Three new characters and intense Animalities cannot compensate for a lackluster and perplexing story expansion.
By Jason Fanelli on October 15, 2024 at 1:15PM PDT
Mortal Kombat 1’s intricately woven campaign wrapped up on a positive note, with the inclusion of multiple timelines hinting at extensive future possibilities. Khaos Reigns serves as the initial DLC story expansion, featuring a Titan interpretation of the chaotic antagonist Havik as he seeks to plunge Liu Kang’s universe into his unique madness. Unfortunately, the only true chaos stems from the storytelling itself, as this expansion suffers from hurried narrative progression and a tedious, repetitive format.
Khaos Reigns encompasses five chapters—just a third of what the primary campaign offers. Three of these chapters are devoted to the new characters added to the roster: Cyrax, Sektor, and Noob Saibot. The two chapters situated between Sektor and Noob are centered around two familiar characters, Rain and Tanya, though presented as reimagined Emperor and Empress versions, respectively.
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Every chapter unfolds in a similar manner: a cutscene transitions into pre-fight dialogue, followed by the fight itself, and then post-fight dialogue, repeating the cycle. This lack of variety in structure leads to a narrative centered around chaos and anarchy feeling overly constrained and frustrating. One would expect such a theme to allow for some experimentation, whether through quick minigames or gauntlet-style encounters against multiple foes, yet none of that is present here, which is even more disappointing given that this structure mirrors that of the base game’s story.
The cutscenes suffer from lackluster dialogue; some lines seem to be derived from a thesaurus—who uses “expeditiously” when “quickly” suffices?—and the cringeworthy banter attempts between Johnny Cage and nearly any woman he encounters are particularly off-putting. While Cage is meant to portray a pompous, aspiring ladies’ man across timelines, some of his lines come off as so contrived that it’s challenging not to roll one’s eyes along with the character he’s engaging with.
One of the frustrating aspects of Khaos Reigns is how swiftly it resolves significant plot points that have immense potential, often with minimal conflict. Take, for instance, a significant betrayal hinted at by Bi Han and Sektor, which is both introduced and wrapped up in the same chapter, leaving no time for the narrative to develop. This critique can be extended to the overall story, which concludes so abruptly that it feels jarring. After numerous chapters depicting Titan Havik as a formidable threat, his eventual defeat is surprisingly underwhelming.
These storytelling flaws are particularly disappointing because the expansion introduces elements that enrich the main game experience, providing players with numerous new discoveries. Each of the three new fighters brings a distinct combat style that encourages experimentation—Sektor’s ordinance and rapid drop attacks make her a challenging opponent, while successfully triggering a Cyrax bomb for a subsequent combo is always a thrilling moment. In contrast, the shadowy, portal-manipulating abilities of Noob make him the standout character of the trio; landing a few of his combos can be extraordinarily impressive.
Additionally, the game introduces a new finishing move system known as Animalities, in which a character morphs into a wild creature to eliminate their opponent in a dramatic fashion. Even compared to the already extravagant Fatalities and Brutalities, some of these Animalities are remarkably grisly, aided by the meticulous details of the animals’ designs.
Mileena’s transformation into a mantis is particularly shocking; observing her gruesomely bite into her opponent’s head with a level of realism reminiscent of nature is likely to evoke both amusement and discomfort. Some Animalities also pay homage to Fatalities from earlier games, such as Noob’s double-crocodile transformation, which reflects a classic Fatality from Mortal Kombat 9.
In a comical twist, Rain transforms into an enormous pufferfish, exploding his opponent in a ridiculous manner, while Peacemaker turns into a clone of his feathered friend Eagly, unleashing a flurry of American-themed antics with side-splitting outcomes. The finishing moves in the latest Mortal Kombat titles epitomize extravagant brutality, and with each technological advancement, they have only become more intense. The Animalities showcased in this installment effectively illustrate the boundless creativity within the franchise.
However, the new character introductions and the entertaining Animalities are insufficient to compensate for the shortcomings of the Khaos Reigns narrative expansion. Unlike the original MK1 storyline, which concluded with an air of ambiguity, Khaos Reigns sets a rather modest expectation for future storytelling developments. While Titan Havik is a notable antagonist, it’s clear there are many other villainous characters in the Mortal Kombat universe, and any potential future expansion would need to delve into another villain’s perspective. If such story DLC continues to feel rushed, it may encounter the same pitfalls as this release.
It’s worth mentioning that three additional characters are still to be introduced, all hailing from different intellectual properties: Ghostface from Scream, the T-1000 from Terminator, and Conan the Barbarian. Each of these new characters has the potential to bring further diversity and excitement to the lineup following strong performances by Cyrax, Sektor, and Noob Saibot. Nevertheless, they won’t be able to resolve the ongoing issues plaguing the narrative.
Regrettably, the thrilling anticipation that once accompanied the conclusion of Mortal Kombat 1 has diminished, giving way to uncertainty about the story’s future direction. Ironically, it appears this once-promising plot has been engulfed in chaos.
