Mortal Kombat 1: What is Invasion Mode? Explained

With the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot, gamers want to know what the single-player mode will look like. Here’s a quick peek.

Image Via Warner Bros.

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Despite what many may think, one of the biggest draws for fighting games is the single-player mode. Back in the day, many fighting games came with robust single-player modes that kept players entertained for hours. During the turn of the century, developers started to focus more on purely multiplayer modes at the expense of single-player. No doubt multiplayer has risen in popularity, especially after the rise of online gaming, but there are still many people out there who enjoy playing against the games’ CPU.

Mortal Kombat 1 looks to continue what has always been a series staple in its expansive single-player modes. The past few entries have decided to go the cinematic route, and that seems to be still in the works, but for us old-school fans, an adventure-type mode is just as appealing. Recently, players got a look at Invasion Mode, which puts players on a Super Mario World-style journey across several overworlds. Let’s take a deeper dive into this mode to see what it has to offer.

What Are the Mechanics for Invasion Mode?

From the looks of it, the gameplay mirrors that of a choose-your-own-adventure game, with mini-missions you need to complete before advancing through the overarching story. From collecting keys to choosing different pathways, there seems to be a lot of replayability when unlocking routes and rewards. Some more good news seems to be that the Kameo characters are usable in this mode. This addition can hopefully break up some of the monotony of sticking with one character too long. Thankfully, there’s a way to switch them out as well.

Can I Still Unlock Rewards?

The short answer is, yes you can. There are multiple kurrencies similar to past titles, along with a ranking system that unlocks even more goodies as you rank up. In this example, Johnny Cage can unlock a new banner featuring him (of course) that seems to be usable in other modes. Assumedly, other characters will receive the same treatment during their respective playthroughs.

Are There RPG Mechanics?

Judging from the gameplay we’ve seen, there are equippable items as well as a stat system for each character. Items are earned in-game through battles and challenges, but hopefully, we’ll be discovering them throughout the overworld as well. There are also some goofy elements, with NPC’s dancing in the background, so it’s good to see Netherrealm is keeping with the tradition of adding lighthearted jokes in-game.

Netherrealm Studios has recently announced the newest additions to the roster, so things are ramping up for release next month. Here’s hoping the game fulfills its promise with more content and satisfying combat. Now we need to cross our fingers for playable netcode, then again, that may be asking for too much since we’re getting so much good content.