Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition Review (PS5)

Boomer shooters, another name for games inspired by the classic 90’s FPS games, seem to be going through a revival phase. Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, is one of the best examples of this trend, trying to give new life to an Apogee classic, that once upon a time was as popular as Doom or Quake. Read on to find out how well does it performs in this day and age.

More people seem to find their way back to the period where instead of scripted action scenes you had to wonder through levels, looking for keys, hunting for secrets by tapping every wall, meanwhile shooting everything you encounter with an unrealistically large arsenal. Initially envisioned as a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D, the original Rise of the Triad had a sinuous trajectory after it was dumped by id Software, finally to be released in ’95.

The remaster was announced last year and was developed by Nightdive Studios, who had a busy year by releasing not just System Shock Remake, but also shinier and prettier versions of Shadow Man and PowerSlave Exhumed. The Ludicrous Edition is not the first remake of the game – which was published in 2013 – and it is not exactly the game old school fans hoped for. Let’s see why.

The frame of the story did not change, since you will choose your favorite from a squad of mercenaries sent to the island of San Nicolas to investigate mysterious actions tied to a cult. Investigating is just a euphemism to shoot all the enemies that you will encounter the four chapters of the game.

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The original three campaign segments are joined by a brand new one, that includes 24 brand new levels. You can start with whichever chapter you like by choosing any of the 5 available characters- each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Being an old school shooter using the classic recipe, these differences in speed or accuracy do not really have an impact on the gameplay. The different weapons and power-ups hidden in the levels are much more important when it comes to the efficiency and speed of cleaning out levels.

As you would expect, you will find enough weapons to invade a small country, from pistols and machine guns to various rocket launchers and bazookas. The twist consists of adding a bit of magic to the mix.

The developers tried their best to mix the nostalgic gameplay with modern elements such as upgrading the textures, adding widescreen support, mapping the control scheme to modern controllers and they also brought back the multiplayer. And a bunch of extra modifiers that have a major impact on the gameplay. You can adjust the HP of the monks, the drop chance of MP40, the splash damage of the missiles but also cosmetic options like the presence of rare characters or the female version of some opponents.

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As a result, the gameplay is just as fun as it was almost 30 years ago – if you are a fan of boomer shooters. The traps, the gigantic levels, the secret areas and even the inclusion of a cheat console with all the original cheat codes turn Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition into a nostalgic yet contemporary experience that will really challenge you on harder difficulty settings.

There is plenty of content and replay value to make turn the Ludicrous Edition into a game that you will enjoy quite for some time. Especially since many of the bugs encountered in the initial release, have already been fixed by a patch.

As a bonus, next to the Jukebox that allows you to listen to the entire soundtrack, the developers also included the original sounds from ‘95, the ones from 2013 and the modern ones, leaving you the possibility to switch between them.

The KEX engine has already proved that it can bring to life the old, pixelated levels, and does great job this time as well. The old school aesthetics are part of the experience, and they do a great job building on the nostalgia factor and rekindling the memories of sleepless nights spent with hunting down cultists.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion