Mortal Kombat 1 Trailer Reveals Smoke and Rain

Mortal Kombat 1 was only properly announced two months ago but NetherRealm Studios hasn’t been shy about showing off more before its release this September. Following the trailers and gameplay deep dive at Summer Game Fest as well as a closed stress test demo, a brand-new trailer has been revealed during the game’s first Kombat Kast. Highlights include a look at new characters, new Kameo characters, and a short look at the story.

Character-wise, a lot of people will be happy to see Smoke appear. The Lin Kuei assassin who uses smoke-related attacks hasn’t been playable since Mortal Kombat (2011), though his moveset could be used by the DLC character Triborg in Mortal Kombat X. He’s sporting a bit of a different look this time around, featuring short hair and a more minimalistic outfit akin to his original look, similar to Scorpion and Sub-Zero.

Another character who’s been confirmed as playable is Rain. The Edenian Prince was playable in Mortal Kombat 11, but this time around he’ll be a part of the base roster. While he has also seen a change in design, much more apparent is the change in his gameplay. He resembles more of a sorcerer in the new timeline and uses a staff to better control his water magic.

Three new Kameo characters were also revealed and all three of them are related to the Lin Kuei: Cyrax, Sektor, and Frost. The latter was playable in the previous title, but both Cyrax and Sektor were last playable back when Smoke was in Mortal Kombat (2011). Kameo fighters can still have main roster counterparts so there’s no saying either of these three won’t receive a proper spot on the roster, but for now, this might be the best that fans of the characters get.

The trailer shows us that Liu Kang is depending on the Lin Kuei to protect Earthrealm. Sub-Zero believes that the group shouldn’t remain as defenders and should instead lead the realm, likely creating conflict between him and Scorpion. Rain meanwhile appears to be settling into an antagonistic role, as he seems to accuse the Lin Kuei of being sent to learn some secrets. We won’t know how it all comes together until Mortal Kombat 1 releases on September 19th, 2023. The platforms it’s heading to are Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.