Mortal Kombat: a game title that has lived in infamy since its first release in 1992, and the newest title is no exception.
On September 14, 2023, Mortal Kombat 1, the newest title in the franchise, was released. This game has faced a large amount of controversy yet again for the incredible graphics and insane gore featured in the game. The fatalities in it have even been compared to real gore websites and look as close to real as video games may ever see.
The first game was heavily criticized for its violence. The ‘fatality’ feature meant the players had the option to kill their opponents at the end of each match, if they won, in incredibly brutal ways. This made the game famous as it was unique to other games on the market. Being on arcade machines, the first few games have very little detail in the gore, but it was still a lot for the time.
The violence in each game has progressively gotten more and more intense, with Mortal Kombat 4 making the game 3D and adding much more detailed gore, including bones and organs. The graphical capabilities of new gaming consoles have also made the gore look hyperrealistic.
The franchise has also been subjected to heavy backlash due to the accused sexism in the series. Throughout the games, primarily in Mortal Kombat (2011), the female characters have been put in suggestive and exposing outfits. While the earlier games ensured that the outfits were appropriate for each character, MK9 (2011) seemed to go out of its way to sexualize the characters as much as it could. After the backlash that was received for this, the games have backed down in their sexual references and costumes.
Despite the constant accommodations to appease the critical audiences, the games still face a lot of hate for the general concept of them. Some have gone as far as to blame the games for the violent actions of those who may have played or watched the games.
Sorry, there was an error loading this poll.
