Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition Review

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is the definitive release of Apogee Entertainment’s cult classic first person shooter which first released in 1994. The Ludicrous Edition was initially released on iOS in 2010 followed by a July 2023 release for PC players and finally, the game is now available on consoles for the first time ever.

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is set in Los Angeles where a cultists group have their eyes set on destroying the city. Only one group can stop them: High-Risk United Nations Task-Force or H.U.N.T. for short. Players will choose one of five elite operatives with their unique abilities to infiltrate the cult and destroy it from within.

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is a classic first person shooter, or FPS for short, where players need to navigate maze like level, killing enemies, and uncovering secret areas. The game contains 109 levels across 4 campaigns. Thankfully, there’s a Save anywhere feature. Given that when you die, you’re booted back at the start of the level, saving regularly will save you some time and backtracking

You’ll also be able to pick up additional firepower as you kill enemies and find secret areas. While basic weaponry, such as a pistol (or double pistols) or machine gun, has unlimited ammo, special guns such as the rocket launcher has limited ammo so it’s recommended to use it wisely to make most of this devastating weapon. Keen players exploring every area, higher platforms or finding all secrets, can also come across magical power ups that will give players temporary superpowers.

Such examples include flying to survey areas, zap enemies with your hands by shooting lightning balls, discovering and using the elusive Excalibat or hell even morph into a dog because why the fuck not. Levels are riddled with traps such as flamethrowers, bladed or lava pillars or even flame traps. You’ll also find springs that will throw you up in the air, but if you’re not careful of the trajectory, it’ll send you in a hole to your death or stuck between two immovable objects; force to restart the campaign or reload a previous save.

The game looks great by 1990s standards. The cutscenes are decent and reminiscent of a simpler time in gaming. Enemy design, while limited by today’s standards, is pretty decent. They look very human like for the time as well. The soundtrack is as boring as you’d expect. Typical 1990s score that you’ll end up drowning out by focusing on finding the way out. You can swap between the original MIDI soundtrack or the revamp 2013 score. Either way, it’s quite forgettable. Enemies also let how screaming dying noise, which is nice touch; but annoying when killing 5-7 enemies consecutively.

The game unfortunately has a massive issue and it’s the character movement. As the Angry Video Game Nerd once coined, it has two gear diarrhea: you’re either immobile or going 100 miles per hour. There’s no in between nor ways to adjust this in the settings. While it does make for a speedy, albeit nauseating, experience, when it’s time to climb and move around narrow areas, you’ll find yourself constantly falling down because the slightest extra movement on the joystick will make you fall. Even by disabling Uncapped Framerate, it still moves at a borderline nauseating pace.

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition is a mildly enjoyable experience for older gamers who wish to relive this classic 1990s experience or for those looking to experience what FPS were like before the times of Call of Duty. There’s a lot of content here across four campaigns, fun super powers and provides an enjoyable nostalgia trip. But this game could’ve been so much better if character movement would’ve been more steadily paced than the two-gear diarrhea principle.