Nice take.
In the games Goro works. He looks fluid, believable, you don't think twice about him not existing in that form in that universe. Maybe it's due to the simpler demands of a video game versus a fully rendered character in a movie. All of that stuff works in the world-building they created. When he sticks out like a sore thumb in a movie versus a game, I think that's a reasonable thought.
For the record, my MK fandom does not extend to the games of the past 20 years.