sighted Kenshi, Kitana, and Mileena, as well as cameos from Goro, Sonya, Kano, Stryker and Jax.

Main gameplay:

1. Kung Lao vs. Sub Zero
2. Johnny Cage vs. Kenshi
3. Scorpion vs. Liu Kang
4. Raiden vs. Kenshi

Shorter gameplay clips:

• Sub Zero vs. Raiden
• Mileena vs. Liu Kang
• Kung Lao vs. Johnny Cage

Kameo characters (may also be main cast):

• Goro
• Sonya
• Kano
• Stryker
• Jax

 

And both look amazing! I never gave two shits about Sonya and now I suddenly want to play her???? Good job NRS

i loved sonya in mk9 hated her with a passion in mkx and was iffy with her in mk11 but atleast she was playable to me. but i will definitely be playing with her in mk1 or having her as a cameo

 

Game looks amazing...got to see Stryker, Jax, Goro, Kitana, Johnny....only person I did not get to see is my beloved Jade and Baraka.

I do have a theory though. All of the Kameo fighters who are base roster/confirmed playable fully (Kung Lao and Sub-Zero) are in their original debut skins (just like Sonya, Kano, Jax and Stryker). I suspect all four are base roster and Goro may just be a Kameo because he is not presented in his classic attire like the others. I find it odd he is the one exception to this rule. This seems like a sign to me. Maybe we are getting Kintaro/vengeance arc maybe?

they have to bring my man Jax back lol. i played the hell out of him in mk11. i like that they gave him his classic look with the high top fade. take my money nrs

 

I saw 24 character slots on the base roster. That tells me that will probably be all we get day 1. Our luck - one will be a random select and Shang Tsung. and these Kameos just sound like character assists from MK11. Sonya also looks like she is just an AI upscale from MKX. I'm sure of course over time they will release more but still....I like overkill. there should be 30 characters immediately playable day 1. That sorta depresses me...much.

the background with tvs and the clashes look like straight up IJ2 rips/modifications. Look at those muscles on Jax. WOW. it could all still be unfunished though. I still prefer the Kronika announcer. Or if Steve Ritchie can't do it. They could probably AI his voice to match. That would be dope.

 

Gameplay was fine. Particle effects, fluids, backgrouds looks awesome.... HOWEVER:

• fighter models(significant downgrade compared to the CGI which seems to be everywhere during this gameplay) during the fights looked pretty mediocre at best
• animation in fights(not CGI) seems stiff
• music was cool but as usual probably only for the trailer

That being said.... i'm obviously HYPED coz of one, simple reason....... KENSHI.

Hello old friend, we are back.

And so is our boy.

 

Or if Steve Ritchie can't do it. They could probably AI his voice to match. That would be dope.

Oh man, Ritchie would be so good. Both Shao Kahn actors sucked so bad...

 

Mileena during the crazy "x factor" era that we call the 90s and even in MK9 stuff was unexplored as a pure bad girl... I think there is a great story opportunity to depict her as a more tragic villain. I mean sure, she better be a monster, but there has always been a aspect of tragedy in her story not explored in story mode yet. So that is what I would like to see some of.

Me too. I think that’s be interesting. Baraka was a far more compelling character in MK11 then he was before because the showed us some gradience and subtlety vs the “roar, I’m evil” we saw in the previous games.

 

Mileena during the crazy "x factor" era that we call the 90s and even in MK9 stuff was unexplored as a pure bad girl... I think there is a great story opportunity to depict her as a more tragic villain. I mean sure, she better be a monster, but there has always been a aspect of tragedy in her story not explored in story mode yet. So that is what I would like to see some of.

I always really liked the arc she had in MKD, where she basically got everything she wanted, yet the ending ended up saying "all hail princess...Kitana". After millenia of jealousy she finally won, yet it was still bittersweet because people thought it wasn't her.

 

So the types of assists I saw:

• A lot of the kameo attacks in the trailer were launchers
• Some looked like you either cancel your throw into an 'kameo-boosted' throw, or just have a 'kameo throw' and the animation starts with your character
• Some (like the ones from Kano and Sonya) are a quick projectile that can keep your opponent in a comboable state
• And it looked like Kano's eye laser Kameo initiated Raiden's Fatal Blow? But due to the editing, it's hard to tell. Everything after the cut was Raiden alone.

 

Ok, I re-watched the trailer again, took some sleep, took some time for analysis and I have a weird theory.

ED: MK11 is gone, guys, let's start with our new game which is going to be... Injustice 3!!!
NRS: OK BOSS, On it.

-- after some time --

ED: Wait, wait guys! I got new instructions from top management of WB. They did market analysis and we need to skip Injustice 3 and go straight to MK12 like RIGHT NOW! HYPE WILL BLOW PEOPLE UP!
NRS: But Ed, we are already halfway there... we have the colors, animations, assist system perfect for comic characters (Batman & Robin, Superman & Wonder Woman), we have the splashes, explosions and all that stuff!
ED: Dammit, ok, leave it like that. Just reskin to MK characters, do it now!

---

Basically I cannot unsee this vibe.

