A Few Days In...How Good Is Mortal Kombat 1?

#mk #mk1 #review
After a solid few days of playing Mortal Kombat 1, Max feels he has gotten enough time with the game to form an opinion on its quality.
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[@SneaksBL]

It’s good that Max is enjoying this game. Better, you could tell when he would play MK11 He was just doing it to do it.

[@user-dv4bm2pk5e]

Gameplay is the most important thing in a fighting game and this is levels above 11. MK 11 was a complete slog gameplay wise

[@Malikye666]

We all were. We all were...

[@cameronsilva4566]

cap he said he liked it back then. people liek you hate on the great unique game that was mk11. they ruined mk w this new one

[@billydiaz1914]

@@cameronsilva4566Mk11 was the worst mk gameplay wise

[@jackjax7921]

"99 percent of you suck at MK11" - Sonicfox

[@SneaksBL]

Also, a big critique of mine is that I wish they had individual ranking systems per character, Like street fighter 6/ TEKKEN. They’ll be times where you’re trying to learn a new character and then you go online but because you’re not starting from the low rank people will literally obliterate you lol

[@aledantih6524]

That should legit be a requirement for fighting games from this point on, I hate that it's not there

[@amyford2971]

I agree with this. I suppose you can play kasual instead of ranked when it’s character you aren’t as good with yet but it would be fairer to have separate character ranks like you said. Sf6 does this really well.

[@UnDeAdSpRaYe]

TEKKEN 7 had that before sf6 casual

[@arpadszabo661]

@@UnDeAdSpRaYecool, no one asked

[@amyford2971]

@@UnDeAdSpRaYe I’ve not played Tekken 7 online modes so didn’t realise that. To be fair sf6 was first fg I tried online and I’ve only had some matches in MK1.

[@reeceweston10]

Invasions is a godsend for someone like me who doesn't play online in the Kombat League, I can finally earn cool looking gear for my characters without having to deal with extremely sweaty players online. It definitely turns into a grind, I got my smoke to level 31, but had to put it down for a few days to recharge lol.

[@kSwissh007]

the best part is that the game rewards you with unlockables for the characters you play the most and even then you do sometimes randomly unlock gear and brutalities for other characters as well just by playing the game

[@TypicalBlakk]

Why lie

[@kSwissh007]

@@TypicalBlakk what r u talking about it literally happened to me last night

[@kSwissh007]

@@TypicalBlakk i unlocked palletes for sub zero when i was playing as liu kang

[@JoeySoeter]

What kameo did you use

[@kSwissh007]

@@JoeySoeter for liu i use sub zero and kano and sonya blade

[@michiganjack1337]

My peeves: - Not being able to customize outfits in the versus screen. - Not being able to pin moves to the screen (which previously we could). -PC performance for the invasion board, and everything else outside of the actual fights.

[@Kazeshyn]

Oh you having performance issues too? I'm glad I'm not alone. The drop fps and the lag is messing with my strings I won't talk about online matches. In 30min I got 2 wins and 10 losses. The good thing is I heard they're working on performance so I'll wait

[@xikpart]

So the game is actually worth like 30$ at max? Becouse every other fighting game comes with a huge amount of content and this doesnt even do the most basic shit like customizing outfits on vs screen. OR PIN MOVES.

[@Kazeshyn]

@@xikpart someone commented in a post of Ed boon on twitter about pinning moves, he noted that. I think we will get that option soon enough

[@grandmasterblueberryice4882]

​@@Kazeshyn that sounds good atleast.

[@leonardobps]

I can add one more which was a big one for me to ask refund, MK favors gamepad, now I am playing on a hitbox and man that was a bad experience, since you have to press a block button the disposition don't favor much in my opinion.

[@silvherr850]

The game is good, the gameplay is fun, however, there's still a lot of things they should change. Invasions should let you TP to any node you want, also, give an over the shoulder camera angle. Let us make presets for skins, is very annoying to have to go back to the kustomization menu to change the skin, and maybe add more gear

[@joshuayc8963]

Also add a goddam map. When going back to a map half the time i dont even kno where tf im going. Then i end up having to fight a bunch of annoying ambushes

[@metaltom2003]

​@@joshuayc8963I had that same complaint my first few days in Invasion. Then I noticed there is a very small arrow that guides you toward the next node. It always poimts toward the quickest route, depending on where you are on the map itself. Hope that helps!

[@jamesray1950]

@@joshuayc8963 I 100% Invasion today. If the line is green there’s a fight in that direction, if the line is blue everything in that direction is cleared. The arrow points you to the exit. When all lines are blue you 100% the map. Also make sure you enter the shops and forge cause the line will stay green till you enter them. Hope that helps

[@MasterOfThinking]

@@jamesray1950Invasion was the most tedious boring repetitive annoying shit I have ever played in mk. Who the hell wants to do all those garbage fights on multiple levels EVERY DAMN SEASON.

[@Southernguy39]

@@MasterOfThinkingI have learned one thing from this: It’s that no matter what Ed Boon does, everyone will always have something to damn well complain about. He could literally do what y’all want and you’d still find some damn reason to complain. All I hear from these channels, is a bunch of whiny crybabies. You don’t have to play it if you don’t like it. Complaining does nothing. It’s a freaking game for heaven’s sake. 🙄 Edit: Replaced suggest with “do.”

