Mortal Kombat 1 has been the talk of the gaming world for some time now. Since it was confirmed earlier this year and promised a new paradigm for the Kombatants, fans and critics alike have been eager to see what would happen and who would make the cut. At Gamescom, Ed Boon promised that there would be a new trailer and some surprises along the way, and he didn’t disappoint. Not only did we get three character reveals, but some new Kameo fighter reveals as well. The twist is that everything focused on Outworld and the power struggle that lies within. Oh, and a god made an appearance too.
First up, we had General Shao. That’s right. Shao Khan is in the game, but he’s no conqueror. Not yet, at least. Instead, he’s a proud general of Outworld and under the command of a certain ruler that we’ll talk about soon. However, while he is a fighting general, he still has a hungering for domination. As the Liu Kang narration notes, some within Outworld want nothing more than to continue a war with Earthrealm. But that puts him in conflict with the one above him.
We speak of Sindel, who is back once again, but, thankfully, on the side of light this time. Gamers will know that Sindel has had two very different personalities depending on the timelines and games that portray her. She’s been both a noble ruler who did everything she could to prevent war, and she’s been the right hand of Shao Khan while he tried to take over everything. Here, she’s the noble ruler once more, as she strikes down the General’s attempts at war and honors Liu Kang and the Mortal Kombat tournament.
Finally, and in a fun twist, Raiden was revealed. The twist is that this isn’t the elderly thunder god you know. Instead, he has lived amongst those on Earthrealm and inhabits their “best qualities.” Don’t get us wrong, he’s still a thunder god, and his gameplay shows it proudly. But this isn’t the Raiden we’ve seen in past titles, and it’ll be interesting to see how things go down with him and the other fighters.
The gameplay shown is everything you’d want from Mortal Kombat 1 and then some. That includes Sindel “transforming” into her more “evil persona” and delivering a fatality that many will talk about.
You’ll be able to get the game yourself when it arrives on September 19th.
