Mortal Kombat: EVERY Game Ranked From Worst To Best

1. Mortal Kombat (2011)

Mortal Kombat 11
NetherRealm

In 2009, things were looking dire for Mortal Kombat's future. Not only were the previous two entries considered failures, Midway Games went bankrupt, forcing the franchise to be sold to Warner Bros. With interest in MK waning, Ed Boon and his team knew that had to pull out all the stops for the follow-up.

Because the overarching story had become so indecipherable, Boon decided to go back to basics. In 2011, Boon's new team, NetherRealm Studios, released a reboot of the original three games, simply called Mortal Kombat.

Not only did it reignite the franchise, it was the best entry in the series. The Fatalities were more ridiculous than ever and the new X-Ray moves were so graphic, you can't help but wince while looking at them.

But what made Mortal Kombat 2011 truly special was that it was the first in the series to focus on the plot and character development over the gore. Instead of relentless action, the Story Mode took its time building relationships between the heroes and villains, which made the conflicts all the more satisfying and tragic.

The future has never looked brighter for the franchise and it's all owed to the 2011 version of Mortal Kombat.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows