Mortal Kombat Needs Horror Elements

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]Mortal Kombat needs horror to have the right atmosphere. You're watching Realm Deal Games and today I'm taking a look at this issue with modern Mortal Kombat by looking at the past. Sometimes the path to the future is hidden within the past. So let's take a look at several games in the main line series and how horror is a core piece of their identity. Interestingly enough, the horror of MK 1992 is far lesser than some of the later titles. It is still there with the Goro's Lair stage, Goro himself, and some elements of the characters like Scorpion's secret skull.

[00:00:34]Relative to the time of the game's release, the fatalities that would make MK renowned and reviled in equal measure factored into the horrific appeal of the title. Ultimately, that game was more influenced by martial arts movies from the '80s and things of that nature. And the reason starting here is important is because it just shows how quickly the series changed with its sequels. Mortal Kombat 2 is when the series horror roots become entrenched in the franchise. And this shows up within the locales the combatants fight in and the new characters. Baraka is a vicious monster that is humanoid and animalistic in equal measure. While Goro was the only monstrous figure of the first game, monsters, mortals, and magic become intertwined in MK2. The Tarkatans are a race of Outworld, this celestial threat to Earth. There's a spiritual fear on display with this realm, too, as its emperor is a master of soul magic, something that is further shown via the character of Shang Tsung, who has the ability to steal others' souls. The concept of a soul being consumed, of being trapped within a malignant entity like Shang Tsung, is a horrifying concept. It's no surprise that it is a common feature of demon-based religious horror in other mediums. Beyond Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, and Baraka, Mileena also exhibits the importance of horror.

[00:01:52]For players back in the day, Mileena seems like a beautiful palette swap of Kitana. But for players that earned her arcade ending or used one of her fatalities, they'd learn that hidden beneath her mask was her Tarkatan heritage. This duality of identity, of not knowing the truth of someone's very nature, adds to the horror of MK, thereby solidifying this facet of the series' identity. Mortal Kombat 3 takes this even further, right from the attract mode. The first piece of information that the player is faced with is the knowledge that Raiden is no longer able to act as protector of Earth for the second conflict with Shao Kahn.

[00:02:27]Shortly afterward, that iconic image of Shao Kahn, shaded in the dark with red glowing eyes and placed against a green backdrop of swirling souls, is presented to the player. Shao Kahn is not just the conqueror of Outworld, as he was presented in MK 2. He is now angry with the fact that he tasted defeat at the hands of Earth's champion, Liu Kang.

[00:02:48]Conniving a means of breaching the Elder Gods' Mortal Kombat tournament, he begins to fuse the realms. And the first part of that is the stealing of everyone's souls, save for those few that either are protected or otherwise have strong enough souls to resist his magic. These soul-nados frame the ultimate outcome of failure. Death is no longer necessarily the end, as being beaten will lead to the loss of soul and spirit, of being reduced to another piece of Shao Kahn's power and prominence as a result of his dominance.

[00:03:18]The dilapidated remains of city streets, subways, graveyards, in conjunction with the alien locales of temples, soul chambers, and the Pit Part 3 are the environments that the player fights in.

[00:03:29]And each shows the apocalyptic fate of the world upon failure. This is the final stage of horror, the idea that there is no hope, no way of pushing against such insurmountable odds. It's often a feature of zombie apocalypse horror, demonic dominance stories, and other extinction tier events. One of my favorite horror films is 28 Days Later.

[00:03:50]And that film starts out in city locations devoid of life. This frames the narrative of the film's story, Cillian Murphy's character's growth, and the viewer's imagination in regards to what their life would be like in a world like this. It's these eerie environments that form the horror, and the same is true of MK3. It's what sells the horror of the experience, giving MK3 a vibe all its own. MK4 takes this in a bit of a different direction, instead treating the horror as an established feature of the franchise, and tying it to its mythology. MK's story and lore has always had a mythology flare to it, but this is even more clear in MK4, since it focuses on the issue of Shinnok, the fallen Elder God. This makes it a multi-realm issue, and several of the endings demonstrate this element of the game's horror, such as Baraka's MK Gold one.

[00:04:43]Enter.

[00:04:47]I said, "Enter, Raiden."

[00:04:50]Have no fear.

[00:04:51]Our betrayal is complete. I have dealt with those once loyal to Shinnok. This victory is ours.

[00:05:00]You bask in your new-found power on the throne of Queen Sindel, while I am forced to hide in the shadows.