[@Afro_Blue]

Never understood why the lobbies they had in MKX never came back or were never adopted by another game. I absolutely loved it, was super clear and easy to navigate and understand and didn’t complicate anything plus it was just always fun, there were familiar names alot of the time and people knew one another certain players had certain reputations in different lobbies and factions it was overall just a great community style lobby situation and was so much fun

[@maximmillions]

This^

[@xkmuffinzx3915]

Played X a few times like a few days before 1 launched. Still hella goated.

[@philosophyandhappiness2001]

​@xkmuffinzx3915 mk1 is fun, and a lot better than 11, but mkx is still 🤴

[@P3rks0fLife]

What’s crazy is X’s was carried over from MK9. I don’t remember how it was in Injustice, but it’s weird that they got it right twice and then suddenly get rid of it.

[@ChronicSynchronizer]

I’m so happy that there’s a distinct way to unlock content for the character you decide to play as. Between the character mastery and the seasonal store it’s amazing to finally be able to choose what I’m unlocking and for who.

[@ZackNoctisCloud]

As a solo player who hates playing online, I love Invasion and absolutely hated mk11 towers, Endless grinding towers and having to go to work and fomo kicking in of what gear I was gonna miss for characters I played sucked and that with the unfun combat killed mk11 for me personally, so I'm glad they added a solo player experience in the game for dads like me who can't play all damn day waiting for that 1 piece of loot to drop

[@clintjones92515]

I feel like Invasions is way grindier. In fact, for me it feels as grindy as MK11's original system before they made patches due to player complaints. But for whatever reason, people don't seem to notice it here, or have memory holed it.

[@Davewonder31]

@@clintjones92515 maybe it’s just the way it’s presented so people don’t mind as much

[@DiSCERiTY]

Invasions is way grindier though

[@HB-fq9nn]

@@clintjones92515 It's also a lot more casual too, and there's plenty of time to finish the maps before the season ends. Not to mention, the fights in Invasion can get quite creative, especially with the bosses.

[@DonYoGi8331]

Quickest way to unlock the things u want(2nd fatality, kameo brutalities, brutalities, taunts, gear, and base colored alternate costumes)is the endurance match challenge "Triple Threat" in Fengjein Village near the beginning of the stage. Be atleast lvl 30 before doing this. It's the quickest easiest way to level up.

[@rageofheaven]

Story mode is so wholesome. Its a nice feeling.

[@klavicus2276]

Yeah definitely a 8.5/10 (few things could have been better and it started stronger but best story so far for mk IMO)

[@DSMTheEditor]

Yeah I like that it's more like a big summer action/adventure rather than heroes taking Ls over and over

[@Hiranbarman272]

Mk1 story is so bad

[@klavicus2276]

@@Hiranbarman272 you forgto a 1, you ment mk11

[@incognitoblack8661]

The ending was horrible and felt rushed

[@Franco0216]

Fun fact : the endings of each character in the tower mode are all cannon for first time , so you have to do tower mode with each

[@GotCamel]

This game is so gorgeous. Love the graphics. The character and level designs are chef’s kiss!

[@pastuh]

yep, comparing to sf6 I like this game more.

[@meduzarbuz7605]

i loved the mkx characters so much, these feel like babies or upgraded klassic karacters, hope with customization you can make them grittier

[@cadendanoob5750]

@@meduzarbuz7605how close to mkx do you think mk1 is like? Cause that’s what I’d be going from if I buy this

[@snakeoo38]

Mk11 looked better and more gritty

[@duggyfresh8899]

​@@pastuhyour out of your mind lol

[@crimsonslayer6641]

i’m definitely gonna be playing this more than MK 11, mk1 may have problems, but as long I have fun, that’s all that matters to me

[@TheArmandHammer]

Yea there's hella spammers bruh

[@spacedoutfoo]

​@@TheArmandHammerany fighting game really

[@KanekiAogiri5]

@@TheArmandHammerwhat fighting game doesn’t have spammers?

[@Jaebird2]

@@TheArmandHammerany fighting game lol. Tekken 7 still has spammers online

[@Hypno_BPM]

@@TheArmandHammerskill issue

[@dezmundtv962]

something these games have done for years that i always strongly dislike, is the RNG nature of getting gear for characters. If i play only one character for 20 hours and %90 of the drops i get are for other characters then i feel like i am not progressing with my chosen fighter and it is often frustrating. I feel like anything you do in game that has an RNG component should only randomize the potential drops for that specific character, to incentivize you to continue grinding at least. instead of pulling from a massive pool of gear for characters you may likely never end up playing very much.

[@Jsobone]

The whole mastery system only unlocka stuff for the character you are playing.

[@CAnnino054]

That’s literally the point of the new character mastery system

[@TheMajinMateo]

The gear system in Mk1 is the best. It pretty much addresses everything you just said lol.

[@oscarortiz1529]

I believe he is referring to the dragon shrine. yes I hate getting concept art as much as the next guy but its always been an MK staple unfortunately

[@clintjones92515]

@@oscarortiz1529 He's talking about Invasion rewards more than likely.

[@demiurgehigh5328]

The amount of creativity you can put behind your main and kameo is nuts

[@kaiuniverse876]

I've never been good at fighting games, but this is somehow so approachable to someone bad like me, while still giving the chance to go absolutely nuts with it. I've actually started figuring out combos myself, thats insane.

[@sleebees]

Ive always been interested in fighting games but only ever played the tekken games, but something about mk1 really drew me in and I figured out such a short basic combo for sub zero on my own and I felt like a god, and that combo does even use any kameo attacks to extend it so I can only imaginr how much farther I can take it. Really exciting!

