Mortal Kombat 1 has the deadliest fighting game roster ever

Words by Robert Collins

Mortal Kombat 1 has the deadliest fighting game roster ever.

Sure, that may seem like a bold statement. It may even sound like hyperbole. But tell me: when was the last time you saw Street Fighter’s Chun-Li use her powerful thighs to literally break Guile in half, leaving him to drown in a pool of his own blood? Or Ayane of Dead or Alive fame use her twin Fuma Kodachi swords to eviscerate an opponent inch-by-bloody inch like some horrific human blender?

Take a look at Mortal Kombat 1 at its gloriously gory best below!

The answer, of course, is never. And that is what always sets apart the Mortal Kombat franchise: its kombatants. In short, they’ll do what other fighting game stars won’t. And Mortal Kombat 1 looks set to not only continue this tradition of kruelty but also ramp it up a few bloody notches with the most spectacularly brutal MK krew to date. This will include a roster of 24 playable fighters and 16 Kameo characters for the base release.

But back to those klassic Mortal Kombat alumni. These won’t be the same old MK characters you remember. And that’s because Mortal Kombat 1 is (as you might guess from the title) a reboot for the franchise. As such it features a completely reimagined Mortal Kombat universe, which means a hard reset for all its fighters.

Example: Subzero and Scorpion are now brothers, and the two are closely aligned with Smoke as members of the Lin Kuei clan. Kitana and Mileena are also siblings in this new MK reality, while Raiden is now a humble villager instead of the god of thunder and lightning. Johnny Cage is still Johnny Cage, though he is now at long last portrayed by none other than Jean Claude Van Damme. Liu Kang carries directly over from Mortal Kombat 11, now as the God of Fire, the Keeper of Time and the kreator of this new MK alternate reality.

This decision to reboot the MK universe is a stroke of genius in that it gives series veterans a fresh and intriguing spin on classic characters like Raiden, Kitana and others. While at the same time making this first true next-gen entry a little less daunting for newcomers (well, at least until they see Liu Kang simultaneously sunder and immolate a victim of his Double Dragon fatality) by refreshing the series’ lore.

If NetherRealm Studios can nail the fighting mechanics—as it appears they have done—then this is bound to become the definitive Mortal Kombat experience. We’ll find out soon enough when Mortal Kombat 1 releases on September 19 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. For the komplete Mortal Kombat 1 base game roster see below.

Without further ado, you can see the full (at the time of writing) roster of confirmed characters below:

MAIN CHARACTERS

• Ashrah
• Baraka
• General Shao
• Geras
• Havik
• Johnny Cage
• Kenshi
• Kitana
• Kung Lao
• Li Mei
• Liu Kang
• Mileena
• Raiden
• Rain
• Reptile
• Scorpion
• Shang Tsung (Pre-order)
• Sindel
• Smoke
• Sub-Zero
• Tanya

Kameo characters

• Cyrax
• Darrius
• Frost
• Goro
• Jax Briggs
• Kano
• Kung Lao
• Motaro
• Sareena
• Shujiko
• Scorpion
• Sektor
• Sonya Blade
• Stryker
• Sub-Zero

Kombat pack 1

• Ermac
• Homelander
• Peacemaker
• Omni-Man
• Quan Chi
• Takeda

Kombat pack Kameo fighters

• Ferra
• Johnny Cage
• Khameleon
• Mavado
• Tremor

Yeah, Mortal Kombat 1 is stacked.