Summary
Of all the classic fighting games, no series has been quite as content-rich asMortal Kombat. Whilethe originalMortal Kombattrilogyhad plenty of characters and stages, the series' then-developer Midway continued to add more through various re-releases, and when it got time to move the series to the next generation of home consoles,Mortal Kombatonly continued to grow. Additional characters, more stages, and entirely new game modes all started to appear with each newMortal Kombatentry. But whileMortal Kombat 1will undoubtedly be packed to the brim with content, there’s one big fan-favorite feature it’s going to be missing.
Collectibles have always beenan important part of theMortal Kombatfranchise, whether it’s just small pieces of concept art, extra music tracks found by accident, or fully-fledged playable characters and new arenas. Over the last two decades,Mortal Kombathas followed the same general structure for its countless collectibles, but for the first time in 21 years,Mortal Kombat 1is going to be changing that system, and it could be for the worse.
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Mortal Kombat 1’s Lack of a Krypt Could Seriously Damage its Replayability
Starting all the way back in 2002 withMortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the Krypt has been the primary spot for all ofMortal Kombat’s many collectibles over the last six mainline entries. Though the Krypt has seen many different variations over the years, its general structure has remained largely the same for two decades. Players enter an eerie graveyard, labyrinth, or catacomb, and with the currency they’ve built up by just playing the game they’re able to purchase a vast range of different collectibles, often encompassing new stages, concept art, alternate costumes, music tracks, and on some occasions, fully playable characters.
Though the number of collectibles in the Krypt has gotten gradually lower with each entry, the Krypt itself has become a much more complex playground, going from a simple grid-based menu, to a first-person horrorminigame with QTEs, to a full-on third-person action-puzzle game inMortal Kombat 11. With consistently excellent rewards, and an incredibly addictive loop,Mortal Kombat’s Krypt has always been a great way to incentivize players to get the most out of their copy, and spend tens of hours trying to unlock and see everything that the game has to offer.
Though it isn’t the most important feature of aMortal Kombatgame, the Krypt is a great additional mode, and it’s become a real fan-favorite feature in recent years. So naturally, when Ed Boon recently confirmed thatMortal Kombat 1would have no Krypt mode, many fans were left pretty disappointed. WhileMortal Kombat 1’s core gameplay loop and mechanics will undoubtedly be enough to keep players invested for a good few hours, the lack of a Krypt mode might result inMortal Kombat 1having slightly less replayability than its predecessors.
However,Mortal Kombat 1apparently won’t be entirely without a collectible system. According to a recent interview with Ed Boon, the Creative Director at NetherRealm, a “Whole new system for unlocks” will be present inMortal Kombat 1. No details have been given about this new system just yet, so it’s impossible to really speculate on whatMortal Kombat 1’s new unlock system might look like, but fans can only hope that it’s just as good, if not better than the Krypt, packed full of genuinely worthwhile rewards like alternate costumes, new stages, and new characters to play as.
Mortal Kombat 1releases on September 19 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
