Mortal Kombat 1 Brings Back Fan-Favorite "Animalities" Fatality Type In Khaos Reigns DLC

Developer NetherRealm Studios held a panel discussion over the weekend at the annual San Diego Comic-Con event for the recently released fighting game Mortal Kombat 1. The panel was primarily focused on discussing the new gameplay content, guest fighters, and more about the fighting game's forthcoming DLC, Khaos Reigns.

The developer surprised Mortal Kombat players by announcing that a long-requested yet iconic feature will finally return to the franchise. The Animalities fatality type was announced to be included with the forthcoming DLC after an extended absence from the game, during which a trailer was shown to give fans a preview of the updated fatality type.

It's been a long 29 years since the Animalities fatality type was last seen and featured in a Mortal Kombat game, dating back to 1995's Mortal Kombat 3. As one of several unique fatalities in the franchise over the years, Animalities allowed the fighter to transform or morph into an animal before finishing their opponent.

However, performing an Animality requires players to show "Mercy" to their opponent, which restores a small amount of HP instead of defeating them or initiating a Fatality. If they have successfully defeated their opponent once again, they will be allowed to perform an Animality, which in Mortal Kombat 1 leans more heavily into the brutal, animalistic nature with plenty of gore on hand.

Some of the confirmed Animalities that can be performed by all playable characters, based on the DLC's Announcement trailer, include a gorilla, wolves, and what appears to be a puffer fish, which the latter explodes opponents from within. The Khaos Reigns DLC will add six playable characters, of which three are returning characters in Noob Saibot, Cyrax, and Sektor, who will feature in the game's 'new cinematic narrative."

Conan the Barbarian, Scream's Ghostface, and Terminator 2's T-1000 are confirmed to join Mortal Kombat 1 as the new guest fighters as part of the Kombat Pack 2, included in the Khaos Reigns DLC. The DLC is currently available for pre-order on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, which players will receive "four new character skins" at launch for Mileena, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Noob Saibot.

The Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns DLC will launch on 24th September 2024 for the abovementioned platforms, which includes the new story content and its three returning characters. The Kombat Pack 2 will become available to MK1 owners after the DLC launch, and the dates for the new guest characters will be confirmed soon.