[@Lucid-Dee]

@@sleebeesI’m so sorry to tell u this but sub has been done dirty. He’s my current main. He was a menace in the beta dropping heavy dmg. Ppl complained and now his max dmg combo does 36% dmg. Why is that bad? Because that max dmg combo costs 2 meters whereas the meta characters get that with one meter. Either way it’s only week 1 so stick w him. There r still high ranking subs. Good luck sub brotha

[@Lucid-Dee]

Creating ur own combos is definitely a really neat and fun part of this game. Be better than me tho and get off when the game pisses u off Lmao

[@sleebees]

@@Lucid-Dee Damn really?? I never really paid much attention to the beta stuff so I never noticed haha, I still find him fun though so that's all that really matters to me. Even if I might lose with him a lot since he got nerfed I'm not too bothered as long as Im having fun. Ooooh dont worry, I'm easing myself into it, literally only played like 2 ranked games one night and then logged off so I didnt get TOO into it and sucked into forcing myself to play to win lmao

[@notsure1135]

All the netherrealm games have the same formula for combos. String>meter burn special>string>special. Piss easy. It can get more involved but you will figure it out.

[@migek]

Feels like less content but at the same time you could tell a lot of work went into the gameplay it self and acknowledging that at the end of the day it’s a fighting game, makes me feel not so bad about it

[@mirzapramudya1580]

Quality over quantity, my friend

[@MJSHappy]

@@mirzapramudya1580exactly. The content in 11 was (imo) mostly filler garbage

[@camel521]

i rather have less content that’s more flushed out and refined compared to more content but not as good gameplay etc

[@kaisiru]

It has more content than mk11. Mk11 was practically just towers and the krypt.

[@SuperJJParker]

Invasion is terrible. The krypt in mk11 was q much better mode than invasion is.

[@AugustAPC]

My thoughts: I'd give the story mode at 7.5 maybe an 8 out of 10. There was stuff I loved. The Kenshi/Cage dynamic was excellent. They make a very endearing duo, and you felt the bond between then grow to something very special. I was also very intrigued by the mystery of the story, earlier on. Giving characters like Baraka and Reptile the spotlight was also *chef's kiss*. I was going nuts when Baraka was destroying those other Tarkatan's in Shang's lab. So cool. However toward the end, things never really hit the spot for me. There was never a real feeling of a threat to the good guys, and I felt like there were too many good guys that didn't experience a whole lot of conflict. The ending battle felt more like a gimmick and didn't leave me very impressed, especially the final fight. So yea, loved a lot of stuff, but the ending just didn't deliver. Regarding gameplay, like people are saying, neutral feels slow like MK11. The kameo system is really cool, though. I just wish buttons felt a little faster. You feel locked in place a little too long when an errant button comes out. That doesn't feel good. But when the offense is flowing it feels amazing. You can tell there's quite a lot of stuff to play with, but I do wish there were some more system mechanics outside of the kameo system. The presentation is great, as always with NRS, but its debatable whether the graphics look better than MK11. I feel like the kameo presentation could have been even more integrated in the fight. I would have liked to see the kameo attack each other in the background and then jump out of the screen during the opening of the fight, to imply that they're fighting off screen. I also think the Fatal Blows are not great. They feel like two small fatal blows from each of your characters rather than one cohesive one. I would have preferred to see Kameo's get their own, separate super combo mechanic and just let the main character do their fatal blow. I feel like that would have looked a whole lot better and would have added more to the gameplay, having two separate super arts. I actually think Street Fighter has surpassed MK in terms of general presentation, which is something I never thought I'd say in modern times. It's also pretty weird that they only offer one element of gear that you can modify, some which you won't even notice in game. Invasion mode is a massive downgrade from the krypt. Like insanely huge downgrade. It's boring as hell and there's no fun in exploration. Navigating the boards is slow and there's no map to help you find things you missed. The fight modifiers are negligible if you have any basic fighting game skill. I've cleared 3 mesas and I've never needed to use the talisman in a fight. Honestly, after four years of development, you'd expect something way better than what we got. MK11's krypt was a literal masterpiece. I'm sure I will go back to it just to explore it every now and again. I honestly dread the grind of Invasions. Overall, I'm at an 8/10 for the game. There's a lot to like, but they also drop the ball in other areas.

[@SolProxy]

Funny, so many people say 11's Krypt was a grindy piece of shit.

[@AugustAPC]

@attekontu Maybe referencing the gold shrine and forge, but the actual design and exploration of the Krypt was a fucking marvel for any MK fan. Anyone saying otherwise is surely a lobotomite.

[@googlymoogly3009]

The Krypt is definitely not a masterpiece lol

[@BLVCK0UT]

I need a "One Month Later" video from Max

[@patccmoiwoodchuck8000]

I really agree with the online feature and just overall UI as a whole. This and the control bugs (which for sure are frustrating at times) I hope are things they can simply fix in a future patch. The gameplay is super fun and that's the main part at least, so hopefully the rest they can patch and improve over time fairly easily.

[@CrimsonFIame]

I wish there was more attention put towards their approach to seasons. I can just play the freaking game and earn different cool skins. That's extremely rare and it pushes me to play invasions more, yeah I know MK11 is the same in some ways but I'm honestly surprised considering how almost impossible it is to find other games like this that doesn't require more and more money. Yes I'm making a big deal out of rewards from playing and I'm glad it's here. Some adjustments definitely need to be made but I think it's on the right track. Mastery ranks for each character is something I want to see more in AAA fighting games.

