Summary
- Mortal Kombat 1 puts story at the heart of the game, a departure from the earlier arcade fighting games in the series.
- The Tarkat disease in Mortal Kombat 1 affects Outworld inhabitants, turning them into feral monsters and causing them to lose their sanity.
- There is potential for Mortal Kombat 2 to further explore the Tarkat disease, potentially turning characters like Baraka and Mileena against the Earthrealm heroes.
The Mortal Kombat series never used to put story at the forefront of the experience. Back when Mortal Kombat was primarily a set of arcade fighting games, it knew that many fans would want to dive straight into the action, and as such those first few games only had a very loose story, largely told through text coming at the start and end of various towers. But, with the introduction of Mortal Kombat's 3D era, the story became a much larger focus, and now NetherRealm has continued the trend, putting Mortal Kombat 1's story at the heart of the game.
Taking place in yet another rebooted universe, Mortal Kombat 1 keeps a lot of the classic plot beats and lore that fans remember about the original set of games, but twists them uniquely. For instance, the Mortal Kombat tournament itself no longer involves fighting to the death in Mortal Kombat 1. But by far one of the biggest twists on a classic element is what Mortal Kombat 1 does with the Tarkat people, who have now been inflicted with a life-threatening disease, one that could be made even worse in a potential sequel.
Mortal Kombat 2 Should Take the Tarkat Disease to the Next Level
How Mortal Kombat 1 Changed the Tarkat Disease
In every continuity before this one, the Tarkatans are a race of people, born into the world just like any other. However, this origin does bend a little in Mortal Kombat's various timelines. For instance, in the original set of games, it's believed that Tarkatans like Baraka are the spawn of both Outworld and the Netherrealm, mixing humanoid and demon DNA together to create aggressive warriors. In Mortal Kombat X, however, it's implied that Tarkatans are a species all their own.
Mortal Kombat 1 decides to take a big departure from the norm with its own Tarkatans. Rather than be their own race, Mortal Kombat 1's Tarkatans are simply Outworld inhabitants who have been afflicted by the mysterious new Tarkat disease. This Tarkat disease gradually turns regular Outworld citizens into feral monsters, disfiguring them slowly and causing them to lose their sanity over time.
How Mortal Kombat 2 Could Up the Stakes with the Tarkat Disease
While Mortal Kombat 1's Tarkat disease sounds absolutely horrific on paper, it isn't given much screen-time in-game, and when it is, it rarely affects much of the overarching story or cast of characters. A few hours into Mortal Kombat 1's story, the Earthrealm gang run into Baraka, the leader of the Tarkatan refugees. While he briefly mentions how the disease has affected him, Baraka bows out of the story quite quickly, and his small colony of Tarkatan survivors seems to be relatively safe. Similarly, while Mileena is infected with Tarkat, she's able to be cured pretty easily, and there's no real lasting impact of this plot point by the time MK1 ends.
There's definitely room here for an inevitable Mortal Kombat 2 to take things a little further with the Tarkat disease. One of the best ways to do this is by turning Baraka against Earthrealm's protectors. With Mortal Kombat 1 setting up Baraka as a protagonist, it would be pretty sad to see him turn sides due to his illness. It would also make sense for Mileena to undergo a similar character-shift, which would add quite a bit of grounded drama to the eventual sequel, with the heroes having to decide the best course of action to defeat their former allies.
Mortal Kombat 1
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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
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to a new era of Kombat. NetherRealm Studios ushers in a new era of the iconic fighting franchise with a total reset that changes the entire world as we know it. Following the thrilling climax of Mortal Kombat 11, the all-powerful Fire God Liu Kang has created a New Era in the hope of bringing peace to Earthrealm and beyond. Through the series' most cinematic story mode yet, you'll be reintroduced to a cast of legendary warriors as you've never seen them before. Expect twists on classic friendships and rivalries, as well as new backstories that will change everything you think you know about your favorite Kombatants. Discover a host of new offline and online game modes as you master a revitalized fighting system that boasts bone-crunching Fatal Blows, defensive Breakers and the most creatively vicious Fatalities yet.
- Franchise
- Mortal Kombat
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
- How Long To Beat
- 7 Hours
- Metascore
- 84
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
