Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Review (Xbox Series X|S)

A year after the release of Mortal Kombat 1, NetherRealm Studios has now delivered Khaos Reigns - a story expansion for Liu Kang’s new era. Titan Havik is craving even more "kombat" after the finale of the main game and is now out to plunge the realms into chaos by merging the timelines. And so, the story begins with Scorpion’s wedding being infiltrated by Sub-Zero and the reinvented fighters Cyrax and Sektor. Johnny Cage makes a not-so-subtle reference to Game of Thrones' Red Wedding at this same moment, and after some brutal and bloody opening scenes, everyone unites to deal with the greater threat.

Apart from the new fighters, the aspect of Khaos Reigns that perhaps stands out the most is the fight choreography during cutscenes. Every punch and kick does a great job capturing the look of a classic (and dare we say cheesy) martial arts film much like the main story did, while also incorporating the series’ trademark over-the-top violence and some occasional comedic relief.

What some fans might find a bit much is the amount of inspiration this expansion draws from a certain cinematic universe. Without going into spoilers (not that there is that much to spoil), the whole “timeline” thing doesn’t hit quite like it initially did now that we’re past the origin story of this reimagined universe.

Khaos Reigns is also an incredibly short-lived expansion – with the entire story offering around two to three hours of action at best. While it doesn’t get off to a bad start and there's the occasional highlight along the way, some scenes overstay their welcome. It then jumps straight into what is arguably an anticlimatic final battle. This is somewhat surprising given NetherRealm's build up to this expansion. By the end of it, it hardly feels like “essential viewing” and there’s nothing particularly memorable about Havik’s time in the spotlight.

The fighters introduced – Sektor, Cyrax and Noob Saibot, somewhat make up for the shortcomings. This time around, Sektor and Cyrax seem to channel comic characters like Iron Man and come loaded with homing missiles, explosive devices and various other gadgets. As for Noob Saibot, he uses shadow techniques to get the upper hand in battle. Unfortunately, you won’t get much of a chance with any of them in the expansion. You’ll play as Sektor and Cyrax on a handful of occasions but are then required to play a fair chunk as characters like Rain and Tanya from different timelines. Noob Saibot comes into the story towards the end and really only has some brief moments, which may be disappointing to some fans. And that’s a wrap!

Even when you include the three returning characters at launch, and the three guest characters to come, the asking price for Khaos Reigns (£39.99 / $49.99) is still incredibly steep considering what's on offer. And depending on your location, the price might equal the cost of the base game, which may not sit right with everyone. If you’re a serious fan of Mortal Kombat, you might actually be better off buying the fighters individually when they’re released. There’s obviously the free update alongside this expansion which includes Animalities, so you could always check that out instead and carry on with other modes like Invasions.