[@joshary475]

I know what you mean and I feel the same about it. I was never a fan of having to do extra things like mobile connections or even having it be mandatory to participate online to get seasonal skins. It feels like almost no matter what I choose to play in MK1 I'll be earning a lot of cool stuff.

[@Igneeka]

Yeah I got really scared when I saw seasonal content (it usually goes in hand with battle passes and forcing you to grind your ass off every season) but you actually can get even the priciest skins surprisingly fast playing invasion it was a really nice surprise (especially considering how grindy MK11 was at times) Here's hoping they don't patch it to make the game grindier or something, some games have done that in the past

[@TigBlack7]

I just wish there was some diversity in the seasonal color options. I don't like reds/oranges so invasions doesn't feel rewarding, and i got so sad when i saw season 2 is blood themed lol

[@Boatboy_]

​@@TigBlack7at least a season is only 6 weeks which isnt that long when you think about it. Though, aa you did say, you may not be liking next season so it may be a bit longer. Im sure all colours will come around eventually though.

[@slothsarecool987]

My review of story mode is that me and my gf played through it together. She doesn’t really play games but just enjoyed watching it like a movie and cheering me on in the fights. We both had a blast and it was a really special time.

[@Anvekeen]

That's cute! I watched a bit of the story mode with my mum of all people, and she usually hates horror stuff... When Kenji got his eyes impaled, she asked to watch the scene again 😂 Something about Mortal Kombat bringing out the sadist in all of us !

[@ChangingTheories]

Max, been watching you since 2013 KI days. Big KI and MK fan like you. I really suffer from anxiety online now at 40, no idea why cause i am quite decent, it just spoils the fun for me. I got to Killer on KI and that was a massive achievement for me, really trying to get past that on this as its brilliant and ive done all single player stuff. I know you touched on this sort of stuff in the past, keep up the good work pal

[@thierrydeschenes5924]

Just realized it's been a while since I watched your video's it's good to have you back..

[@KillianC1C2]

This is the first NRS game that I've spent a bit of time just labbing. I've only really labbed two characters and two Kameos, it's wild.

[@PotentialLegend]

These are always the videos I look forward to the most after a new fighting game comes out, Max always has the best takes.

[@ThOrb_God_of_Chonk]

It's cool to hear Max was equally as overwhelmed by the breath of combo variety with characters and Kameos that I did. I'm enjoying labbing combos and getting the timing down.

[@XPISTOS-ANESTH]

I recently decide to move from ps5 to pc for gaming but now i stack in the predicament shall i buy the game on console or pc? How is the pc users feeling playing the game so far? I don't want to commit to pay playstation plus just for a game but if the pc port is bad i might bite the bullet. So pc or ps5 any unbiased opinions?

[@Bluuedream]

I'm absolutely loving it so far, hopefully they keep things fresh with the new seasons and can give the online some quality of life changes.

[@DC_0724]

I actually really liked Invasions. I played story mode before to unlock havik and immediately began using him in invasions to get a feel for him and when I completed invasions I felt better prepared for online play and I got a lot of cosmetics for him with the mastery system 👍 (Not perfect but enjoyable to me)

[@gutoguto8058]

yeah, invasion mode feels like a glorified tutorial. Some gimmicks sucks, yeah. Like the one where your screen goes black when near the opponent, but some gimmicks help you to engage the opponent in different ways and, overtime, you ends up getting muscle memory on what to do and not to do in certain situations. I was able to win a couple matches with Smoke even the other players knew better combos, and the way i was able to win was simply using the same strategies that the game made me do in Invasions in order to unlock the next fight in the board game. So yeah.

[@thomasglanner2642]

Imo the Main issue with Invasion Mode is that super armor makes some Fights the most boring slogs ever. Especially the Mini bosses. Especially because the armor Applies on every attack and cant be broken unless you Hit those couple blue frames.

[@ace_tamashii2082]

Same I spent time in invasions mode only to experiment with characters that I want to main. Rn I’m maining smoke and Reptile and a little bit of sub zero. I’m thinking of trying Havik next and maybe Johnny cage too.

[@rustypickle1156]

I feel like Invasions need better fights. Not more gimmicks, just give me AI fights, regular ass AI fights. All of them are too easy to cheese with Shang’s projectiles

[@St4rDustSpirit]

Not a huge fan of the Survive stuff in Invasion, but I'm having a blast in Invasion.

[@happyabbyarts]

The whole weird turning thing happens so much with Haviks popup projectile, just shooting the wrong way haha. With how crazy story mode gets, I was expecting some more crazyness in invasions. Also I wish we had offline options for the kombat league awards.

[@sighbatsu]

Invasions is super grindy but at least it's not like the krypt that was insane.... MK1 has been a massive game play upgrade for me.

[@nativepredator8803]

The krypt was the best part of that game

[@jeremyroberts8822]

I kinda like the krypt from mk11 tbh but I can see why some wouldn’t. I still really just wanna see conquest mode from deception come back and be expanded upon.

[@yugiohsachse]

The krypt was waaaay better

[@assassin8636]

Everyone complaining about the Krypt are not very bright

[@Autumnfurry2099]

I wish characters could level up from other modes, not just invasions and online

[@Xengaa]

I've been really enjoying the game and getting creative with combos + Kameos. I just finished Invasions and loved just learning strategy with different characters (though frustrating with armour and those stupid talismans). I spent a good 8 hours playing last night and loved the fact that I can easily get into playing combos for majority of the main roster characters versus just finding one "good enough" on MK11.

