Mortal Kombat 1’s Terrible $70 Switch Port Has to Be Seen to Be Believed

Are you ready for Mortal Kombat 1, or as Dave Bautista put it in a recent trailer, “Morrrrrtaaaaal Kombaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?” Well, if you’re a Switch-owning Mortal Kombat fan, you’re in for a shock, because the Nintendo Switch version of Mortal Kombat 1 has to be seen to be believed. And if Bautista had seen it prior to filming that commercial, he might not have been shouting so loudly.

Prior to the game’s official launch, there were a few images of the Switch version floating around. But leaks being leaks, I was inclined to take them with a pinch of salt. Now that Mortal Kombat 1 is out in the wild, players are sharing footage of the game, and compared to even the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 Mortal Kombat, the whole thing looks pretty ropey. Just how dire does the game look? Dozens of purchasers have taken to X to share images and footage of the game in action. Strange teeth and uncanny stares make a regular appearance, but here are a few clips and images for you to cast your bleeding eyes over.

Related: Mortal Kombat 1’s Wild Ending Explained

The comparison between Switch and PS5 is wild (Rain Fatality)
Both 70 dollar games pic.twitter.com/CPjv3Nhq3q

— 🧡 – 👻 BOOWanda 👻 – 🔥 (@WandaIsDyingg) September 16, 2023

Mortal Kombat 1 on the Switch is probably the funniest ripoff ever pic.twitter.com/IrINoJxTHl

— Sᴄᴏᴜʀɢᴇ ᴀɴᴅ Sᴏʟᴀᴄᴇ (@ScourgeSolace) September 17, 2023

Both of these are $70?!?!?$?

Awwww hell no.

If I was playing Mortal Kombat 1 on Switch I’d ask for a refund in a heartbeat. pic.twitter.com/4nfIzjeXEm

— OleManLogan (@OleManLogan) September 17, 2023

It’s true that the Nintendo Switch doesn’t have the power of last generation’s big two, let alone the current-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. And we have to give credit to Shiver Entertainment and Saber Interactive for trying. But Shiver Entertainment ported Mortal Kombat 11, which looks rather excellent. So it can’t be down to a lack of knowhow.

I could go on, but I invite you to grab the popcorn and just search for yourself. One point a lot of X users are, correctly, making is that this is a $70 game. That’s the same price as the PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S version. Also, if you head onto the Nintendo eShop, you’ll notice there are no images of the game. That’s not necessarily intentional, the MK11 listing is also missing any kind of gallery, as is the PlayStation Store’s listing.

Following the pre-order link from the official Mortal Kombat page, most of the retailers I ended up had either screenshots from the trailers or no screenshots at all. And one UK retailer has a separate page for the Nintendo Switch version with screenshots of PS5/Xbox Series X|S gameplay. Their customer service counter may be a little busy tomorrow.

So, if you’re thinking of picking up Mortal Kombat 1 for the Nintendo Switch, other than for its comedy value, you might want to wait till you’ve seen it in action.