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Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Story is Disappointing, But Not Surprising

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2 months ago

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The arrival of Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns has brought an impressive lineup of guest characters and fan favorite returns, but its anticipated depth on the narrative side hasn’t necessarily materialized. Instead of building on the weaker elements of the conclusion to the base game’s story, Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns‘ plot has unfolded in a notably unfocused manner which prioritized aspects like this rebooted timeline’s multiverse over coherently progressing the franchise’s writing.




While it’s not exactly predictable that such a large project has received mixed reception, the general pressure surrounding MK1‘s status in the NetherRealm Studios catalog has already set the stage for the DLC. Following an ambitious four-year development cycle for Mortal Kombat 1 after a successful trilogy, the story of NRS’ first outing in Liu Kang’s new universe only felt like the beginning of a more substantial era. Rather than filling in the gaps of that previous effort, however, it seems that Khaos Reigns has only followed its example with its own missteps.

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Khaos Reigns’ Weak Narrative and the Questionable MK1 Ending That Preceded It


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Mortal Kombat 1’s Ending Already Felt Incomplete

Although it was teased to be a major shake-up of the known series mythos and the character relationships within, the story changes of Mortal Kombat 1 culminated in a somewhat middling, open-ended finale that saw several key figures move closer to their original status quo rather than a fresh scenario. Despite all that has led up to it, MK1 essentially boils down to Shang Tsung returning once again to unleash a bunch of alternate timeline versions of fighters, a plot element which has become something of a tired trope in this series after multiple reboots with different iterations on it.

Khaos Reigns Leans Too Heavily into the Multiverse

Titan Havik rises up as the latest Mortal Kombat antagonist to honor his mid-credits scene teaser appearance, but his role has also amounted to that of another villain associated with a thwarted plan and tapping into different timelines. In a game which originally seemed more focused on clearing the slate for more personal character development, one of the main draws is once again a set of elseworld takes on fighters whose roles in Khaos Reigns‘ story don’t result in genuine consequences among the primary cast.


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The Shortcomings of Khaos Reigns Are a Symptom of a Greater Issue with NetherRealm’s Recent Storytelling

Mortal Kombat 1 Cast an Unfortunate Shadow on Its Own Future Content

The critical discourse surrounding MK1‘s Invasion mode and sometimes controversial monetization has only served to further emphasize the flaws of its story as time has passed since release, and this established an air of pessimism around any potential DLC. Unfortunately, by continuing patterns like the repetitive structure of character-based chapters, which guarantee canonical victories regardless of narrative logic, the expansion has lived up to these doubts with a relatively shallow plot. It might have been teased as a deeper exploration into the rebooted timeline and the lasting impact of Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns‘ Havik’s scheming, but it plays out in a manner which feels formulaic next to the events of the base game.


Khaos Reigns Highlights the Need for a Narrative Overhaul

Despite allegedly being a major reboot, Mortal Kombat 1 has relied on franchise tropes instead of actually finding a fresh angle for a well-crafted story. It might have been groundbreaking during the days of MK vs. DC, but the concept of chapters which lock the player into one character at a time is now dated after more than a decade. With Ed Boon teasing Mortal Kombat‘s Konquest Mode returning now having potential, it’s clear that Khaos Reigns could have benefited from a completely different direction in order to deliver its narrative in a more captivating fashion.

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