[@Nathan-tf6dk]

Thank you for talking about online. As fun as that game is I don’t see myself playing much longer if I have to deal with lag in my competitive matches. Needs to be fixed asap. Hope you continually bring it up

[@lqmayock1]

MKX still my favorite. Not sold on the cameos yet, but I haven't played a whole bunch. Still get super stoked for your videos when I hear the "LET'S GO" intro

[@Mene0]

Kameo system is pretty nutty. Excited to see what the pros come up with

[@VoidEternal]

SF6 is still my game, but I actually enjoy this game MUCH more than I did MK11, by a long shot. Game's fast, snappy, and for the most part everything just kinda works. I like it.

[@dice9270]

The combos are making me enjoy this game so much more but I will still hop back on sf6

[@torchlight1785]

The thing is Capcom did such a good heel turn with SF6 having MK1 be better would be nigh impossible.

[@dice9270]

@@torchlight1785 heel?

[@dice9270]

@@BabyMaharaja0 I do also hate Tanyas redesign but I'm not gonna let one character prevent me from playing the game especially when the others still look sick, many good designs beat out that one

[@besforthhaliti7963]

@@BabyMaharaja0you really gonna skip a entire game all because of one character? Sorry but that just sounds stupid

[@diegounanue]

I do really miss more gear, intros and outros customization. I love to grind for them. And they were so cool to see. Remember the Spawn intro OMG so good.

[@Shikmusik]

Absolutely Amazing graphics (apart from the characters are sometimes weird looking - big long heads, long arms, short shins and tiny feet) No stage fatalities No friendships No krypt Invasions is basically krypt + living towers in one. Kombo breakers cost too many bars. (if you haven't got 3 spare you can get whacked for 45% from 1 combo) Also the gameplay can get boring quickly because when you've found the most damaging combo.. That's all you do. Once you get the opening, then that's what you repeat over and over (why would you do a lower damage combo when you can repeat the same high damage one?) I see tons of videos with a great combo that's just reapeted over and over

[@JoeyBurger121]

I like the grind of invasions but I can understand why it puts some people off compared to living towers for example.

[@kegar9899]

LOVE that we got both an amazing mortal Kombat and street fighter game in the same year

[@sky-oq5mr]

Sf6 is going downhill and fast

[@zachmongoe]

Max my guy are you gonna play lies of p at some point? I know there's so much to play right now but I'm really lookin forward to that playthrough. Sweet first impressions of MK1 btw. 🙏

[@j03T3XAz]

the KI Ultra Comboooo in the background killed me lmao

[@SuntoryKick]

It’s easily the most I’ve been into an MK game. I don’t tend to care as much about single player content or customization and tend to focus on just playing people and in that department I think the game is incredible.

[@assassin8636]

But I care

[@Neoxon619]

One thing I will give NRS credit for are the accessibility options. I wish more fighting games developers would catch up in this regard, although at least Capcom is trying.

[@MansMan42069]

Lmao

[@theshekellord]

I definitely like the game as a whole, but there were a few small things that bugged me. The first is the absence of pinning, which made learning character combos a lot easier for me in the past. The second thing is the buggy tutorial, where some of the demos would drop combos and the noise for correct inputs would play multiple times at once, blasting my ears. Also the character select screen timer during the final chapter of story is tied to frame rate, so the timer went from being 30 seconds to 15 because cutscenes played at 120 fps on PC.

[@sakurablu3]

I actually enjoy invasions. If they speed up the walk speed it'd be perfect for me. As someone who doesn't like to commit to a single character and also isn't good enough to play online it gives me a mode that can provide challenge but also isn't just the same thing over and over and let's me unlock things. I can just enjoy the game

[@10-OSwords]

Slower strings sounds good to me, I have low reaction time so that will help my @zz out. Especially thinking about incorporating kameos into combos. Still wish they gave us at least 2 variations fully customizable with whatever moves you want to put in them for each character...but I see how kameos basically are just: add these 3 or 4 custom moves to your character & there are a lot to chose from, so I do like that system.

[@Unders]

Glad you demo'd that assist button thing. Was driving me INSANE with Baraka. But sometimes it would work. then like drop an i couldn't work out why,

[@kSwissh007]

i'm loving the game so far and i got the full game last night!!! i was just in the lab mostly learning my characters and trying out the rest of the rosters and played some online matches....im excited to start the story mode tonight... i still like mkx a lot more but mk1 is sooO fresh and has soo much depth wit the kameo system and kombo system!!!

[@jjjason3755]

WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK BOIS

[@levelu7]

I'm guessing the bugs and matchmaking glitches will smooth out in the next few months.

[@lifeasafanpodcast9529]

Even after getting the scorpion skin in invasions I am having fun still getting the locked stuff in previous levels .. I've always hated cage but I'm just getting decent combos with him now and 23 on the master level

[@muppetjoe870]

This game has completely pulled me in. I'm loving it!!!

[@maximekah9752]

So much mk9 vibes from this game..love it. Mk9 made me learn 1 character which was smoke and then I ended up learning every single one and every single combo and nuances. It's going to happen again to the best of us hehe

[@-8h-]

Yeah, I liked mk9 so much that I ended up kinda hating 10 and didn't even bother buying 11. Might give this one a try. The backgrounds are beautiful

[@joedatius]

honestly my biggest issue with the game is the story mode. Im just sick of NRS's movie game weak story modes. Its just watching a c-tier marvel movie that lasts too long rather the playing a real game. I wish we got an actual campaign like everyone including max was hoping for because you get the same enjoyment of watching the story on youtube for free as paying 70 bucks

[@Jay-Voorhees]

That’s why I don’t buy these games. I just wait for the story modes to come out and get something to eat and watch then I watch the people that review it after.😂😂

[@simeceleski9700]

💯 how cool would a deception style game be. Fighting games get boring fast, campaign /open world game would be much more interesting..

