Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection Faces Multiple Issues
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection has garnered a fairly positive reception for its dedication to showcasing the franchise’s history and significance through an array of ports and documentaries. Given Warner Bros.’s previous reluctance to honor the enduring legacy of Mortal Kombat, anticipation for this collection was notably high. However, the launch has not been without its challenges, as numerous players have reported various problems with the collection. This article delves into the concerns surrounding Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection, the backlash it has encountered, and the responses from the developers.
### Input Lag Issues Plague Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
One of the most significant and widely debated issues facing Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is the input lag, which severely impacts gameplay. This lag can result in controls feeling delayed and unresponsive, a critical flaw for a fighting game where timing is essential. Input lag expert Nigel Woodall conducted tests across different platforms and shared the results on social media. The findings revealed the following input lag times for the arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 on each platform within the Legacy Kollection:
– PC: 22.05 milliseconds
– SD OLED: 28.30 milliseconds
– Xbox Series X: 51.60 milliseconds
– Xbox Series S: 50.80 milliseconds
– Nintendo Switch 2: 73.65 milliseconds
– Nintendo Switch (backward compatibility on Switch 2): 81.45 milliseconds
– PS5: 108.61 milliseconds
– PS4 (backward compatibility on PS5): 108.86 milliseconds
These figures indicate that both PlayStation consoles are the worst offenders, with the PC version exhibiting significantly lower input lag. Given the large PS5 user base, a substantial number of players will likely experience the most laggy version of the game. Woodall also clarified that input lag should remain consistent across all games on each platform, suggesting that other titles like Mortal Kombat 4 will experience similar lag issues on the PS5. Stephen Frost, the head of production at Digital Eclipse, has acknowledged player concerns on social media and mentioned that a patch addressing input lag for PlayStation systems is expected within the week starting November 3. However, it is uncertain how effective this patch will be in reducing the lag, and Frost noted that Digital Eclipse does not intend to introduce additional lag on PC or Xbox platforms, implying limited options for improvement on these systems. The status of Nintendo’s hardware remains unspecified.
### Flaws in Online Multiplayer Experience
The online features of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection have faced considerable criticism. The collection lacks essential elements such as private lobbies, crossplay, an invitation system, and the ability to matchmake for multiple games simultaneously. This absence of lobbies and an invitation system restricts players to random matches, preventing them from competing with friends, while the lack of crossplay limits the player pool by excluding users on other platforms. The inability to matchmake across several games can fragment the player base and result in longer wait times. Collectively, these shortcomings place Legacy Kollection below the expected standards for a 2025 fighting game, echoing some of the issues that plagued Mortal Kombat 1, which only received crossplay months after its launch and still lacks various lobby functionalities.
Digital Eclipse has indicated that some of these problems will be addressed in future updates. An Online Arcade feature is reportedly in development, allowing users to create either private or public rooms for up to 16 players, enabling them to engage in different games simultaneously, implement “winner stays” rules, or simply spectate. This feature is anticipated to launch a few weeks post-launch, although no specific timeline has been provided. Digital Eclipse has mentioned that these online functionalities are “more ambitious” than those seen in previous titles, necessitating additional internal and external testing prior to release. Crossplay remains uncertain; while the team is keen on adding it, the complexity of implementation has led to hesitance in making a commitment. During an interview at EVO 2025, lead producer Steven Johnson expressed that crossplay was a priority for Digital Eclipse. The FAQ, released later, reflects some inconsistency in the developers’ plans.
Additionally, online play continues to experience glitches, particularly with audio, which intermittently cuts out. A hotfix was implemented on Steam on November 1, purportedly resolving this issue, and a significant console patch is likely to address similar concerns. Many players have also reported matchmaking difficulties, which Digital Eclipse attributes to issues with their backend provider rather than the game’s design, leaving the resolution largely out of the developers’ control.
### Concerns Over AI Difficulty
While perhaps not as detrimental as the unstable online features or significant input lag, concerns regarding the collection’s CPU AI have also been raised. Many players have discovered that the AI is designed to effectively read inputs, a trait reminiscent of the original arcade versions of Mortal Kombat. This design choice stems from the era when these games were created to maximize coin collection, resulting in AI that often counters player moves with precision. This phenomenon becomes particularly evident when utilizing the rewind feature in Legacy Kollection to analyze the CPU’s responses to player actions.
Modern Vintage Gamer produced a video demonstrating how Mortal Kombat 2’s AI operates in its favor, underscoring that this is not a novel issue. Unless Digital Eclipse introduces a “ghost” feature that records data from human players—a concept that has not been hinted at—it is unlikely that improvements will be made to the AI. Given that this is a collection rather than a remake, it is understandable that the games retain their original AI mechanics. Although players can adjust difficulty settings within the collection, this does not alter the AI’s input reading behavior, which, as shown in the MVG video, merely delays the ramping up of difficulty. Various guides exist that illustrate ways to exploit the AI, including one from Mortal Kombat commentators Ketchup and Mustard, who also appear in the collection’s documentary segments.
