While people have been having a blast playing the new Mortal Kombat 1 (seriously, we rated it quite highly in our review) it turns out that a smaller subset of players are just straight up not having a good time.
The Nintendo Switch version of the game, which received precisely zero marketing in the lead up to release is finally in the hands of players – and it’s not great.
If anything, it is hilarious and quite off-putting in equal measure.
Why haven't you purchased Mortal Kombat 1 for the switch, anon? pic.twitter.com/N0Zrl9ruGP
— Super MadRealms Deluxe (@SuperMadRealms) September 16, 2023
A YouTube video from Instant-Gaming gives a very clear comparison of the game as it appears on all platforms. Most of it is what you would expect from such a colossal task of cramming so much game into a smaller and less hearty system – but there are some cracks in the veneer that are a bit hard to process.
To put a modern, multi-platform game on the Switch requirements both optimisations and compromise – and it seems that in this case, it is compromise the whoooole way down. Simple things like less detail on textures and geometry are to be expected – but outright removing a ton of facial animations? It has left characters looking wall-eyed and awkward at the best of times.
Outright terrifying at their worst.
After Mk11, Nintendo Switch not being able to handle Mortal Kombat 1 was fully expected, but something about the game costing the same as other platforms ($70💀) doesn't feel right pic.twitter.com/zrBR9EIeYq
— Fighting-Games Daily (@FGC_Daily) September 17, 2023
This persists throughout the game – and is particularly alarming when you realise that apparently the title is entirely blocked from first-party Switch video capture, conveniently making it a bit hard to share the terrors with other people. A Nintendo enthusiast and content creator named Johniibo pointed this out in a video he released earlier this week, where he showcased some of the most overtly awful things he had witnessed within the game.
I’d offer a warning that his video does include a spoiler for the game’s narrative – but at the same time it is so difficult to understand what it going on, you may well be safe anyway. Also I am impressed that he managed to cut a dudes face off so hard that it didn’t detach.
This is how TERRIBLE Mortal Kombat 1 looks on Nintendo Switch
— Johniibo (@johniibo) September 16, 2023
It’s not worth $70 pic.twitter.com/ikTo8ApGJZ
The sting to players is more than a visual one, with some also reporting that the game has enormous loading times – clearly the gushworthy seamless loading transitions did not cross the divide to Switch hardware. An example was shown online, where someone managed to demonstrate that they could select a character and load in faster on the NeoGeo CD version of King of Fighters 98, which in itself was not a great loading experience.
I decided to make a video putting into perspective, how terrible is the Nintendo Swith port of Mortal Kombat 1.
— Paulo Manrique (@PauloManrique) September 17, 2023
Sorry for the ugabuga style of editing, it's not my forte. 🙂#mk1, #mortalkombat1, #NintendoSwitch #switch pic.twitter.com/Em2xF6GMg1
The incredible thing is that despite this unending cavalcade of horrors, most players begrudgingly admit that the game still plays quite well – demonstrating that underneath all the compromise was at least a goal to make sure the actual fighting would work.
To add a further sprinkling of salt in the wound – the Nintendo Digital Store that lists to the game offers no screenshots for the title. I buy so few Switch games via the store, that I actually needed to double check whether the storefront usually includes screenshots, and sure enough it is just entirely absent from the Mortal Kombat 1 offering. Eesh, oof – oh dear. There are no words to explain why this might be okay.
Given that the title has been released for the same full price you would find on other platforms, it is safe to understand why players are upset.
No comment (komment?) has been offered from either developer or publisher at this time.
Are you playing Mortal Kombat 1? Did you perhaps get it on the Switch? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games
