Summary
- Mortal Kombat 1's campaign introduced a new timeline with redesigned origins for iconic characters, leading to new narratives in the Invasions mode.
- Invasions Mode combines fighting and RPG elements, allowing players to unlock cosmetic items related to invading kombatants. Season 1 concludes on October 31 with a final encounter against Titan Scorpion.
- Hanzo Hasashi's Scorpion seeks a timeline in which his wife survives, leading to a confrontation with his alternate self and Sub-Zero. Titan Scorpion will be the first true boss fight in Invasions mode.
Mortal Kombat 1's campaign introduced fans to a new timeline, created by Liu Kang after his victory in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath. The title reintroduced many of the franchise's most iconic characters, with many given new origins or identities through Liu Kang's design. While the campaign presented a conclusion to its central narrative, its final events paved the way for new narratives to emerge in Mortal Kombat 1's Invasions mode. Each season of Invasions Mode features a short narrative, focused on a kombatant from another timeline, as they invade Liu Kang's. Later this month, Season 1: The Spectre will conclude with a climactic final encounter against Titan Scorpion. When that happens, fans can expect to face a foe unlike any they've yet seen in Mortal Kombat 1.
Mortal Kombat 1's Invasions Mode picks up where the main campaign left off, providing a brief sequel narrative in which the Titan ruler of another timeline seeks to conquer Liu Kang's own through the use of the portals. The mode presents players with a board-game-like experience. Combining the title's fighting mechanics with RPG elements, Invasions allows players to unlock a host of cosmetic items related to its invading kombatant. Each season is set to last approximately six weeks, with a final week unlocking an encounter with the Titans themselves. With Season 1 set to conclude on October 31, 2023, Titan Scorpion's encounter is due to release on October 24.
Invasions Season 1 Follows Hanzo Hasashi's Titan Scorpion
In Mortal Kombat 1's timeline, Kuai Liang takes up the mantle of Scorpion, with his brother, Bi-Han, again becoming Sub-Zero. In the original games, Scorpion was the mantle of Hanzo Hasashi, who died alongside his wife, Harumi, and child and was reborn as a Revenant. Mortal Kombat 1's Hanzo travels the timelines looking for a world in which Harumi survives. However, Scorpion finds that the Lin Kuei Clan has killed her in every timeline that he encounters. Eventually, he finds himself in Mortal Kombat 1's timeline, in which Harumi is alive and married to Kuai Liang, the Sub-Zero of Hanzo's timeline and the Scorpion of Liu Kang's.
Mortal Kombat 1 Invasions' first season, The Spectre, sees Hanzo enraged by the discovery of Harumi and Kuai Liang. This rage leads Hanzo to attempt to burn the timeline to the ground, a plot that players are tasked with thwarting during the title's six-week event. While fans are able to complete The Spectre's narrative, finding a reality in which Hanzo's Scorpion can fight alongside Harumi, the Season's greatest challenge arrives next week. While the specifics have yet to be revealed, developer NetherRealm Studios will be adding a boss encounter against Titan Scorpion in the event's final week.
Mortal Kombat 1's Titan Scorpion Encounter Could Be Its Greatest Challenge
Mortal Kombat 1's Titan Scorpion will be Invasions' first true boss fight. However, little detail has been offered as to how this encounter will play out. Existing as a post-campaign challenge, Titan Scorpion's encounter could very well emulate the final confrontation with Shang Tsung from the main campaign. If so, players would need to complete a gauntlet of battles before challenging Scorpion in a single-round, one-on-two final clash in which the boss boasts a significantly larger health bar and Kameo assist.
Mortal Kombat 1's Invasions Mode offers fans a host of post-game challenges, which expand on the story told in its main campaign. With Titan Scorpion's encounter signaling the end of Season 1, fans can expect that future Invasions Seasons, and their respective Titan encounters, will follow a similar formula. Players anxiously await the conclusive bout with Scorpion, with many having long conquered Season 1's board of challenges. They don't have much longer to wait until the full picture is revealed, as The Spectre's ultimate bout arrives on October 24th.
Mortal Kombat 1 is available now for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.