2XKO Succeeds Where Mortal Kombat 1 Faltered

by

While Mortal Kombat 1 eventually became a solid fighting game, it took a lot of work to get there and never fully shook off its initial negative reception. Although the fighting system improved and offered more player freedom, weak presentation and a lack of content ultimately held it back. 2XKO, Riot Games’ new fighting game featuring characters from League of Legends, shares some similarities with Mortal Kombat 1 as a free-to-play title and the studio’s first attempt in the genre. However, 2XKO includes many features that Mortal Kombat 1 lacked, and this is a key reason why it’s finding success.

Mortal Kombat 1‘s Online Options Were Always Lackluster

For fighting games, a strong online multiplayer experience is crucial, and Mortal Kombat 1 initially fell short in this area. It took a long time to add features like cross-platform play and online practice, which are expected in most modern games. The game also lacked online lobbies, and waiting for matches was frustrating because players couldn’t practice while queued. Many players found themselves staring at scenery instead of honing their skills. Basic features like muting other players and filtering connections weren’t available at launch either. To make matters worse, a long-anticipated online feature, the Warrior Shrine, turned out to be a disappointing seasonal leaderboard after over a year of being unavailable.

While the game’s online connection is reliable, the original MK1 had a poor online multiplayer experience that took a long time to improve. 2XKO offers a much more complete online system. It features smooth cross-play and a lobby system designed to recreate the feel of classic arcades. Street Fighter 6’s Battle Hub does something similar, but 2XKO works well and successfully captures the social atmosphere that makes fighting games so enjoyable.

Having to rush to the arcade cabinet after a match is found feels clunky – a simple teleport button would be much better. Ideally, players could also skip the lobby altogether. While you can practice while waiting for a match, it’s strangely limited to ranked mode and doesn’t automatically return you to practice after a set. An online practice mode and a way to filter by connection quality would also be welcome additions. Despite these issues, the game has a strong base, and Riot has room to improve it. Importantly, it’s a much more stable launch than the deeply flawed original MK1.

2XKO‘s Training Options Are Incredibly Robust

Practice mode is very comprehensive, whether you access it from the main menu or while reviewing a ranked match. It offers a huge number of customizable settings, allowing players to fine-tune their training. For example, you can adjust game speed to learn combos, display frame data, visualize hitboxes, and even control when the CPU will block – giving you complete control over the training environment.

The practice mode in the new game offers a lot of customization options, which is great, even though players have been asking for a feature to control replays (something the developers are aware of). Compared to other fighting games – and even previous titles from the same developer – the initial practice mode was quite basic. It didn’t even allow players to keep important moves visible on the screen. While the developers later added character-specific options, the ability to pin moves, and surprisingly, replay control, the mode still feels outdated and is a weak point of the game. Considering the developers were once leaders in fighting game tutorials and detailed guides, it’s disappointing to see them fall behind current standards. The lack of a robust practice mode affects both new players and experienced veterans, making it a significant issue for many.

You can also practice with characters you don’t own, which helps players feel better about their purchases and lets everyone prepare for any opponent. Like Street Fighter 6, the game offers a way to try out any character for a limited time – in this case, for one hour.

Similar to Tekken 8, MK1 doesn’t offer a trial version, meaning players have to pay $7.99 just to try out a character and see if they like how it plays, or to learn how to fight against them. MK1 frequently introduces new characters and reworks itself with each new game, so experience from previous versions isn’t very helpful. For example, the character Ermac plays completely differently in MK1 than he did in MKX or MK9. While the guest character Homelander from The Boys seems easy to learn, he actually has a very unusual fighting style that some players might not enjoy, even though he’s one of the game’s strongest characters. Allowing players to rent characters isn’t essential, but it’s a feature MK1 could have offered to be a leader in the fighting game community, something the series used to be known for.

Riot Games has had several years since the initial announcement of 2XKO in 2019 to refine its features and launch a polished game. It’s obvious that Warner Bros. doesn’t give NetherRealm the same creative freedom, likely explaining why MK1 felt incomplete. Like Tekken 8 before it, 2XKO demonstrates that certain game modes are crucial to a fighting game’s overall quality. 2XKO strikes a good balance between being easy to pick up and offering surprising depth. While online lobbies and cross-platform play don’t automatically improve gameplay, they provide a strong base for a great experience, and Riot seems to recognize that.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/gaming/review/mortal-kombat-legacy-kollection-review/embed/#

Read More

2026-01-27 17:15