Mortal Kombat 1’s Gamescom Opening Night Live trailer today lived up to exactly what series co-creator Ed Boon laid out ahead of time: two new character reveals, two Kameo Fighters making an appearance, and plenty of gore—nothing more, nothing less.
We got a further glimpse into the lore of MK1’s rebooted universe with Sindel and Shao Kahn, now going by General Shao, getting new looks and ushering in an odd era of “peace” that still incorporates tournaments between Liu Kang’s versions of Earthrealm and Outworld.
Based on the trailer, Sindel is on the side of peace, but not firmly planted as a supporter of Liu Kang. Meanwhile, General Shao is still as bloodthirsty as ever, looking to use his new battle ax to demolish Earthrealm’s champion—revealed to be Raiden—in an upcoming tournament of traditions.
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With an ax in place of his hammer, Shao Khan does look like he will play differently than some of his previous iterations. Some players have rightfully drawn similarities between this version of Shao and Ares from Injustice in how he handles his weapon for setups.
Sindel has new tricks added to a familiar arsenal of hair-based attacks and flippy-dippy magic.
For the Kameo appearances, Motaro is getting a lot of love as the centaur shows a mix of assists that include a reflector capable of bouncing projectiles back to their sender, his own projectiles, and teleportation. Shujinko looks a bit more complex as he appears to copy the opponent’s moves in some fashion.
You won’t have to wait long to try these characters out since Mortal Kombat 1 launches on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC on Sept. 14.
