The 10 Best Mortal Kombat Games, According To Metacritic

Few gaming franchises have had the staying power and domination over a single genre that Mortal Kombat has retained over the years. From arcade machines to next-gen consoles, the franchise has not only released a slew of popular games, but some that have become acclaimed within the fighting genre.

While popular site Metacritic is obviously unable to compile reports on every single Mortal Kombat game given their arcade releases, there are still critical reviews of most of the main games and remakes across the various consoles; some of which done extremely well on the site’s metric (a score out of 100).

10 Mortal Kombat II (2007) – 72

It may be unfair to put this remake on the list, given it only has 5 critic reviews. However, as a console remake of one of the fighting genre’s most beloved games, it earns its place.

The game does not, of course, offer the same raw, authentic experience as the arcade game; this is as good as it gets in terms of playing that game over the internet, or a more current console, with this 72 rating coming for the PS3 version of the game.

9 Ultimate Mortal Kombat (2007) – 73

From one remake to another, Ultimate Mortal Kombat for the DS is a port version of the 1995 arcade game Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, with some additional content from Mortal Kombat: Deception.

With the same character roster as the arcade game, it is a pretty phenomenal handheld version of its original. The addition of Puzzle Kombat only serves to aid the game, which was well-received on Metacritic with 26 critic reviews.

8 Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe (2008) – 76

A strange crossover that acts as an answer to the Marvel Vs. Capcom games, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, is both bizarre and enjoyable, despite all of its flaws.

It manages to retain a good bit of the Mortal Kombat feel with its cast of DC characters, but it lacks a bit of the guts and gore fans would expect. Nonetheless, it is good fun, which earns its 77/100 from the 44 critic reviews.

7 Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006) – 77

The seventh on the mainline of games in the franchise, Armageddon is a game with an incredible roster and many features and game modes, not all of which was wildly acclaimed.

Many outlets criticized the Kreate-a-Fatality and Kreate-a-Fighter modes. Still, the Konquest mode and the aforementioned character roster were the sources of a lot of praise in another enjoyable entry to the franchise. The XBOX version of the game earned its 77/100 score by way of the reviews from 23 reviews.

6 Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005) – 78

The year before saw the release of Shaolin Monks, a spin-off version outside of the mainline of games and the ninth game overall, with the game being a canon story set in between the first two Mortal Kombat games.

Revolving around Lui Kang and Kung Lao as they attempt to thwart Shang Tsung’s desired domination of Earthrealm, Shaolin Monks is an adventure beat-em-up game. Despite not being the standard one-on-one combat game of most Mortal Kombat games, it still earned a good 77/100 from 37 critics.

5 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002) – 81

Viewed as the best of the Mortal Kombat franchise since Mortal Kombat II, Deadly Alliance was a rejuvenation for the franchise, introducing many innovations to the gameplay and being a more fluid, well-crafted video game.

It was the first original game made solely for home consoles and focuses mainly on the deadly alliance between Quan Chi and Shang Tsung as they attempt to rule over Outworld. The game also introduces the well-known and loved Krypt and Konquest to the franchise, two staples, which helped earn the game an 81/100 from 27 critic reviews.

4 Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004) – 81

Two years later came another highly praised entry to the series, and the next main entry of Mortal Kombat, Deception, another innovative entry that places focus on Dragon King Onaga after his defeat of Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, and Raiden.

The detail of the fighting and combat in the games was praised, and the game overall is just another fun play for fans of the franchise, which earns it the same score as Deadly Alliance, with more reviews at 53.

3 Mortal Kombat 11 (2019) – 86

Despite being completely bombed by fan reviews, the latest entry in the franchise earned a great critic score on the site.

With the introduction of Kronika, the Keeper of Time, who looks to bring balance to time back after the previous game’s events, this game has another oftentimes confusing although fun plot. Despite criticisms of micro-transactions, the game earned a high 86/100 critics score from 26 reviews.

2 Mortal Kombat X (2015) – 86

Getting ahead due to its more favorable fan reviews, Mortal Kombat X came four years before the latest entry and was the first entry of the franchise born in the new era of consoles, which aided in its acclaim.

As a sequel to the 2011 game, Mortal Kombat X had a solid story involving Shinnock and some fantastic graphics and gameplay on the new consoles, which were fluid and fantastic to look at. The character roster was blessed with a slew of new characters, which added to the game; with all of this and more were reasons why the game scored an 86/100 from 21 reviews.

1 Mortal Kombat (2011) – 86

Speaking of the 2011 game, Mortal Kombat was reviewed more favorably by fans than its two sequels, with far more critic reviews, putting it at the number one spot over the latest two entries.

Coming five years after the last canonical main entry to the franchise, Mortal Kombat as a whole is a retcon to the first three Mortal Kombat stories, as Raiden attempts to change the outcome of Armageddon by contacting his past self. The game was viewed as a fantastic reboot for the franchise, shown in its 86/100 score coming from 66 critics.