TL;DR
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns continues Liu Kang's story with a cinematic campaign against Titan Havik, featuring impressive production values and familiar faces. While the visuals, acting, and story presentation are top-notch, the expansion's significant drawbacks include a high price point for its short, five-chapter length and repetitive character usage in fights. Notably, new characters like Conan are not included. Despite a strong narrative continuation, the overall value proposition is questionable. Dive into the details to see if this expansion is worth your kombat.
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns expands upon Liu Kang’s New Era with a new campaign delivering a cinematic experience. Liu Kang must rally his warriors and even forge alliances with former adversaries in the fight against the formidable Titan Havik, whose ambition threatens to engulf all realms in chaos. The fate of the New Era, and indeed all worlds, hangs in the balance.
While I’ve never been a hardcore fighting game enthusiast – often finding them frustrating and falling victim to more skilled opponents – I discovered a certain appeal while reviewing Mortal Kombat 1 last year. Although competitive online play remains a challenge, I enjoyed the solo mode and the engaging narrative. The combat mechanics are enjoyable, even with the depth of special moves still to master.
Upon the DLC’s announcement, I was eager to delve into it. However, my experience has unfortunately been somewhat underwhelming.
The DLC retains the high production values of the original game, continuing the narrative with new characters, environments, and iterations of familiar faces. The graphics, acting, action, and story presentation remain commendable. The addition of new towers also provides fresh challenges. However, the positive aspects are somewhat overshadowed by other factors.
The pricing structure raises questions, as the DLC is priced close to the original game’s launch price. While a campaign length comparable to the original’s 15 chapters might justify the cost, this expansion offers only five, which can be completed relatively quickly. Another point of concern is the repeated use of the same character in a significant number of consecutive fights. While the story allows for playing as other fighters, they often appear as Kameos, assisting only when prompted, which feels somewhat limiting.
The new characters Conan, T-1000 and Ghost Face are not included within this DLC, and must be acquired separately through Kombat Pack 2. Release dates for these characters are currently unconfirmed.
In conclusion, Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns delivers a well-produced continuation of the story with strong visuals, but its brevity and price point are significant drawbacks.
Warner Bros Interactive provided a review code for this assessment. The provision of review materials does not influence our editorial objectivity.