[@jacobtridef48]

feels about how i expect most fighting games to feel imo. i play a lot for the first handful of days, then i mainly just hop on sometimes to play online/practice a character. and move most my main attention to other games again

[@ForPrimusSake]

As a huge street fighter fan, I kinda put mortal kombat to the side for a while, but after seeing this game I reallllllly wanna try it. It honestly looks like so much fun

[@Aizen2468]

I dont know, i feel like after a month or so, the rose tinted glasses for this MK will come off. And people will look back at this one as very 'so-so,' or even below average. There's just so many areas where they downgraded..... There's definitely some small improvements in some areas, but some flat out removals of enjoyable QOL content that doesn't make much sense to not have, except for maybe time crunch or trying to save money.

[@thatoneguy5969]

As someone who is not very good at fighting games and has always had problems with timing combos, I find that the speed of the game is helping with that. I find that I'm able to do combos pretty reliably in this game whereas in other fighting games it'd be a huge struggle. I was able to teach my gf who has even less fighting game experience than me, and she was able to pull off combos with ease as well. We were both in there labbing with different characters and finding out what strings we could make and it was a lot of fun! So while I understand if others in the fgc feel the game could be sped up, as an inept fighting game player I think the current speed is great for those who struggle with timing.

[@Senumunu]

People like you is why they went with this speed. They know that MK has the biggest casual audience so it was probably a good decision. I like that the kameo moves make you freeze in place. In other 2D games so much particle nonsense stacks on top of each other when 2 tag characters chain their attacks.

[@benitomussolini9563]

@@Senumunumk11 or 1 is a good game for get used to other fighting games so that’s good on them

[@porkbone42]

Been waiting for your take before thinking about getting it.

[@riderich.]

Man I never really took fighting games serious always just a casual MK offline fan, but this game I connected with Shao immediately and labbed for well over an hour in one sitting (haven’t done that in around 10 years with my little understanding of fighting games) and found two meterless 31% combos which is a big deal for me, now even while not playing my mind is going to ideas of how to change the combo to add damage, make it safer, add meter or kameo usage, etc and I have a couple ideas I have written down to try in the morning to get around 36-38% if successful

[@hdtekstil]

I also complain about not having wake-up attacks like in MK1 by using bars, wakeup X and Y attacks and also rolling front or back. It created a different dimensions to the game, in this game you can be subject to constant attacks from your opponent after getting down, hard to break out of that moment without wake-up tools

[@worldsbest91]

Agree about the rolls, but there are armoured wake up attacks in the game

[@hdtekstil]

Yes i find it useful but not sufficient enough@@worldsbest91

[@WhatIsAnjme]

Having lots of fun with the game so far. My only complaint is that invasions might be one of the most unenjoyable things I’ve ever played but once I got past that grind and started playing online it’s been very fun

[@fragileharp7610]

Great video Max! I have to disagree on your point in the kameo input timing, I was under the assumption they would act as any other combo where timing is precise and to be integrated into your inputs. But your way would make it easier. Agree with pretty much everything else

[@blaxkstar1431]

I wished that brought back option to highlight n pin moves just makes it easier to remember stuff

[@cagnazzo82]

Absolutely, absolutely gorgeous game. And most importantly, fun! 👍

[@WarMashane]

I like everything that you’re saying. Personally, I am not a ranked player, I don’t play online, and I don’t play pvp really at all so for me I actually really like Invasion mode. I do agree however, that it moves very slow. There needs to be like an overhead map of all the Mesa you’re in and the navigation between fights and towers needs to be like… doubled lol. This is the only MK game where I have felt empowered to come up with my own combos and I absolutely love it. I’ve always been a casual non-pvp player so I never really took the time to learn big long combos, but this game makes that shit soooooo much fun and I actually am coming up with my own stuff and it just feels great. The Kameo system is truly awesome. I also absolutely loved the story. This game is stellar in my opinion.

[@DiSCERiTY]

No pvp at all? So you like just doing the same combos to cpus over and and over again endlessly without any need to get better at all? Hey, some people just enjoy games that way so who am I to judge lol.

[@deadpoolcoolkidg1222]

​@@DiSCERiTY😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@WarMashane]

@@DiSCERiTY lol well yeah, I’m having a blast just vibin and playin Mortal Kombat

[@smokeymcbongwater]

​@@DiSCERiTYI do😂 online sucks ass in mk most of time I can't get a hit in Because there fucking spamming

[@parsasalehi273]

Really good review max one of my issues with the games before mostly mk11 was the soundtrack sounding really generic and not like the way mortal Kombat usually was but this game's soundtrack was really amazing

[@assassin8636]

It ain't really that generic 😔

[@TheBlademan-]

i’m kinda glad they trimmed down the customization items in the game. I got tired of grinding towers for hours and getting like two cosmetics for a character I use cause of how much stuff was in the loot pool

[@NosBlueade]

Thanks, this one seemed liked the most approachable entry since 9 but I was on the fence. Your insights were the push I needed.

