Back during the original Mortal Kombat 1 beta test, we discovered that if you play on Johnny Cage’s Mansion stage long enough and go to the far left of it, you will eventually encounter the fighter’s robot vacuum. The little Roomba slowly rolls around the room, and not only can it interact and bump into the characters engaged in battle, but it even cleans up the blood that falls on the floor from the fight.
It’s an awesome added detail and one of the little things that makes Mortal Kombat 1’s stages incredible, and the plot only thickened when NetherRealm Studios released the new Halloween variation of Cage’s Mansion this week. You might have seen already that with this variation the Roomba actually wears a costume (a little cowboy who some people believe is Erron Black rides it), but did you know that the robot vacuum can also destroy itself?
X user AlcrisEdenia shared a clip on the social media platform that shows the Roomba going rogue. From the looks of it, it’s possible for the robot vacuum to bump into enough things and set itself on a crash course directly for Johnny’s in-house pool.
This stage features a giant indoor pool right in the center, and the developers actually went the extra mile and programmed an interaction between the pool and the Roomba. The clip shows the vacuum (complete with little cowboy) hugging the edge of the pool as it fights to stay alive.
Unfortunately, as those who have experience with these automated cleaners know, sometimes these robot vacuums just go off the rails and end up somewhere they don’t belong. In this case, the Roomba can drive itself right into the pool, and when it does, it actually explodes and you see sparks and its husk fly upward on impact.
So, why the hell are we talking about this? Well, sometimes developers add tiny details into these games that simply uplift the entire product.
Cowboy Roomba certainly doesn’t help fix some of the major issues Mortal Kombat 1 players have been experiencing, but small Easter eggs and secrets like this make the game more immersive and awesome. NetherRealm Studios is great at this element of game design, and you should definitely explore the new Halloween variation of Johnny’s mansion as it is jam packed with creative little details just like this.
Also, RIP mini Erron Black and Roomba.
NOOOO!! MINI ERRON BLACK #MK1 pic.twitter.com/9Xg1YofRFm
— 🪭Alcris015 (@AlcrisEdenia) October 23, 2023