Mortal Monday Returns - Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection Arrives on Digital
- Nov 03 2025
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Digital Eclipse's Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is available now on digital stores, with the physical collectors editions arriving on Dec. 12th. This collection brings together 11 games from the original Mortal Kombat through MK Trilogy and packs them with tons of added features, online play with rollback, and a behind the scenes documentary look at the history of the franchise that you can't get anywhere else.
The 90s Phenomenon That Redefined Gaming
Mortal Kombat exploded onto arcades in 1992, shattering norms with a more realistic graphical style thanks to digitized actors, hyper-violent fatalities, and "Finish Him!" calls that sparked a moral panic around the content of games. This controversy was so great it helped force the ESRB's creation in 1994, which allowed the games industry to regulate and rate its own content and stave off government censorship. Beyond the scandal, or maybe because of it, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II cemented fighters as kings of 90's gaming. MK dominated arcades/home consoles, spawning clothing and toys sales, movie releases, and making cultural icons of its fighters like Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Liu Kang.
The Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection celebrates this milestone franchise in the way that it seems only Ditgal Eclipse can. Similar to their previous releases Tetris Forever and Atari 50, Digital Eclipse has packed excellent ports of 11 Mortal Kombat games together with behind the scenes artifacts from their production, and an all new documentary, into a digital timeline that takes players through the creation and explosion of the Mortal Kombat franchise.
Kollection Overview: 11 Games That Pushed Boundaries
Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection brings together 11 of MK's foundational games including:
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Mortal Kombat 2
- Mortal Kombat 3
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
- Mortal Kombat Trilogy
- Mortal Kombat 4
- Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
- Mortal Kombat: Special Forces
- Mortal Kombat Advance
- Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
- Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
Many of these games are available in multiple versions, from the Arcade originals to the console and handheld ports that came after. Finally, you can pit the Arcade version against the PS1 port, or play SNES and Genesis MK2 back to back to see how they compare. You can even play the infamous Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Special Forces games, if only to see how bad they really were.
I think the inclusion of these, less than stellar, games or ports speaks to how much Digital Eclipse wants to deliver a complete look at the history of Mortal Kombat. It wasn't always pretty, there were some missteps along the way, and they aren't afraid to put that on display in the name of preservation. Kudos to Midway as well for giving DE what they needed/wanted to make this a full collection.
In addition to the games themselves there are also some great features added to the Kollection that makes this the best place to play these classics on today's hardware. Here is a list of some of the great updates:
- Rollback Netcode/Online Play: Online lobbies and gameplay with low to no-lag net code..
- QOL Upgrades: Various Training modes, the ability to watch replays, one-button fatalities, and display filters (CRT/scanlines).
- Museum Mode: Art, manuals, games, and dev interviews all presented on an interactive timeline that makes diving into the history a game of its own.
- Port Fidelity: High-res upgrades, and better performance than the original games.
Critical Reception: A, Nearly, Flawless Victory
The critical consensus for Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is positive across the board, with a Metacritic Score of 88 from nearly 20 different outlets. Most praise the preservation aspect and the incredible attention to detail put into the collection, even if some of the older games in the series have begun to show their age.
Everyone also seems to agree that while the offline gameplay is great, the online play appears to have some rough edges. User reviews paint a much more mixed picture with some reviews giving perfect scores, and others saying the online play is laggy and the game should be avoided. While we haven't had enough time with the game to render a verdict on the online play, hopefully this is an area that Digital Eclipse can address in an update.
For a quick look at the review picture, here are a few choice reviews from Metecritic:
Playstation Universe: 95/100 Another home run for those wizards at Digital Eclipse whom I hope will never stop weaving their game preservation magic, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection isn't just a pitch-perfect trip down memory lane, it's a love letter, a tantalising peeling back of the curtain, a look behind the scenes of one of the most legendary and landmark videogame franchises ever made. If you have even the smallest modicum of fondness for gaming's original bad boy, then the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is as essential as essential can be.
Forbes: 90/100 In today’s game industry, the argument can be made that playing old games lacks appeal. I’d never make that argument, but plenty of people do. However, releases like the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection prove that maybe the missing ingredient for a lot of folks is just context. If you didn’t live this era of the game industry, then you don’t have personal nostalgia for these games. But a package like this, which treats the material with reverence and respect, can make a new fan out of anyone.
Game Informer: 88/100 The level of care with which Digital Eclipse creates its compilations is unrivaled. Though the online suite is incomplete at launch, each game plays exceptionally well and offers a plethora of options to tweak the classic experiences to your liking. Getting excellent versions of these games in one cohesive package is great, but the true highlight is the in-depth interactive documentary and all the fun relics that exist therein. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is not only the best way to play these games in 2025, but it’s also the best way to peek behind the curtain and witness the creation of a modern-day icon.
Nintendo Life: 70/100 With a total of 23 playable games alongside a comprehensive interactive documentary providing detail behind the series' development, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is yet another triumph for Digital Eclipse from the historical compilation perspective. It's full of nostalgia for fans who ripped spines out of their opponents back in the '90s, and the perfect way for complete newcomers to see what all the fuss is about. If, however, you're keen to play these games online, then you're best off waiting. Essential features are absent at launch, and even if you do manage to find a game through Quick Play, chances are it'll be plagued with input delay and audio issues.
Grab It Now or Wait Till Christmas?
If you, or someone on your Christmas list, is a 90s game fan this collection is probably on your radar. Having all of these classic fighting games together in one package is great enough, but adding in the documentary and behind the scenes features is enough to tip the scales for any MK fan. However, the game is currently only available digitally and since a big part of this release is game preservation, it seems strange to not purchase it as a physical cart or disc that can actually be preserved.
There is also the issues around the online play. If you are interested in playing this collection mainly online, it may be worth waiting a couple weeks to see to a patch can solve some of the problems users are reporting. While this is a title we have been very excited about here at GameMinr, it looks like a wait and see approach might make sense this time.
- Purcahse Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection for PS5 at Amazon
If you do decide to wait, physical editions (both the now strangely named 'Day 1 Edition' and 'Deluxe Edition') will be available for Nintendo Switch 2, Playstation 5, and Nintendo Switch on December 12th. You can pre-order them today from Amazon or check back in a week or two to see if the online issues have been resolved.
As someone who isn't really interested in playing online, I enjoy battling it out in the same room as my opponent, and who enjoys the historical aspect of this collection, I'm still very excited for the physical release. I'm sure there will be a lot of 'TOASTY' calls coming from our TV this Christmas break.
Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is available digitally now for Nintendo Switch & Switch 2, Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It will also release physically on Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and Playstation 5 on December 12th.