[@AlexAMVProduction]

the story mode was a 10/10 for me :D

[@spartangaming1159]

Ikr especially that last chapter I was so hyped can’t wait to see what comes nect

[@jeremyroberts8822]

Same for me. I was engaged the whole way and honestly I thought this story had some of the best writing and performances they’ve ever had

[@Heidern98]

So I have been playing casually cause I am working alot and I wasn't sure if what was going on with when I was trying to Kameo while attacking. It felt like I couldn't get it consistently and just thought it was my poor execution... This helps explain alot thanks Max. I would have to say I am having a hell of a time with execution on simple things in this game.

[@ARMAG3D0N]

Ironic invasions is my favorite part & Max is my favorite fighting game YT channel lol

[@justinmcinnis8153]

I think the gameplay in mk1 is better but the overall presentation is better in mk11. Like intros and outros and character designs

[@sky-oq5mr]

Yeah but the gameplay was so bad that I just couldn't man. Not after mkx gameplay, that shit was peak

[@luigiongaming3959]

I'm loving this game more than I loved MK10 or 11 combined. I love how sexy everyone is I love how intuitive the combos are I love having new characters who haven't been in the last 20 mortal kombat games. It's all great.

[@pilot3605]

I agree some strings need more speed. Like that double kick into uppercut smoke does, it's an unsafe launcher, making it faster wouldn't hurt I think

[@dmlueders]

You hit the nail on the head. Day 1 I was like this game is stupid- way too much going on and I felt overwhelmed. Like hold on I need a character and a kameo then I’ve got to learn the move set and ok how the kameo interacts with that. Especially since you can’t put the strings on the screen in practice mode. That was frustrating to go into the move set ten times to learn the air strings. However day 3 I’m like this game is ridiculous, my opponent has to sit there and watch me put them into this 10 second long 40%+ combo while I’m just happy as can be. This game is so ridiculous that when someone does a badass combo on me I’m excited like damn that’s what’s possible. A scorpion had me in a big combo and I was like damn hot that fatal blow too- when he hit it I started cheering like god damn that was badass.

[@DiSCERiTY]

lol so for a whole day you were like "oh no! this game is stupid because theres lots of things to do with my character and extra moves to equip! too much depth! too much things to play with!" just messing with you lol but it's funny that you thought that for like a whole day, when it's obvious from the start that its inevitable (with this much to do) that it was going to be good in the long run, compared to the simplicity of MK11

[@dmlueders]

@@DiSCERiTY I thought stupid like this is insane- who is the maniac who decided make this game so damn ridiculous. Not that the game is stupid. Only a special few will find this game actually unintelligent. This game is Mortal Kombat crack.

[@danielrhoads8676]

When you were showing calling assist kameo with scorpion having to do it in order. That's my favorite part about this game. They made it more difficult for people to spam. The skills required to pull shit off like that needs to be lore accurate rather than smashing your strings together. That's my absolute favorite thing about MK1 game play. The reward is better when you nail it too.

[@parsashirali8957]

what Thats just. No. Not being able to use your own move on the same frame as an assist is shit no matter what. It isnt something that decreases spam it literally has nothing to do with that. Its an annoying issue with an annoying to learn solution.

[@philipbriggs8713]

This game is amazing. Every character was masterfully crafted. I started out as raiden, thinking havik was terrible, then I practiced with him and learned that havik is awesome, then I thought rain was bad, then I learned rain and realised he's awesome too! Now I'm using kenshi and guess what? He's awesome too. Can't wait to learn baraka, reptile and smoke next. Over level 80 already and I have almost everything bought in the seasonal store

[@beaux6251]

I’ve been playing since UMK and I have to say that the new Baraka feels better than any other iteration of the character

[@JimmyKudo93]

Yea can’t wait for new DLCs and more I love this game skipped mk11 for this but I love mk9 and mkx

[@andrewmoore1523]

So happy you’re calling out the kameo assists, I thought it was just me.

[@CEO_FADeD]

I was going to do an online session yesterday to start getting ranked up, but after winning 2-1 I switched over to Reptile/Goro (I typically swap out fighters after a loss to get practice in with my mains), then I hit that Acid Orb glitch and realized it pretty much breaks any attempt to use it as an opener since you can't back up or turn quick, so I just turned it off. I'll wait for patches. Story mode is fine and fun, Invasions sucks ass. We are in the exact same spot in that mode and I'm really not into the grindy crap. I guess I'll just practice in the Towers or something until they fix it.

[@BigKingSwing]

I actually really like how slow the combo strings are because it lets the fight breathe, to me at least.

[@klavicus2276]

First timer and tried parts of tutorial and some combas don’t work for me (strangely worse for scorpion than subzero) cause the game either wants too quick reaction or some button pressing is read wrong or too slow (idk if that’s a pc version or controller issue)

[@lilsmith22]

i agree the gameplay is fun and im enjoying it but invasions being the only thing outside online matches to do after the storyline considering im not that good online and dnt just use all the spam characters online and spam buttons and sweat it kinda sucks ive played invasions a bunch and its not really enjoyable just something youre done with after a couple days playing it and then add in that the gear is only one item and and just skins also sucks for me id rather the huge customization keeps u wanting to play more

[@DiSCERiTY]

You don't gotta spam to be good lol, you just gotta practice. People who spam and win, only win because they go against people who suck (or have a bad mindset that gets easily irritated)

[@grandmasterblueberryice4882]

Don't forget the klassic towers, that's there as well.

