Highlights

  • Mortal Kombat 1’s Omni-Man DLC character is a great addition with authentic animations and voice acting by J.K. Simmons, but lacks alternate skins and only has 20 Mastery levels compared to the rest of the roster.
  • In comparison to Dead by Daylight, Mortal Kombat 1’s DLC crossovers fall short as Dead by Daylight offers unique abilities for both the Killer and Survivor, themed maps, and multiple alternate costumes.
  • While Mortal Kombat 1 leans more into live-service elements, fans were hoping for more content included with the crossover DLC characters.


Over the last few years, the Mortal Kombat franchise has been leaning more and more into the realm of pop-culture crossovers, right alongside the rest of the gaming industry’s leading players. While Mortal Kombat 2011 had just one crossover fighter, that number quickly grew to four in Mortal Kombat X, and five in Mortal Kombat 11, and before Mortal Kombat 1 even hit store shelves, it had already announced that three guest characters would be coming in post-launch DLC, with Invincible‘s Omni-Man leading the charge.

Released just a week ago, Omni-Man, by all accounts, is an excellent addition to Mortal Kombat 1‘s roster. While he’s a tad overpowered right now, that only makes Omni-Man all the more fun to play as, with it fitting his cocky character perfectly. But while Omni-Man is undoubtedly a great new addition to Mortal Kombat 1, there are a handful of things missing from his integration, and in this department, Mortal Kombat 1 may have wanted to borrow some lessons from Dead by Daylight.

RELATED: The Best Part of Dead by Daylight’s Naughty Bear Crossover Isn’t The Skin


Mortal Kombat 1’s DLC Crossovers Don’t Quite Compare to Dead by Daylight’s

Mortal Kombat 1’s Omni-Man Is Great But He Doesn’t Come with Much

Mortal Kombat 1‘s Omni-Man is undeniably a great fighter, and it’s clear that a lot of work went into making him feel authentic to his source material. Every single frame of animation, every individual punch, kick, and special move, and every Fatality has been ripped right out of the Invincible comics and TV show, and that kind of dedication and passion should be commended. On top of that, Mortal Kombat 1‘s Omni-Man is voiced by J.K. Simmons himself, who gets to shine repeatedly thanks to the character’s witty fight intros. It’s also fun to see Omni-Man get his Challenge Tower ending, where fans even get a brief glimpse of the Viltrum Empire, and even Invincible himself.

But Omni-Man’s implementation into Mortal Kombat 1 isn’t quite perfect. While the fighter himself, voicelines, and Challenge Tower ending are all categorically great, that’s about all that players get for purchasing the DLC crossover character. Omni-Man has no alternate skins, and only a handful of shaders, only some of which reference the source material. Omni-Man also only has 20 Mastery levels, while the rest of the roster has 35 each.

While Mortal Kombat guest characters have never really come with anything other than their playable character, Mortal Kombat 1 is an entry that leans into live-service elements much more than any past title in the series, and some fans were expecting that to increase the amount of content included with these crossover DLC characters. For instance, Mortal Kombat 1 currently has an Invasion Season revolving around Nitara. It would have been much more interesting to see one revolve around Omni-Man.

Dead by Daylight’s DLC Crossovers Still Set the Bar

While Dead by Daylight and Mortal Kombat 1 are completely different games, they are both some of the biggest titles right now offering crossover characters as DLC, and unfortunately, Dead by Daylight is king in that department. Each Dead by Daylight DLC crossover usually comes with not only a new playable Killer, but a playable Survivor as well, both of whom receive their own set of unique abilities and Perks, all of which are themed around their appearances in whatever TV show, movie, or video game franchise they originally come from.

On top of this, Dead by Daylight‘s DLC crossovers also usually come with a unique map based on the chosen IP, which itself is also packed with fun little references. Alternate costumes are also available for just about every crossover character in Dead by Daylight, some of which allow the player to essentially unlock multiple characters in one, such as Leon Kennedy’s alternate costumes that let him appear as Resident Evil‘s Chris Redfield and Carlos Oliveira. While Mortal Kombat 1‘s Omni-Man is great, Dead by Daylight‘s crossovers just continue to set a higher bar for the whole industry.

mortal kombat 1

Mortal Kombat 1
Franchise
Mortal Kombat

Platform(s)
PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S

Released
September 19, 2023

Developer(s)
NetherRealm Studios

Publisher(s)
Warner Bros. Games

Genre(s)
Fighting

ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

How Long To Beat
7 Hours

Metascore
83

PS Plus Availability
N/A

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