A few months ago, NetherRealm Studios announced that it was releasing a definitive edition of its latest fighting game, Mortal Kombat 1, for current-gen platforms. This new version of the title, NetherRealm confirmed, would include all of its major post-launch DLCs, such as the Khaos Reigns expansion pack, and would be available at the reduced price of $69.99. Normally, a move like this would be celebrated by fans for making Mortal Kombat 1's DLCs accessible at a lower-than-usual price. However, the discussions surrounding the game's definitive edition have been anything but positive.
The use of the word "Definitive" in Mortal Kombat 1: Definitive Edition immediately rang some alarm bells in the broader MK community, as many were concerned that the name of this edition implied that the game would no longer receive new content. Sure enough, NetherRealm Studios confirmed just a few days later that it was ending support for Mortal Kombat 1, and that it was not actively developing any additional DLC or major updates for the game. Many Mortal Kombat fans were, unsurprisingly, pretty upset with this news. Not only were they disappointed that the game's life was being cut so short, they were also frustrated that NetherRealm was leaving it in a rather undercooked state. Despite this, though, the future of Mortal Kombat 1 is not entirely grim, as there is one thing that fans can still look forward to.
NetherRealm Aims to Make Mortal Kombat 1 the Most Balanced Game in the Series
NetherRealm Studios' creative director, Ed Boon, posted a thread on Twitter a few days ago, where he shared a bunch of news about Mortal Kombat 1. Even though he and his company have largely moved on to other projects, Boon confirmed that MK1, which has sold over 6.2 million units on all platforms, will still receive new balancing updates in the months to come. He even went so far as to state that NetherRealm intends to make Mortal Kombat 1 the most balanced game in the franchise to date.
MK1's Latest Balancing Patch Made Some Adjustments to Liu Kang and Other Characters
On the same day that Ed Boon made this post, a new balancing patch for Mortal Kombat 1 was released on all platforms. The update in question made adjustments to over 15 characters in the game, as well as over 10 Kameo Fighters. NetherRealm Studios, for example, modified Liu Kang's Punishing Palm attacks so that they can be special canceled. The company also gave Homelander increased combo damage scaling after performing certain attacks, such as Vought Drop and The Seven Slam. The full list of adjusted characters is as follows:
- Ashrah
- Havik
- Kenshi
- Li Mei
- Liu Kang
- Rain
- Reptile
- Shang Tsung
- Quan Chi
- Omni-Man
- Ermac
- Homelander
- Conan
- T-1000
- Cyrax
- Sektor
- Frost (Kameo)
- Darrius (Kameo)
- Jax (Kameo)
- Goro (Kameo)
- Stryker (Kameo)
- Sektor (Kameo)
- Scorpion (Kameo)
- Sub-Zero (Kameo)
- Mavado (Kameo)
- Tremor (Kameo)
While the reception to this patch has been somewhat positive, many Mortal Kombat 1 fans are disappointed that NetherRealm didn't make more changes to the game. Some players were hoping that the studio would give MK1 a larger meta shake-up and potentially iron out some of the flaws in its Kameo system. Fortunately, the developers at NetherRealm are interested in getting feedback from the community. Ed Boon recently posted a tweet, in fact, asking players what four fighters they feel need buffs the most.
Despite Its Support Coming to an End, MK1 Will Still Remain Relevant in the Competitive Field
NetherRealm's games have typically not been known for having great balancing. Although Mortal Kombat 1 is not nearly as bad as some of its predecessors in this regard, the last few entries in the Mortal Kombat series have all suffered from significant balancing issues at launch. While NetherRealm has often released patches to address player feedback, it seems that the company wants to take this aspect of its games more seriously in the future. Mortal Kombat 1 is never going to receive the long-term support that it needed, but it's at least nice that NetherRealm aims to keep it relevant in the competitive field with these balancing updates.
Mortal Kombat 1
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- September 19, 2023
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- NetherRealm Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Brothers Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
