The franchise's might has been tested; it's as good as ever.

User Rating: 9 | Mortal Kombat 1 (Premium Edition) PS5

Positives:

  • Story offers up a nice refresh after "Mortal Kombat 11."
  • Same great characters we've come to know and love in the series.
  • Visual design is brutally good.
  • Detail on the fighters and stages is incredible.
  • Fatalities are as unreal as ever.
  • Plenty of content on both the single and multiplayer fronts.
  • New Invasion mode offers up a pretty lengthy mode on top of Story Mode.
  • Fighting mechanics are incredibly satisfying, almost like a nice happy medium between "Mortal Kombat X" and "Mortal Kombat 11."
  • Kameo fighters add an extra layer of strategy to the fighting.

Negatives:

  • I'm not too fond of how grindy a few modes in the game feel.

Consensus: Somewhat goofy name aside, "Mortal Kombat 1" proves to be another fantastic entry in this great series. After "Mortal Kombat 11" slowed the gameplay down a bit (to a degree I wasn't all that fond of), it feels like NetherRealm has hit a happy medium between that game and "Mortal Kombat X" for a mechanically fantastic fighter. And with plenty of content to offer up, you're gonna get plenty of bang for your buck even after finishing the short Story Mode. I'm glad I was able to play it in its Early Access release date (although games really need to stop doing that), and as the full release dawns, I highly recommend picking it up and testing your own might with it.

Final rating: 9 out of 10 "Awesome"