Another veteran Mortal Kombat character is coming to Mortal Kombat 1: Reptile, the franchise’s first secret character that spawned a 30-year tradition of Easter eggs and rumors-turned-reality.
Since his debut in the original Mortal Kombat as a hidden boss character, Reptile (aka Syzoth) has appeared in virtually every MK game, either as a playable character or in cameo form. In the reimagined Mortal Kombat 1 timeline, he’s revealed to be unique among his Saurian people: He can shapeshift from his natural form into human form. He’ll do so mid-match — even mid-combo — capitalizing on the strengths of both forms, including spewing a lot of acidic goo.
Reptile’s reveal trailer is big on body changes. It also features the return of Ashrah, the Netherrealm demon who, as she explains, has a nearly human appearance due to shedding the evil from her soul. She’ll be joined by Havik, the Chaosrealm sorcerer who derives pleasure from pain, twisting and breaking his own body in battle. Yes, Havik uses his own limbs as weapons. Expect lots of blood, Reptile spit, and other fluids in NetherRealm’s latest reveal.
Both Havik and Ashrah made their Mortal Kombat franchise debut in Mortal Kombat: Deception. That game and its 3D-era sequels are being mined for a decent portion of MK1’s roster.
Also confirmed to appear in Mortal Kombat 1 is new Kameo Fighter Sareena, another Netherrealm demon who embraces her fiery demonic form. We also get a peek at previously confirmed Kameo Fighters Frost, Stryker, Cyrax, and Scorpion in action here. They’ll join the other confirmed assist characters Sonya, Jax, Kano, Sektor, Sub-Zero, Khameleon, Goro, and Darrius.
Mortal Kombat 1 is coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X on Sept. 19.