After months of waiting for an official reveal,Mortal Kombat 1has finally been announced in all of its timeline-resetting glory. Following on from the events ofMortal Kombat 11’s Aftermath DLC,Mortal Kombat 1sees a newly appointedFire/Time God Liu Kangrecreate the universe in his own image, taking the timeline back to seemingly right before the events of the very firstMortal Kombatgame.
Based onMortal Kombat 1’s announcement trailer, the game seems to be bringing back a good portion of its iconic original roster. Staples likeRaiden, Kung Lao, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kitana, and even Mileenaare already confirmed for the roster. But whileMortal Kombat 1seems to be going back to its roots with this semi-reboot, it’s still likely to bring over some elements of the past few entries, potentially putting it in the same unlikely boat asFortnite.
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Mortal Kombat 1 and Fortnite Might Rely Too Heavily on Crossovers
Fortniteis currently relying on crossovers more than ever before. The very firstFortnitecrossover was withAvengers: Infinity Warback in 2018, and that opened the floodgates for just about every other pop-culture franchise to come to the game.Fortnitesoon saw a range of other crossovers, including Marvel, DC,Star Wars,Rick and Morty,John Wick, God of War,Halo,Resident Evil, and so much more. These collaborations have only become more prevalent as the years have gone on, and now more so than ever, it seems as thoughFortnitemight be leaning on its pop-culture crossovers a little too much.
In the last year,Fortnitehas not only brought a slew of new crossover cosmetics to the game, but has hosted a handful of fully-fledged limited-time events, bringing in new questlines, new Battle Passes, and new items and weapons. TheDragon Ball Zcrossover event back in August 2022 was the first of this new trend, and theMy Hero Academiaevent was quick to follow.
In the last few months,Fortnite’s crossover events have only gotten more prominent and frequent, with anAttack on Titanevent continuing throughout the currentStar Warsevent. With a week still left to go onFortnite’s currentStar Warsevent, the game’s already teasing an upcoming Miles MoralesSpiderversecrossover for next Season, with it being directly referenced in the Season’s main questline.
Havingso many crossovers inFortniteis a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, having frequent, substantial crossover events keepsFortniteconsistently relevant, with these events often being timed around anticipated upcoming releases. Having plenty of crossovers also presumably brings in a much wider audience forFortnite, targeting those who otherwise probably wouldn’t play the game, but are willing to check it out because their favorite franchise is now in the game. But on the other hand, relying too heavily on crossovers can feel a little cheap, and pushing other franchises to the forefront only continues to stripFortniteof its own unique identity.
While it might seem like an unlikely comparison,FortniteandMortal Kombat 1might end up being in the same boat. WhileMortal Kombat 1looks to be a refresh for the long-running fighting game franchise, there are some fan-favorite elements that are likely to carry over from previous entries, and one of those is likely to be guest fighters. Introduced inMortal Kombat 9, guest characters have only become more popular over the last few entries, withMortal Kombat Xhaving four guest characters, andMortal Kombat 11having five. Although these guest fighters have always fitMortal Kombat’s tone and gameplay well,Mortal Kombat 1needs to make sure that it’s not relying too heavily on these pop-culture crossovers, or it could end up losing its own identity along the way.
Mortal Kombat 1launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
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