[@rafaelvolpiteixeira7315]

I ran into a similar problem with Scorpion. I was trying do do the string 3,3 and cancel in the BF4, with the Sektor missile, to time it correctly, I would have to call the assist with the first 3 of the string, but everytime I did that, Scorpion would do 3,3,3 instead, even if I only pressed 3 twice. Sometimes it goes right, and sometimes don't, it's pretty random. I play on PC by the way.

[@xavierochoa7937]

And that’s the beauty of it, combos are really hard to do in this game with cameos, but once you get it, it’s not something people can copy easily like mk11, this game actually takes execution and skill, keep practicing and that’s how you level up

[@drehm1011]

Another weird thing with the kameos is that some of them dont have real hit stun i.e. goro. When the opponent gets hit by the assist they get put into a hit animation but are still able to block. So you could literally hit the opponent with goros ambush neutral assist and try to hit them on the frame after and they will block the jab. Gameplay wise the game feels like they didnt have enough time to really optimize the kameos.

[@greyskywarren6028]

I think the story in MK 1 is awesome. Besides playing it in real time, if you just watch the complete story from beginning to end on KZbin (if you've got 4+ hours of free time...😅) it is, by far the best story Netherealm has ever done. Actually, it is better than ANY of the MK movies, and I liked the last movie they did. The MK 1 Story in movie form had me drawn in from start to finish. I didn't get that with MK X or MK11, even though MK11's story was pretty good overall. I also don't really care for Invasion mode. The path system sucks and is really slow. They need to implement a fast travel option for todays ADHD generation (😜). With the insane background visuals both during the fights and the story, I was really hoping for an updated Krypt, like MK11. Imagine exploring the living forest in Krypt mode with how detailed these graphics are. It would have been epic, and Netherealm is missing the boat. They could develop an open world RPG game much like the Krypt, but implement a real time fighting system. Honestly, it's a waste of content not to do it. A game like Mortal Kombat but in the style of Skyrim could be legendary with how massively popular Mortal Kombat currently is.

[@youderpy2795]

Bought the premium edition. Loving it and I havnt even started the story. General Shao is HIM. I am having issues with the game crashing at times but overall it’s better than MK11 by far and could be up there with MKX. All I need is a horror dlc character to make it top tier. One thing I hope they work on is that it feels like it takes a LONG time to level people up. And I’m only playing one character, but people that enjoy multiple characters would have to go through hell to level them all up.

[@bas4322]

I got really into SF6 as my first fighting game 3 months ago. Modern controls is a life saver since i got wrist issues so doing difficult inputs is well difficult! Is MK1 decently easy to get into combo/input wise like SF6 was or is it not recommended for someone new to the genre?

[@michaelchristian6096]

Mortal kombat's strings function as what people call a dial-in. You essentially push all the buttons you want in sequence, and then the thing happens on screen. There are still motion inputs for special moves. MK is pretty distinct in its gameplay compared to a lot of different fighting games.

[@bas4322]

@@michaelchristian6096 So would you recommend it for someone new to the genre? or does it very much depend on preference?

[@plagueful]

Max should add character leveling isn’t just tied to invasion and online you also get levels from towers so if you want to grind and get different endings for characters you still get xp

[@McDanieI]

Is anyone else having an issue with Kitana when crouch blocking? Sometimes, she stays in block for like a second after you let go of block. Doesn't happen every time.

[@cullenlenting9446]

Yes bro I thought it was only me😭. I play on PC. What do you play on?

[@McDanieI]

@cullenlenting9446 Thought maybe it was my controller, but it seems I'm not the only one having the issue. I am on PS5 with wired internet.

[@YouTubuhh]

Yes characters feel "sticky" online. Hopefully they patch it soon.

[@lilcurse3302]

i’m so upset they removed the variation thingy it was so cool seeing the same character being played differently on each variation you pick

[@Enoo_]

It was bullshit, characters felt incomplete and it was just pointless

[@jp_enduresurvive7374]

One issue I also have, and I know it's intentional, is that if your kameo is on screen or your kameo bar is empty, you can preform Fatal Blows or breakers.

[@tizonthegamer6299]

My only gripe with the game is that I wish the Kameo characters were also part of the main roster, and that you could choose any character you want to be your assist, I also wish the back and forth dialog was in game like in Mk11 instead of one-liners from the character select screen.

[@oddliquid8996]

I kinda love the weird slow factor because as a viewer, I find things easier to learn AND it makes things seem a tad bit more cinematic.

[@jaybeam1466]

It's better than MK11, but that really doesn't say much. MK11 was the most boring and restrictive fighting game I've ever played. MKX is the best MK has been since the 2009 reboot. MK1 and MK9 are a close second, though.

[@asia_crasia]

whatever that high pitched noise is periodically throughout the video was, was driving me crazy, I thought my dog was crying

[@remmy107]

I agree with most points of the video. Invasion mode gets a little about in the latter stages. The invinsible armor and status effects become really annoying

[@user-dv4bm2pk5e]

Probably a hot take but the gameplay and visuals are a massive step up and as someone who is active in the FGC that’s all that matters. Story and customisation doesn’t matter that much to me and people i speak to, sorry. That’s for the casuals

[@Xfacta12482]

Dont think thats a hot take at all tbh

[@adonicetrig8908]

Defo not a hot take, it just IS a massive step up from MK11.

[@Shiirow]

I wouldnt say a massive upgrade, except maybe in the facial animations.

[@Jsobone]

Makes sense since all we had back in the day was different colors.

[@Xfacta12482]

@@Shiirow As someone who's been a longtime MK player but passed on the last 2 games.. this looks substantially better to me.