Parents' Guide to

Mortal Kombat 1

By Paul Semel, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Epic fighting game has lots of blood, gore and language.

Game Xbox Series X/S , PlayStation 5 , Nintendo Switch , Windows 2023
Mortal Kombat 1 box cover. Fighter with glowing eyes stands in front of dragon symbol.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Mortal Kombat 1: Like previous games in this long-running series, Mortal Kombat 1 features such colorful characters as Raiden and Li Mei using magically-enhanced martial arts to beat each other to death.
  • Mortal Kombat 1: In Mortal Kombat 1, players can have a second character provide momentary assistance, as illustrated here by Frost freezing Reiko so Mileena can shatter his hopes and dreams.
  • Mortal Kombat 1: Mortal Kombat 1 also has you fighting in such interesting places as this palatial Malibu bachelor pad, where Sareena is about to turn Nitara into hot wings.

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 7 parent reviews

Ava S.
Ava S. Parent of 8-year-old
January 20, 2024
age 2+

ALL YOU OVER PROTECTIVE PARENTS NEED TO HAVE A LOOK INTO THE REAL WORLD

Its just gore, slightly sexual dressed woman, and some light swearing. All the parents saying 16+, 17+, and 19+ are just over protective. In this generation, a toddler could handle this stuff now. I would hand a controller to a 2 year old with this game on if they weren't to helpless to figure out how to use it.
Caroline S.
Caroline S. Adult
December 27, 2023
age 16+

Violent game; definitely not for the faint of heart

This arcade-style fighting game is known for its digitalized realism and violence. There is a lot of blood and gore in this game and the characters' graphic injuries are shown as well. All but not limited to broken bones, torn muscles, blood, profanity, kinky costumes, etc. I would recommend this game for children 16+, however, it all depends on how well your child can handle violence & blood.
See all 7 parent reviews

What’s It About?

Set in the aftermath of 2019's Mortal Kombat 11, MORTAL KOMBAT 1 has the fire god Liu Kang creating a new universe out of the ashes of the old one. But the end result is oddly similar to the one before it; hence why many of the familiar faces from previous games are back, and once again fighting to the death, and why Liu Kang is not happy with his work. This game isn't about the story as much as it is the intense, deep, and engaging fighting and of course, saving Earthrealm (again).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (10 ):

Thanks to a cool new move, this fighting game is just as bloody good as the last couple installments in this long-running series. In Mortal Kombat 1, you once again have to save Earthrealm by fighting a bunch of characters to the death. Though the "why" isn't really all that important as the "how", which comes courtesy of the new Kameo Fighters mechanic allowing you to command a fellow combatant to jump into your match, take a quick shot or two on your opponent, and then step back and wait for you to call them again. It's kind of like a special attack in other games, one that takes time to recharge, but can be very effective.

Admittedly, the Kameo Fighters mechanic is just that: a mechanic. It's not a game changer and it doesn't turn this into a tag team match. But given that the rest of the game has the same smooth and deep controls as the previous installments, Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11, as well as the same deadly characters, you know what kind of fight it's going to be. That isn't to say this is a rehash of earlier games with one new move. Instead it adds other exciting elements like fun new places to engage in fisticuffs, most notably, an ostentatious Malibu beach pad. It also has multiple ways to play, including a nicely varied story mode, and multiple options to fight friends online. All of which is why Mortal Kombat 1 is still the first name in bloody good fighting games.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the excessive violence in Mortal Kombat 1. Is this amount of violence and gore warranted or does it go too far? Are there similar games you can play without this much violence?

  • Families can talk about gore. This series is famous for its blood and gore, and this game has graphic (including x-ray) depictions of people being impaled, decapitated, and graphically hurt and killed. Do you think it makes the game better? Or worse?

  • Families can talk about being prepared. Like many fighting games, players need to use complicated moves to beat the more skill opponents, both online and in the single-player modes. What does this teach us about the importance of being prepared; of learned those advanced moves before we need them, not after?

Game Details

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