Apart from that, currently they didn't show any pure BAD guys in the trailer (not counting Kameos, we don't know if they are even present/canon in the story or are they just fun addition). The game is so BRIGHT. There is no darkness at all, but MAYBE, just MAYBE it's planned move and it will get darker over time when we get to see proper villains.

I'm not digging the new Kenshi-Yakuza outfit. I'm not convinced, but the klassic looks good and it's always good to see Kenshi in the roster.
Kung Lao and Raiden look like NPC monks. Generic and plastic. Hope that will also change in the future.

Not sold yet on the kameos. Simply need more info and see more action. Now I can only say that those models look even more plastic than main roster fighters.

Now on the positive aspects. I've bolded it to be noticable. Because it's not like I hate all of what I saw and I will not even give this game a chance. And to prove that I'm not only negative whiner.

I absolutely love Mileena, Kitana and Liu designs and how they are fighting. Johnny is OK. Looks like proper actor-playboy.

I also love the stages. If one of them is Edenia, it looks absolutely beautiful. Yet again, I hope we will get more "darker" stages in the future.

 

Ok, I re-watched the trailer again, took some sleep, took some time for analysis and I have a weird theory.

ED: MK11 is gone, guys, let's start with our new game which is going to be... Injustice 3!!!
NRS: OK BOSS, On it.

-- after some time --

ED: Wait, wait guys! I got new instructions from top management of WB. They did market analysis and we need to skip Injustice 3 and go straight to MK12 like RIGHT NOW! HYPE WILL BLOW PEOPLE UP!
NRS: But Ed, we are already halfway there... we have the colors, animations, assist system perfect for comic characters (Batman & Robin, Superman & Wonder Woman), we have the splashes, explosions and all that stuff!
ED: Dammit, ok, leave it like that. Just reskin to MK characters, do it now!

---

Basically I cannot unsee this vibe.

Apart from that, currently they didn't show any pure BAD guys in the trailer (not counting Kameos, we don't know if they are even present/canon in the story or are they just fun addition). The game is so BRIGHT. There is no darkness at all, but MAYBE, just MAYBE it's planned move and it will get darker over time when we get to see proper villains.

I'm not digging the new Kenshi-Yakuza outfit. I'm not convinced, but the klassic looks good and it's always good to see Kenshi in the roster.
Kung Lao and Raiden look like NPC monks. Generic and plastic. Hope that will also change in the future.

Not sold yet on the kameos. Simply need more info and see more action. Now I can only say that those models look even more plastic than main roster fighters.

Now on the positive aspects. I've bolded it to be noticable. Because it's not like I hate all of what I saw and I will not even give this game a chance. And to prove that I'm not only negative whiner.

I absolutely love Mileena, Kitana and Liu designs and how they are fighting. Johnny is OK. Looks like proper actor-playboy.

I also love the stages. If one of them is Edenia, it looks absolutely beautiful. Yet again, I hope we will get more "darker" stages in the future.

It definitely seems like MK1 absorbed a bunch of Injustice elements. The clash at character select, the activation for X-Rays being the same as for Injustice supers, the big colourful explosions at the end of them, and yes, probably the assist system.

At the same time, air combos and breakers are very much a thing in MK's past, so fuck it, who really knows?

 

Basically I cannot unsee this vibe.

In Injustice 2 there were things from the MKX. In MK 11 there were things from Injustice 2. And not just some little things, but animations and character strings / specials. Studios do this all the time with their games, not just fighting games. Because it's faster and cheaper. Plus, they may think it's a great idea to reuse something cool. Like clashes from Injustice on the loading screen. Why make a loading screen and then dialogs when the dialogs can be shown during loading to speed things up? During the loading screen, the arena is loading, so you need to show the dialogue of the characters without the arena. They already have a system that fits perfectly, they're reusing it. Could you come up with something else? Yes. But that would take weeks and months of work, which could be spent working on another character, for example.

I don't have an Injustice vibe. Do I see things that were in Injustice 2? Yes, I do. But I've seen them in past NRS games way too many times. The only thing that can make me think about Injustice is less realism and, as some say, "cartoonishness". But I don't think it has anything to do with the desire to copy Injustice. Plus, I saw a lot of people want it. Not everyone will like it, but you can't please everyone.

 

It definitely looks more like MK11 than MKX so far. Slower gameplay, no run button. The styling of the early combos looks something like a mix of MK11 and MK9. What we saw in the trailer looks like it could definitely tend towards being more footsie-heavy, but we'll have to see more to know for sure.

I dunno about footsie heavy. Imo it says fuck you to footsie if you can call an assist and run at the opponent for a 50/50.

 

So I'm the only one that liked everything they showed? I mean I think I saw Liu do another version of F4 and I panicked but other than that it looks much better than MK11. NO breakaways, no slow pacing shit and no to the same 5 hit combos

 

Absolutely loved everything about this trailer and screamed like a girl all the way through it.

Now that I've had some time to process it though, I've been thinking about the kameos. I'm worried that NRS are gonna panic about the balance, so just strip them down entirely. Just like the MK11 abilities.

I just REALLY want the chance to be creative with them. I was hella excited when they announced custum variations for MK11. I thought the world would be my oyster, but look how that turned out.

