Mortal Kombat 1

They sort of trimmed the content availability way down and made everything less exciting both mechanically and aesthetically, even if I think I prefer Kameos to the meter management of 11. No Krypt, just a rotating store, a slot machine, and a battle pass-esque mini-campaign every two months to force you to keep playing, when there aren't enough entities in the base game to really bring you back on its own. But fuck all that; this is just a commentary on the story mode, and after an interesting but spotty and slow first act, it might be the single worst NRS story mode to date. All the promise of a rebooted saga, a fresh slate, and even some commentary on the nature of godhood and the responsibilities that brings, destiny vs. free will, are only briefly touched on in parts of the first act, which does have some neat character moments both dramatic and comedic (Johnny Cage is the first "MCU" character to actually work in a while), and even at its best it seems to think it's a lot smarter than it is, with a belabored script with tons of exposition that amounts to little, and everyone plotting schemes that are too easy for the audience to see through.

And so it proved as the story marched on, and when I saw the overall direction of the story coming, I just groaned. They made all the same mistakes of MK11, backpedalling on the excellent promise of the last game's ending for an overall shift in direction that is as convoluted as it is contradictory and nonsensical. Except it's even worse because it's essentially the same story as Aftermath, even playing into some multiverse shenanigans which are not only tiresome and played out, they completely nullify any stakes the story has. If the scope is endless, then nothing actually matters, and MK1 never attempts to ground itself, so the victory at the end just feels entirely hollow. And while every MK is full of deus ex machina, MK1 might be the worst at setting things up; the fantasy universe bullshit just seems to make up rules as it needs to. All of this only compounds the problems of the NRS formula that are still present: filler fights, worthless enemy cronies, backstories only briefly depicted to be cast back in the shadows when the current chapter is over, stowaway characters that seem to do nothing when they aren't on screen. About the only trend it bucks is a disappointing climax...sort of. There's this ten minute stretch just before the end which is so brains-off stupid it wraps back around to being genuinely hilarious camp, rather than just stupid in the sense that the writers don't know how a story is supposed to work, which it bounces right back into just before the final boss.

We pick on CinemaSins for good reason, but there is something to be said about "objective mistakes" taking you out of the experience, highlighting the flaws in its own design and, in this case, removing any tension or emotion from the story. If they ever covered this, their heads would explode as if Kano himself were lasering it off. Whether the rest of the package is as good as past games is a debate I refuse to engage with, as I still suck at fighting games. I am leaning towards this fighting system being more fully featured and flexible than the last but not by enough to cover its weaknesses of restrictive strings and weird balancing of the combo breakers. As usual. But if the story had any more promise, I'd be ranting about it in the future as much as I do now about Horizon: Forbidden West. Fuck off.