[00:05:11]Who is it you are hiding from? The Elder Gods are dead.

[00:05:16]Raiden is dead, and thanks to you, Shinnok is dead. Everyone is dead.

[00:05:23]Yes.

[00:05:24]Everyone in this forsaken realm is dead.

[00:05:28]How do we rule a realm with no one in it?

[00:05:32]This war was not about holding court to mortals.

[00:05:37]It was about obtaining power.

[00:05:40]I now possess that power.

[00:05:43]And I am forced to live out my existence in a dead realm with a madman.

[00:05:53]>> [groaning] >> Now, sorcerer, you will pay with your own life.

[00:06:00]I have no life to give, you fool.

[00:06:04]What?

[00:06:23]At this point, Deadly Alliance takes this even further with the death of Liu Kang and a refocus on the horror of soul stealing and transference. The perfect example of this is Li Mei's ending.

[00:06:35]>> [music] >> Li Mei had been promised that her people would be freed from enslavement if she could win the tournament held by the Deadly Alliance.

[00:06:45]Now that she had emerged victorious, the true purpose behind the tournament was finally revealed to her. Her soul would be the last one Shang Tsung needed to completely revive the Dragon King's lost army.

[00:07:00]Her people would never be freed and Li Mei herself would remain [music] trapped inside the mummified remains of a dead soldier, cursed to serve the Deadly Alliance forever.

[00:07:16]In this ending, Li Mei is forever trapped in the body of a mummified being, conscious but without the ability to make any decisions of her own. It's quite similar to the horror of the 2017 film Get Out where the victims of the Armitage family are trapped in their own bodies watching the actions of another commanding soul over what belongs to them. This loss of autonomy is a natural human fear and one that this era of MK is particularly good at showing. By the time Deception came out, MK was a horror fighting game series, and this is represented in that game with the stormy atmosphere of the main menu, >> [music] >> the screams that echo in the distance of the crypt, and the tonality of the areas in the Conquest mode. It's such a part of its identity that I never even thought about the horror of the series until it was gone. Armageddon, MK9, and MKX all use the series identity of horror to great effect, but then something changes. Mortal Kombat 11 moves the series away from horror by brightening up the color palette and shifting the story towards this very comic book superhero feeling vibe with the hourglass arc. The tonal shift is in stark contrast with the ending of MKX that makes this as a continuation of the series feel off. Even the real horrific nature of soul magic, as established by Li Mei's ending in Deadly Alliance and the '95 movie, is instead replaced by this vitality-sucking effect. Instead of the soul being pulled from a body, it's life energy being taken, which lacks the same sort of horror appeal. This is best shown with the death of Shao Kahn in Sendao.

[00:09:14]>> [screaming] >> Now yours to me. Begin.

[00:09:32]>> [laughter] >> This is just death. It's not the continuation of a soul in a diminished, enslaved state, and this ruins the horrific nature of the magic. This is changed even further with Mortal Kombat 1, where horror is almost entirely nonexistent. Gore exists, but gore and horror are not the same thing. Gore is a common feature of horror, but gore is also commonplace in Tarantino films, and I'd hardly call his work horrific in the genre sense. Chaos Reigns was MK1's chance to bring horror back, but this doesn't really happen, either. The death of characters is meaningless because of the multiple timelines element of the story, and the heroes' outright refusal to kill villains, something that the MK characters of old wouldn't hesitate to do. The tonal shift of MK11 and MK1 away from the horror roots of the series is partly why the games are so ineffective as continuations of the series. Mortal Kombat needs horror elements because MK is a horror series. Its horror is exhibited via character designs, atmosphere, and the implications of character actions, which makes these features of the series necessary to ensure the success of future MK games.

[00:10:43]And with that, I'd like to throw it back to all of you. What do you think? Does MK need horrific elements? Let's discuss in the comments below, and while you're down there, consider smashing that like button, subscribing, and ringing the notification bell. I make a new gaming videos twice weekly, and you may like my other and future work. This is a variety gaming channel first and foremost, and once I've finished up Mortal Mayhem for this month of May, I'll be starting Street Fighter Summer, where I'll share my thoughts on Street Fighter 3 and 4.

[00:11:11]After that, I'll be sharing my thoughts on classic Tomb Raider, Alien franchise games, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, alongside a smattering of new and upcoming games. If any of that peaks your interest, stick around. Regardless of what you choose to do, thank you for keeping it real with Rail Deal Games.

[00:11:28]Have an awesome day, dudes.

[00:11:44]>> Mhm.