I just hope kameos don't go the same way. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

2 things I realized watching closely:

Sub-Zero doesn't use a hammer, he uses an ice skull+spine which is badass and a classic reference to his original fatality!

During Johnny Cage's fatality, he reaches to his pocket before the video cuts to a different scene... the MF is going to take a pic with its opponent corpse on his grave recreating the meme!!

Also I don't think Kano is confirmed playable, there are other kameo fatalities shown and so far we only see his classic outfit like other kameos (Subbie and Kung Lao cameos are their classic versions too but we see their current versions as playable). Also cool how the XRay moves have a kameo starter then transitions into the main character XRay (seen with Kenshi and Scorpion).

 

Rewatched the trailer a number of times today and I'm getting increasinly excited, but I also have more questions.

Right now it seems like they're really trying to make Kameos so fleshed out and unique, that you could realistically pick one and center your playstyle around them. Not just in terms of strategy but also in terms of player expression. To that end:

Do X-Ray animations change depending on whether a character is chosen as a main character vs being chosen as a Kameo? Does Sub Zero only do the headbutt even if he's picked as your main dude?

Do ALL Kameo's get their own fatality? On first glance that would seem like a lot of extra work, but if they're all short and sweet (OG characters already shown doing their klassic finishers) they wouldn't be too different from say, Faction Kills in MKX.

Unrelated, but how are we feeling about brutalities? Nothing so far has alluded to them being in, but part of me wants to believe they wouldn't cut one of the best additions to modern MK.

 

now here is the thing. during the clash animation between mileena and kitana, kitana’s hair looks so far from realistic that it’s very disturbing and i cannot unsee that, which makes me concerned that it might not be embellished. i want this game to have literally no cons so that it can get as successful as sf6. but to me especially the characters DEFINITELY needs some visual embellishment, because i think it is a must compared to other ps5 games. but i have literally nothing to say about stages as they are probably the only element that appears to be finished visually.

 

Sonyas face model does seem to be as high quality as the playable characters even better than some

I wonder if it’s possible we have a modern Sonya with a less retro moveset

If she’s in the story she wouldn’t be wearing those outfits

 

I am over the moon hype for young Raiden, but nervous about the gameplay. The game looks on the slow side for me since im accustomed to mkx's explosive speed. I do wanna see a lot more gameplay tho.

 

Honestly, if the gameplay is a bit faster and the movement feels smoother than MK11's I'll be very happy. The main things I disliked about 11's gameplay were that it felt a bit sluggish and the combos weren't long enough, we also had very few launchers without spending meter. It does look like we can launch with regular versions of special moves again, and the air kombat looks like a neat way to extend combos without making them as long as they were in MK9.
The more I watch the trailer and think about the gameplay, the more I feel like it could be something really special.
Just these little things + some darker stages and this could maybe be my favorite MK game. It already looks way better than 11 and if some rumors are true, the roster should be way better too.

 

Do X-Ray animations change depending on whether a character is chosen as a main character vs being chosen as a Kameo? Does Sub Zero only do the headbutt even if he's picked as your main dude?

The x-rays will be exactly the same as the supers in SFxT (I can't remember what they were called). Looks like the kameo initiaties the move, then the kameo will do their starter animation (in Sub's case, the headbutt) then knock the opponent into the main fighter, who will finish it with their main x-ray animation. Sub will more than likely have his own main X-ray animation and the headbutt will just be his kameo animation.

I suppose there is a chance the main fighter can also initiate the x-ray too, meaning that all characters (main AND kameo) will have 2 animations each.

 

2 things I realized watching closely:
Sub-Zero doesn't use a hammer, he uses an ice skull+spine which is badass and a classic reference to his original fatality!

and it's a bit ridiculous, isn't it? I mean - creating an Icy hammer out of thin air is dope but creating an actual skull and spine? I get that it's a shoutout to the klassic but I'm not buying it. Like... what's the point? Why?

HOWEVER - apart from that move - Sub Zero playstyle looks quite nice.

 

Do ALL Kameo's get their own fatality? On first glance that would seem like a lot of extra work, but if they're all short and sweet (OG characters already shown doing their klassic finishers) they wouldn't be too different from say, Faction Kills in MKX.

Kameos confirmed to have their own fatality. I’m pretty sure it applies to all kameos, as the NRS statement is general.

Prepare for Battle: Mortal Kombat 1 and New Kameo Fighters Explained - Xbox Wire

Mortal Kombat 1 just got its first gameplay trailer, and introduced a new feature: Kameo Fighters. Want to know more? Check out the details inside.

news.xbox.com

 

so that actually lowers chances of Jax, Sonya & Kano being in main roster IMO.

Because it would be logical to show some fighters that are KAMEOS ONLY.

But as I'm writing this, why am I even seeking logic in NRS moves & marketing?

 

Another thing I just noticed... Scorpion wears the Lin Kuei emblem!! So in this timeline Liu Kang prevents the conflict that resulted on the Shirai Ryu branching out and then being rivals with the Lin Kuei, so Scorpion and Sub-Zero are on the same clan now.