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Those looking to pick up Mortal Kombat 1 when it releases on Switch this week may want to think carefully on their decision, as many who’ve gotten their hands on the game during its early access period haven’t been impressed so far.
A number of users on the Mortal Kombat 1 subreddit have been posting screenshots of the game running on the lower-specced console, and it doesn’t show the beat-em-up (for which you can read our Mortal Kombat 1 review of the PC version here) in the best light. While many were expecting something of a downgrade, the images include badly textured character models, missing features and frequent bugs, despite the game costing a premium £59.99 on the Nintendo eShop.
“I really regret buying it on the Switch (my only option),” says Rickeddit on the Mortal Kombat subreddit “Putting the graphics aside, the load wait, the bugs, the freeze that happens sometimes makes the game unplayable. I’m not an online focused player, I mainly bought it for the story. But wow, I’m really disappointed.” Some are even calling it worse than the much-maligned Mortal Kombat 11 Switch port. “I have it for the switch as well. I thought MK11 was actually pretty good on it. I feel your pain on this one tho. MK1 is a rough go so far. So many bugs it’s like Devorah’s hive.” claims WilliamCleary.
One of the most frequent bugs that many are posting images of character’s heads stuck in the air after they’ve been lopped off the opponent during a Brutality. Others still such as DannyBurciaga have posted images and videos of character models in Fatalities, with the low-poly textures making it genuinely difficult to tell what’s going on in them (Rain, with their water effects, appears to be a big sticking point). There’s also videos of bugged characters walking into the background, and
A big bugbear though for Switch owners is the currently missing Invasion modes. At launch, WB has announced that only the introduction map will be available, offering just a few single player missions in Johnny Cage’s mansion. However, according to WB support “The full breadth of Invasions Season 1 content will be available on Switch in a matter of weeks. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause Switch players and are working to make this update as quickly as possible.
Until then, it seems Mortal Kombat 1 players are better served playing it elsewhere. For more on the game, check out our MK1 fatality list or our guide to Mortal Kombat 1 best combos, special moves and how to learn them. Mortal Kombat 1 officially launches on September 19, 2023 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC and Switch.
Article header image credit: DannyBurciaga on Reddit
