‘Unplayable’: Nintendo fans claim Mortal Kombat 1 should be delayed on Switch

Mortal Kombat 1 is out for Premium and Kollector’s Edition owners with early access to the game, but some feel it should’ve been delayed for Nintendo Switch. While some have been enjoying MK1, Switch owners are not having a good time. Some have gone as far as to warn others to avoid the Nintendo Switch version because of how terrible it runs.

A thread posted on the Nintendo Switch subreddit compiled many responses from players who have been experiencing major issues with the game on Switch. The thread states that the game feels “unplayable” because of a myriad of technical problems that make MK1 on the Switch inferior to other platforms.

Reddit user Millo234 started the thread and shared all the major problems they ran into after playing Mortal Kombat 1 for a few hours. The issues they found and listed on the thread include:

• Character fabric/hair gets “stuck” in one area and stretches across the screen when you move away.
• The graphics can significantly deteriorate compared to MK11, especially in terms of lag.
• There’s a noticeable delay when trying to pause the game during combat.
• Navigating menus with character profiles is plagued by lag, often taking multiple seconds to switch between characters. This is most notable in shops that load character models when you access their profiles.
• The fifth tutorial in Positioning is impossible to complete due to lag/a weird bug.

Others in the thread began to chime in with their own experiences and thoughts about the Switch version of Mortal Kombat 1. One Reddit user felt the game was rushed onto the Nintendo Switch and needed more time to get polished up before release.

“I know that the Switch has its limitations, but MK11 is quite respectable and I feel that MK1 for the Switch should have been delayed until in a useable state. Shame on NRS and the port developer,” they said.

For some players who got access to the premium edition early, many issues like screen tearing and other visual bugs were impacting the fun they were having.

“The screen tearing happens every time it transitions between cinematic and fighting,” one user said. “The graphics are significantly worse than MK11. That wouldn’t be so big of a deal except there’s a lot of visual glitches that literally follow you around…”

Videos of the game running on Nintendo Switch have been shared online, where many of the problems being brought up can be seen. Some players recommended that Switch owners go to the bug report website for WB Games and share their experiences. By doing so they hope that it would get enough attention for NetherRealm and WB Games to address everything updates and patches.

Multiple responses in the thread also highlighted the price point of MK1 on Switch, which is around $70 USD, and how a new game shouldn’t be in this poor of a state. Others mentioned how NetherRealm Studios did not show a lot of gameplay footage of the Nintendo Switch version early on, which could’ve indicated how things were going for it.

“It’s even more insulting that they outright refused to show any gameplay prior to release,” a fan said. “When MK11 was being developed they showed several instances of gameplay. Now, they didn’t show a THING and now the game is out and we see how it looks.”

As of now, none of the issues being brought up have affected the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S versions of the game. With the full release of Mortal Kombat 1 just around the corner, there’s hope that a day one update can address some of the problems the game is experiencing on Nintendo Switch.