Mortal Kombatco-creator Ed Boon appeared at Summer Game Fest to explain howMortal Kombat 1’s new Kameo fighters will work. NetherRealm finally revealed the next installment in the legendaryMortal Kombatfranchise with a pulse-pounding teaser trailer in May. As its title suggests,Mortal Kombat 1will restart the series’ timelinefrom scratch, with Fire God Liu Kang creating a peaceful new world following the events ofMortal Kombat 11. This harmony doesn’t last long though, and he soon must gather EarthRelam’s strongest warriors to defend the world against a returning Shang Tsung.
A new timeline isn’t the only changeMortal Kombat 1brings to the series, as NetherRelam also revealed that the game will introduce aseparate set of characters called Kameo Fighters. Not many details were given about these supporting Kombatants during the initialMortal Kombat 1reveal, but they were said to be NPC characters that can be called to assist the player during combat. There has been much speculation already about how Kameo Fighters will impactMortal Kombat 1’s gameplay formula, and now fans have a deeper insight into this fascinating new mechanic.
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One of the first games shown off in today’s Summer Game Fest 2023 livestream wasMortal Kombat 1, with a new gameplay trailer giving eager players a closer look atthe upcoming reboot’s roster, storyline, and grizzly Fatalities. After the trailer, host Geoff Keighley welcomedMortal Kombatco-creator Ed Boon to the stage to give more insights and information. When asked about the new Kameo Fighter system, Boon revealed that players can select a Kameo Fighter from a secondary roster following their main pick. This second character will grant the player access to a classic fighter’s moveset, allowing them to mix and match the skills of two different Kombatants.
Boon went on to describe how players can summonMortal Kombat 1’s Kameo Fighterswith a single button press. If the player pushes a certain direction while calling out their Kameo partner, they will perform a different attack, and Boon states that players will be able to perform combos with their main fighter. However, players will only be able to do this a certain number of times, as there is a meter limiting how often the Kameo Fighters can be called out.
Lastly, Boon revealed that some Kameo Fighter options will overlap with the mainMortal Kombat 1roster, with the former representing classic Kombatants like Sub-Zero, Kano, and Sonya Blade in their older incarnations from the originalMortal Kombat. This means that players can mix the rebooted version of Sub-Zero with his younger self, for example. Boon also promised that the Kameo roster will dig into the series’ past to deliver some fun surprises for fans.
Mortal Kombat 1looks to take the iconic fighting game franchise inan exciting new direction, and part of that is represented in the game’s Kameo Fighters. Players now have a better grasp on how these assist characters will work, and it seems likeMortal Kombat 1’s Kameo Fighter system will allow for more creativity in how a player can shape their own playstyle by mixing and matching warriors from acrossMortal Kombat’s branching timelines.
Mortal Kombat 1launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X.
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