Following the paid “early access” release, the new release from WB and NetherRealm Studios Mortal Kombat game, with a confusing name mortal kombat 1, is now available on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. And it’s that Switch version of the fighting game that’s launching. highly criticized online by players for their visual errors and poor performance.
At this point, it’s no surprise that most cross-platform video games that end up on Switch don’t look as good as their Xbox or PlayStation counterparts. Let us remember that Nintendo’s hybrid home console is more than six years, and even at launch, the Switch was technologically “weaker” compared to the already released PS4 and Xbox One consoles. But even with that in mind, it’s still crazy to simply see as rough and ugly mortal kombat 1 it’s on the old Nintendo machine, with long loading times, visual interference, and very low-resolution textures. Worse yet, this uglier, less stable version of the game still costs $70.
Watch screenshots or videos of mortal kombat 1 on Switch and you can tell right away that this is a downgrade from the much better looking versions on the more powerful machines. The textures are extremely low resolution, resulting in really ugly and difficult to understand scenes. Is that texture meant to be a rock? Dirt? Mud? A stone wall? Sometimes it’s hard to say. The character models look a little better, but feature their own quirks, such as bulging eyes, plastic hair, jagged edges on clothing, and Play-Doh-looking skin.
The thing is, you could ignore many of these visual downgrades (this is the Switch, after all) if the game performance was solid. But unfortunately that is not the case. While the game aims for 60 frames per second during fights, it rarely reaches that goal and often stops short. 40 and 50 yearsleading to a choppy and sloppy presentation.
Loading times are also a problem in MK1‘s Switch, and it takes up to a full minute to turn on matches. If that doesn’t seem like much, load a one-minute timer on your phone and wait. Now imagine that between most matches and scenes.
Then there are microcharges. On Xbox and PlayStation, fights and cutscenes blend seamlessly into each other. It’s a nice trick that the modern Mortal Kombat The games have been doing this for years, but it still looks great and helps keep the story moving. On Switch, cutscenes and fights are often broken up by short but very annoying loading screens. Some of these divisions even occur in the middle of the dialogue., which is very distracting. Add in all sorts of random visual glitches during fights and this is not a good way to play the new game.
mortal kombat 1 on Switch includes everything, even its $70 price
To the credit of the Switch port, it tries to offer the maximum mortal kombat 1 experience. All game modes, scenes, dialogue, characters, deaths and outfits are here. This is good, if not perhaps a little ambitious.
Still, I applaud developers Shiver Entertainment and Saber Interactive.the teams behind this port—for cramming everything mortal kombat 1 on a Switch cart and have it run on the weak console. But I don’t think WB Games should have charged $70 for this version of the gamethe same price as its much better PlayStation and Xbox versions.
I also find it strange that the Switch has a version of this game, but not the PS4 or Xbox One. Those consoles also fall short compared to the next-gen machines, but I’d bet all my teeth (and some ribs) that they could play one more attractive version of mortal kombat 1 that the Switch is here.
I know some Switch owners are happy that this is a real native port of the game and not a cloud streaming version. And I agree that cloud versions, which only last as long as the streaming servers remain up, are not the answer to getting AAA games like MK1 to run on Switch.
Instead, it seems like we’ve reached the point where it’s time to admit that the Switch can’t handle some of the biggest games coming out these days and probably stop porting them. And if you must port challenging games to Switch, at least charge less for these inferior, often uglier versions. Good, until the Switch 2 finally hits stores. Hopefully, that long-awaited console can make great strides in technological parity and not just be the place where the waste of the most sophisticated consoles dies.
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