Mortal Kombat 1 redefines Fatality with these spectacularly gruesome finishers

Words by Robert Collins

Fatalities have always been the hallmark of the Mortal Kombat series. It invented them after all, and in so doing created a legacy of stomach-churning, over the top violence that almost single-handedly triggered the establishment of the ESRB.

Liu Kang: Double Dragon — Down, Right, Left, Circle/B [CLOSE]

Fan favorite Liu Kang hasn’t lost anything in the way of ferocity in becoming a fire god. His Double Dragon finisher has twin flame dragons seize the hapless opponent mid-air as Liu Kang leaps high above, then uses the opponent's own head as a splitting maul to cleave the body in two. A pile of gore rains down moments later.

Kitana: Royal Blender — Down, Right, Down, Circle/B [FAR]

The Edenian noble uses her trademark steel-bladed tessen to trap the opponent in a whirling cyclone. The razor-sharp fans then draw in on the unfortunate foe, eviscerating them from both the top and bottom until nothing is left but a bloody, indistinguishable mess on the ground.

Sub-Zero: Hairline Fracture — Right, Down, Down, Triangle/Y [CLOSE]

Sub Zero hurls a massive ice shard that slices through the opponent. Then, as the shard boomerangs back, the cryomancer kicks the enemy around to face the projectile just in time to receive a gory middle hair part. The head is then cleaved as the body slides to the ground.

Johnny Cage: Hollywood Walk of Pain — Right, Left, Down Triangle/Y [CLOSE]

Cage face plants his victim onto a Hollywood star-style plaque before using it to rip their face off—slowly. All of which is about as gory as you’d expect. Johnny then takes a selfie with the faceless abomination. Classy stuff.

From what has been seen so far, Mortal Kombat 1 looks to have outdone its predecessors when it comes to the franchise’s signature feature, with some of the most horrifically memorable fatalities ever. The game as a whole looks promising too, and for anyone who’s yet to jump on the Mortal Kombat train: there’s never been a better time than the present. Mortal Kombat 1 releases on September 19 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC.

The komplete list of fatalities (that we know so far)

• Liu Kang – Double Dragon
• Kung Lao – Hat Sever
• Kung Lao – Ripper
• Scorpion – Pull Dive
• Sub-Zero – Ice Choke
• Sub-Zero – Hairline Fracture
• Raiden – Electric Split
• Johnny Cage – Hollywood Walk of Pain
• Kenshi – Blended
• Kitana – Royal Blender
• Kano – Heart Ripper
• Jax – Big Boot
• Sonya Blade – Kiss
• Scorpion – Fire Breath
• Tanya – Top Off
• Liu Kang – Black Hole
• Geras – Sandstorm
• Li Mei – Roman Candle
• Frost – Breaking Point
• Sindel – Who’s your Queen?