Mortal Kombat 1’s new mode is Mario Party with fatalities

Mortal Kombat has entered a brand new era. After the events of Mortal Kombat 11,’s campaign, the timeline has reset, summoning unique interpretations of classic characters, altered power dynamics, and dangerous new threats. NetherRealm Studios’ new systems and modes complement the universal reboot. Mortal Kombat 1.Invasion mode is a new single-player game that offers a variety of options, including Kameo Fighters to support your combat.

Invasions blends RPG-esque progression systems with bite-size chunks of Mortal Kombat’s trademark gory goodness, and it will likely appeal to new players who want to get a foothold on the fighting experience before diving into multiplayer.

Each player chooses a Kameo as their support (although the player may swap them both at any given time), and appears on a game board in which every node will throw you into a bloody and chaotic brawl. The upper part of the game arena can be turned into a danger zone by flying bats, while homing iceballs can ruin your combos. The lighthearted storyline of Invasions also makes it a good match for other single-player fighting games like The Subspace Emmissary. Super Smash Bros.World Tour or more recently World Tour Street Fighter 6.

I got to play a Gamescom demo where the mansion in Hollywood Hills of MK veteran Johnny Cage was completely disorganized. There’s a portal to another realm in the master bedroom, but I had to grab the key to the front door first, which (true to form) had been stolen by a Tarkatan warrior.

When I saw Liu Kang slithering into battle, it was striking how visually agile he is. Mortal Kombat 1.It felt different to the predecessor. It’s quick but satisfying, a pick-up-and-play fighting game with deliberate animations that lean hard into the murderous spectacle, and it leverages the faster memory access and fidelity of current-gen consoles to deliver eye-popping backdrops and effects. I could see the crimping on a plastic flamingo as it floated lazily around Cage’s pool. As we wrestled, I noticed that blood was splattering and accumulating on the marble floor.

NetherRealm/Warner Bros. Games

The left shoulder button is where you can attach the Kameo fighters to launch an attack. This can either be a throwing or punch depending on the D-pad and Kameo selection. They’re broadly unintrusive to the cadence of combat — I hit a classic MK uppercut and extended a juggle on Baraka with Jax’s Energy Wave, which felt terrific in practice. The grimacing effect of a fatal strike can be shared with your bloody friend. On one squirm-worthy occasion, Kano’s laser pierced a victim’s skull before Johnny Cage dropped a film camera on their ribs. The gratuitous violence has not been toned-down for this video. Johnny Cage’s playful fatality sees him slam dunk his opponent into a concrete Walk of Fame star, only to tear their face from the floor and take a selfie with what remains.

By pushing through these mini brawls I earned XP towards my Invasions rank, increasing the stats for all combatants on my roster. The allocation can be adjusted manually for each fighter. You can also activate talismans that have limited charges by flicking the right stick in battle. Talismans are a powerful tool that can boost your attack, heal you or damage enemies. You can upgrade and recharge them at special forges scattered around the board.

A Pokémon-esque elemental strengths-and-weaknesses system also runs in the background of Invasions mode, adding further depth to the modified fights. You can equip specific talismans to take advantage of the fatal weaknesses that certain fighters or Kameos have. I didn’t get hands-on time with this system, but I also saw a quick flash during an introductory trailer of some Test Your Might-style minigames that may weave into Invasions mode; I expect this would add even more variety to the pockets of gameplay it offers.

Overall, Invasions doesn’t feel like a skinner box for quick-fire brawls. There’s enough here to get you into a decent feedback loop, honing your skills while climbing through a moreish RPG progression system. Long term, NetherRealm said during the session that Invasions will follow a seasonal calendar, with a new “Invading Force” bringing fresh battles and modifiers throughout Mortal Kombat 1.’s life cycle. Sure, it’s still a few steps removed from the ambitious, beloved-by-me Konquest RPG mode seen in 2004’s Mortal Kombat Deception. But as an addition to the cinematic campaign, Invasions feels like a compelling option for players who don’t want to be funnelled into the meritocratic mayhem of online multiplayer as soon as they roll credits.

Mortal Kombat 1. The game will be available on September 14 for PlayStation 5, Windows PCs, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch.