Boomer Shooter December is in full swing! Rise of the Triad is the latest to be struck off my ever-changing list. Man, I’ve cut so many already and the ‘if there’s time’ section grows daily. I tell ya hwhat, this is going to be a fun month of retro gaming. I’m only two games in and I’ve already enjoyed myself thoroughly. I’ve never finished Rise of the Triad, all I have are some vague memories of starting it back in the day. I’m happy I finally tackled it and experienced the full ridiculous experience. While it is fun, it starts to drag toward the end. I think anyone who has finished it before mostly stuck around for the gibs and the sheer novelty of some of the later weapons. We had the shareware version when I was a kid which I think came bundled with some other Apogee or 3D Realms games, I don’t think I ever made it past the third level back then. This time I’m armed with a Steam Deck and the Ludicrous Edition with all the episodes for maximum mayhem. I remember enjoying it, but clearly not enough to actually finish even the shareware version. Let’s be honest, I probably had no idea what I was doing back then. Either that or I was distracted by something else.
Rise of the Triad was originally released in 1995 by Apogee Software. It was slated to be a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D but went through a number of changes and eventually ended up as a standalone game, which makes sense with how the game looks and feels. Graphically, Rise of the Triad looks more like a Quake clone that’s been mashed together with Duke Nukem 3D. Functionally, it plays exactly like Wolfenstein 3D with different weapons and a few new tricks up its sleeve. Just like the previous Boomer Shooter December game, there’s a story in here somewhere. A team of special operatives known as the HUNT, or High-risk United Nations Task-force, is sent to an ancient monastery on San Nicolas Island to investigate some deadly cult activity. Their boat and sole means of transport is immediately blown to bits and the team stumbles into the cult’s plot to obliterate Los Angeles. Now stranded, but with very convenient access to heavy weaponry, the HUNT has to fight their way through the monastery and put an end to the cult’s activity. See? Told ya there’s a story!
Rise of the Triad’s appeal is pure, stupid fun. That’s pretty obvious from the weapons alone. Once you get past the regular bazooka and maybe the Heatseeker, the game kinda just decides: Right, time to get weird. The Flamewall crispy-fries enemies, the Drunk Missile launcher swirls rockets around like an intoxicated pigeon and the Split Missile appears like it was specifically designed to hit everything but what you’re aiming at. And who could forget the almighty Excalibat? We’ve also got equally ridiculous power-ups, because of course we do. There’s nothing quite like running through a level on shrooms mode or picking up a god mode power-up and vaporising Triad members with bolts of energy shooting right out of your hand. And of course, ROTT will always be remembered for a feature called Ludicrous Gibs. If you hit an enemy with enough force, they’ll explode into a shower of limbs, eyeballs and chunky red pulp that drops like confetti from the sky. Even by ’90s standards, it’s pretty unhinged. Honestly, that’s still one of Rise of the Triad’s biggest selling points.
As a kid, navigating this game just felt incomprehensible. Replaying it now is easier, but it’s hard to look past the level design which is somewhat of a mixed bag. This is a game that loves mazes, absolutely loves them. When you reach the back half of Dark War, there’s this creeping feeling of please, for the love of what’s good and holy GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE. There are definitely moments where it feels like the episode just keeps going. …and going. …aaaand going. To its credit, there are some obvious visual clues sprinkled in at times especially with key placements and the occasional smart layout choice which guides you forward without feeling totally lost. They’re definitely there at the start but as you move deeper into the game, you start to get lost pretty quickly. Some levels are fairly straightforward, but when it shifts into those maze-heavy sections? It gets pretty frustrating. I can see why I didn’t get far back in the day.
Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition arrived in 2023 and it’s a pretty slick package. This is yet another fine showing by Nightdive Studios, remastering the game while keeping the core experience intact. The updated features and smoother gameplay are both great. They’ve added widescreen support, solid performance and it kinda just feels like they’ve applied a fresh coat of paint without losing that trademark, aggressive ’90s jank. ROTT is a pretty basic first-person shooter, but even with all its obvious quirks it feels great to control on the Steam Deck. The movement feels fast and chaotic, the weapons feel great to use and blowing an enemy to bits feels endlessly satisfying. From the moment you jump in, it feels like the game wants you to run fast, crush your enemies and laugh like a complete dipshit as body parts start bouncing off the walls and raining down from all angles.
Getting back to Rise of the Triad after all these years has been… an experience. Yeah, I did like it and had fun with it. I’m glad I finally saw it through to the end, but it’s hardly carving out a spot in my personal classic boomer shooter top 10. The weapons become brilliantly dumb and the gibs are unforgettable even after all this time. The story is definitely one of the stories of all time, but I don’t think anyone is here for the plot. Where it really falls over is the level design. It’s not hopelessly bad, but it ranges from decent through to sweet raptor Jesus, why is there another maze!? ROTT has this undeniably infectious energy with its bizarre, loud and unapologetically silly presentation that captures a very specific moment in ’90s PC gaming. If you’ve never played it, I suggest picking up the Ludicrous Edition which is a bit more modernised. If you have played it, you’ll remember this sound: ARGH. Rise of the Triad has been a perfect fit for Boomer Shooter December, even if it reminded me why I never finished the shareware version back in the day.
Verdict:
Rise of the Triad delivers loud, dumb and chaotic fun that’s packed full of explosive, gib-filled nonsense. While it’s held back by pretty rough level design, it still delivers a deliciously unhinged ’90s first-person shooter experience.
Deck Compatibility: 10/10
Overall Game Rating: 6/10 – Chaotic ’90s Mayhem
Dad with a Deck 
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