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Mortal Kombat is a franchise that deserves unquestioned respect. Whether you love those games or not, they have been around for many years, even longer than many of us. For that fact alone, if for nothing else, they deserve mine.
I cannot say that Mortal Kombat games were my favourites because, with the likes of Tekken and Street Fighter, I always prefer the latter. However, it is only my personal preference; nothing against this iconic franchise because its longevity is a testament enough to its unquestioned quality.
With that being said, I had kind of mixed feelings when I got the opportunity to review Mortal Kombat 1's first story expansion. I was quite curious to see in which direction the game went from the last time I played it—and for the record, it was a very long time ago, like 20 years ago, to be honest.
The other small issue of mine was the fact that I hadn't played the base game when it came out in September last year, so, in order to review this expansion properly, I had to play the base game campaign first, which, to be honest, wasn't the easiest task ever because the base game's campaign is a lengthy one, to say the least.
So, after playing through 75 stages divided into four acts and 15 chapters of the base game's campaign, I finally bought myself the privilege to play the Khaos Reigns campaign. Don't get me wrong here; you're perfectly legible to play the Khaos Reigns campaign as soon as you load up the game if you wish, but to perfectly understand the story, you should play through the base game's campaign first.
Just to be clear here, I won't be reviewing Mortal Kombat 1 because this game has been on the market for more than a year now. My review will be focused only on the expansion and mostly on its narrative part.
The story of the expansion is much shorter than the base game's one, featuring five new chapters divided into 28 new stages. Not as long as it should be, I'd say, and definitely not long enough to justify the expansion's full price of $50.
Yes, if you want to play Khaos Reigns, you'll have to pay $50, provided you own the base game. However, if you do not own the base game, the Khaos Reigns collection will cost you $90, which is a very high price that some gamers may not be willing to pay, regardless of the amount of content they get.
Apart from many Mortal Kombat games that were released during the franchise's existence on the scene, we had the opportunity to see many movies as well featuring unforgettable characters like Sub-Zero, Kitana, Liu Kang, and more, but to be honest, those movies left a lot to be desired.
I'm telling you this because if you decide to play Mortal Kombat 1, especially the Khaos Reigns expansion, get ready to be blown away by the quality of the cutscenes and overall cinematics. No Mortal Kombat movie can compare to what you're about to experience with the game's visuals and the production quality.
To be honest, during the entire campaign, you'll have like 20 per cent involvement; the rest will be covered by the movie-like cutscenes, just as was the case with the main campaign. However, it will be completely acceptable because, I assure you, you wouldn't want to skip those because the story they tell is quite exceptional.
The story of the Khaos Reigns expansion basically picked up where the main story left off, shifting towards a bit more fantasy-orientated themes. Well, how is it even possible, you might ask? Isn't every Mortal Kombat story fantasy-orientated?
The answer to both questions would be yes and yes. Yes, it is possible to be more shifted towards fantasy because Khaos Reign's story flirts with timelines, alternate futures, and sacred sands of time, apart from the usual good vs. evil fights and saving the world.
You'll meet several new characters with very interesting move sets, and at the beginning of the game, you'll play as one of them for quite a big portion of the campaign. Apart from several new fighters to play with or against during the campaign, you'll also have the opportunity to meet different variations of the same characters from different timelines. Some of them will be friendly, while others will be hostile.
The gameplay stayed completely the same without any alterations or additions of any new mechanics. Of course, new characters bring new move sets with them, but basically, that's all pretty much the same old Mortal Kombat 1. The good thing, of course, is that each new character can be used in other game modes with the addition of some bonus characters that can be bought through respected stores.
Regarding the difficulty, as was the case with the main campaign, you can choose one of several difficulty levels. I chose the medium difficulty, and even if I am quite an experienced player and not a stranger to fighting games, I must say that I struggled quite often to finish some of the stages, which wasn't the case with the main campaign through which I simply breezed.
Fighting the last opponent was the best example of my struggle. I was continuously smashed by the boss time after time until I devised a strategy to use the combination of two attacks that stopped his combos. It took me quite a lot of time to figure out how to beat him, and giving up wasn't an option knowing that the sweet credits would roll after I finally got the best of him.
In terms of visuals, Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns is pretty much identical to the base game, which is a good thing. Mortal Kombat 1 is quite the looker, and the expansion certainly doesn't fall behind in this aspect. However, I must mention one thing that actually left me disappointed—cutscenes are locked to 30 FPS.
I really cannot stress enough how amazed I was by the in-game cutscenes and cinematics; rare are the movies with such quality production, but was it hard to make those small movies run at 60 FPS? I'd argue that 60 FPS would smooth the transitions between the cutscenes and the gameplay, and second, the game would look even more impressive, but it is what it is.
Conclusion
Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns expansion will bring you more of the Mortal Kombat story with production quality that even the greatest Hollywood blockbusters wouldn't be ashamed of. With several new characters and many variations of the existing ones, the fun is guaranteed.
That said, everything is great if you overlook the price. With the expansion costing $50, the same as some stand-alone games, I can't say for sure that the content justifies the price. If the game had introduced a new graphics mode or a major upgrade, like Cyberpunk 2077 did with the Phantom Liberty expansion, it might have been easier to defend. However, the game remains mostly the same, apart from a few extra fighters and a story continuation that's frankly too short to justify the cost.
However, the price of the expansion won't affect the overall rating because the quality of the game is one thing, and how much it costs is another one entirely. With that being said, if you loved Mortal Kombat 1, I assure you, you'll love the expansion, and if the money is not an issue for you, do not miss out on this one.
The Good
Impressive cutscene production and cinematics- High-quality storytelling and narrative
- Familiar gameplay for Mortal Kombat fans
- Characters from different timelines
The Bad
High price for the amount of content- Cutscenes locked at 30 FPS
