Yes, it’s official: Smoke is returning to the series as a playable kombatant in Mortal Kombat 1 after a lengthy twelve-year absence.
Despite the kommunity’s best attempts to decipher cryptic tweets from series co-creator Ed Boon, the release of today’s trailer managed to catch everyone by surprise. In this latest preview, Sub-Zero and Scorpion scale the wall of a gorgeous temple complex encompassed by cold. In an interesting nod to Mortal Kombat: Deception, Scorpion is seen taking on an army of petrified Chinese warriors, reminiscent of Onaga’s undefeatable army in that game’s introduction.
Another brand new arena is shown, serving as the background to a battle between the aforementioned plus Johnny Cage and Jax. Believed to be on the grounds of the Lin Kuei’s headquarters, it is simply breathtaking! Hats off to the environment team, as everything we’ve seen so far has surpassed our expectations.
It doesn’t take much longer for Smoke to make his entrance, sporting similar attire to Sub-Zero and Scorpion in a nod to the palette swap days, with the addition of a face covering that resembles a gas mask. Smoke’s hair is no longer long as wispy as per Mortal Kombat (2011), instead it is short and brushed to the side. A curved dagger remains firmly grasped in his frontmost hand as he does battle, utilising smoke to teleport and move about the arena with great agility.
Fan favourite Rain also returns to the playable roster, sporting a new water staff and costume filled with purples, gold and yellow. Like Smoke he looks to be incredibly nimble, and it’ll be interesting to see how he intertwines with the narrative considering the departure of his backstory when compared with previous titles. He does battle in this trailer with Scorpion, again in a never-before-seen arena that looks incredible.
Cyrax, Sektor and Frost all make an appearance as Kameos in the trailer, predictably sporting klassic looks from previous games. Cyrax and Sektor both resemble their Mortal Kombat 3 looks, meanwhile Frost looks very much like she did when she made her debut back in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. All have modern twists with updated moves, and we can’t wait to see what else they have to offer.
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