Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition Comes From a Powerhouse Trio

It's very appropriate that Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition comes from a "triad" of developers. Originally developed by Apogee Entertainment, they're here to bring this classic and revolutionary FPS to the masses with help from two studios that also know a thing or two about the genre: New Blood Interactive and Nightdive Studios. We also happened to get our hands on a preview build of this port in a behind-the-scenes session at PAX West 2022, so read on to hear our impressions.

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition Lives Up to Its Name

I've actually never played the original Rise of the Triad, and this is for a few very good reasons. One, it came out two years before I was born. Second, and more importantly, old games are often a burden to run or fix for modern hardware. That's why I love and appreciate these types of ports: they allow me to revisit games from a genre I enjoy deeply. From my time playing Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, you're not going to have any trouble getting right into the action.

From a gameplay standpoint, Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition feels and controls smooth as butter, and that's in part due to the frame rate. I was playing at 144 FPS on a high resolution monitor, and found the gameplay to be a natural fit. I didn't find myself struggling to aim or control my character, and the graphics were especially clear despite it being a game going on 30 years old.

Because this was my first time with Rise of the Triad, I found it to be one of the more difficult retro FPS titles out there. Enemies deal a lot of damage and their bullets aren't telegraphed, so the gameplay definitely kept me on my toes. The first level was a confusing labyrinth of brown and gray metal with strange floating platforms and moving pillars. In terms of aesthetic, it's a very bleak, dark game. I'm perfectly fine with this and I'm definitely excited to explore it even more.

I had but a brief hands-on time with Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, but I can tell from the gameplay it's in good hands. If you've played Rise of the Triad previously, there's still good incentives to pick this up if we ignore the graphical and quality-of-life improvements. This edition certainly seems to be the "definitive" way to play Rise of the Triad, and according to a press release will include "restored cut content and a new, original story episode in the Rise of the Triad (ROTT) universe." It launches in Early 2023 on PC as well as previous and current generation consoles, so keep an eye out!

TechRaptor's Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition preview was conducted on a demo booth at PAX West 2022.