While some Nintendo fans were lukewarm on Luigi’s Mansion as a GameCube launch title
that couldn’t sell systems like Mario 64,
over time the game became more appreciated for what it is.
After many years, Nintendo eventually decided to greenlight a 3DS sequel
from the developers at Next Level Games,
and now that same team is back with a third ghost-busting adventure for Switch.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 carefully bundles one little surprise after the next,
overflowing with personality in every aspect of its craft.
As you might expect, the story is simple: Mario and friends have been invited to stay at a luxury hotel,
and soon after they check-in, the ghosts spring their trap, snaring all but Luigi.
There are some new players like hotel owner Hellen Gravely,
but not too many twists or turns.
Still, even without much dialogue, the story moments resonate strongly
thanks to charming animation and attention to detail.
It’s great to see each character shine, even normal ghosts
who poorly disguise themselves in people-masks as the oblivious heroes arrive.
The basic mechanics are back as you flash ghosts, grab them with your vacuum,
and reel them in like big fish.
This process is now augmented by a slam attack
that not only weakens the ghost you currently have on the line,
but also allows you to target other ghosts and smash apart objects.
The twin-stick nature of the controls naturally takes some getting used to,
but it does feel like there’s still some room for a little more refinement and additional options.
Aiming left and right is perhaps the biggest hurdle since movement
is relative to the direction Luigi is facing, similar to a remote-controlled car,
and there’s no setting to invert the Y axis either.
However, there is an option that allows for strafing movements,
and the ability to use the shoulder buttons for most functions makes a world of difference.
Thankfully, the gameplay largely overcomes this awkwardness, though.
There’s a welcome sense of struggle as you pull against each target,
and slamming them back and forth feels great.
On top of the basic ghost-catching abilities, there are some additional functions to aid you as you explore.
You can hit both triggers to create a burst of air
that not only upends loose objects and knocks enemies back,
but it essentially lets you jump over incoming attacks.
The dark light which enables Luigi to rescue his friends trapped in paintings
also serves to rematerialize hidden objects, allowing you to uncover numerous secrets.
Meanwhile, a plunger with a rope attached lets you grab obstacles, pull them out of the way,
or swing them overhead and smash them to bits.
All of these tools are introduced early on,
but Luigi’s Mansion consistently presents new ways to put them to use.
A music themed area has you blowing across bottles to play notes;
a pyramid level is filled with sand that you need to suck up or blow into piles;
and a garden has you unfurling ferns and swinging from vines.
The ongoing creativity is refreshing, and the game is brimming with secrets,
at times presenting multiple puzzles in the same room or secrets within secrets.
While wrecking such exquisitely decorated locations might make you feel guilty at times,
that sentiment is easily outweighed by the constant sense of discovery.
The biggest and best addition to your tool belt though is Gooigi
who can pop out of a tank on Luigi’s back at a moment’s notice.
There are places that only Gooigi can go since he can slip through grates and fences
or go headfirst into pipes.
There are also times when you need to use both Luigi and Gooigi together,
whether you need to pull on opposite sides of an object or alternate between characters to progress.
Once you unlock Gooigi, a second player can join in for the rest of the game,
and the co-op play works really well since there are so many times
when you need to work together and communicate.
It’s a great way to experience the game even if you can only get someone to join you for a single level.
The creativity of how rooms are constructed often ties in to the vibrant themes of each floor.
The opening levels fit the standard hotel aesthetic,
with ghosts dressed as maids and bellhops.
This progresses into somewhat expected areas including a dining hall and a shopping center,
but soon more and more fantastic environments start to get mixed in,
such as an overgrown garden and a medieval castle.
No matter how far-out it gets, though,
if you look carefully, there’s usually some clue to support the idea
that this is all still taking place within the hotel.
While we don’t want to show too much, the boss ghosts you encounter on each floor
are absolutely some of the game’s brightest highlights.
Each one plays right into a level’s theme, and not only are they abundant in personality,
but they often have some great tricks to figure out.
Defeating these bosses is key to progressing as each one carries an elevator button
needed to go to another floor of the hotel.
However, you don’t always move up floor by floor either,
as there are several detours along the way
that can send you back to a previous floor or to areas you couldn’t reach earlier.
Depending on how thoroughly you ransack the place, Luigi’s Mansion can take 12 to 15 hours to complete,
but there are incentives to go back, including a set of hidden gems on each floor
as well as Boos that only appear after you’ve completed a level.
There aren’t any huge rewards for collecting them all, but the gems in particular
require you to find and solve some of the game’s more clever puzzles.
So it’s more about experiencing these moments than the end reward.
Additionally, you vacuum up piles and piles of cash on a nearly constant basis.
You can spend some money on items to revive you when you die
or on hints to find collectibles, but in the end, the shop is underwhelming.
Your bank account really just amounts to a scoreboard, ranking you based on how much you’ve hoarded.
Regardless of just how useless money is though, there’s something irresistible
about sucking up every last dollar and coin that springs from even the most unlikely places.
Outside of the story, there are some multiplayer options to try out as well.
Three mini-games let you compete to collect coins, hunt ghosts, or shoot targets.
However, while the cannon game does encourage some team coordination,
none of these options are more than a quick diversion.
The more substantial multiplayer mode is ScareScraper
where you can play either locally or online with up to eight people
if four Switch players have co-op partners.
ScareScraper essentially takes place in a separate hotel with randomly generated floors,
making each run fairly different as you learn to navigate new mazes.
You can either choose to do a 5-floor run, which takes 20 to 30 minutes
or the full 10 floors if you have more time.
Each floor usually still requires you to hunt ghosts, but there are other objectives as well
such as rounding up lost Toad characters, defeating crows, and collecting cash.
There are also several mechanics unique to ScareScraper
such as traps that require another player to come rescue you,
power outages, hidden gear with special abilities,
and even new variations of ghosts.
Perhaps the most challenging part of it all
is you have to hit each floor’s objective within a strict time limit,
and while there are hidden items to extend your time, they’re pretty rare.
If someone isn’t pulling their weight or if one player wanders off when everyone has to stand on a big switch,
you can easily run out of time,
and it can be a bit frustrating to play with random people who don’t listen
even when everyone is asking for help.
Even when you get a solid group together though, it can be pretty tough to get through all 10 floors.
The most bizarre downside, however, is that the boss of ScareScraper
is just a slight variation on the final boss of the story.
So if you check out multiplayer before you finish,
you’ll learn a few techniques a little early.
The care taken to create Luigi’s Mansion 3 is evident throughout.
The music is outstanding, and not only does each floor have its own distinct theme,
but there are new variations on combat tracks as well, which really helps to keep things fresh.
There are great visual effects like reflective floors,
and Gooigi is a joy to behold with his wobbly translucent body and sticky footprints.
And of course, it goes a long way that the game has so many interactive objects,
often flying around like a whirlwind,
yet doesn’t run into any noticeable performance issues.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 shines with personality,
and every time you take the elevator to a new floor, it feels like a pleasant surprise.
The game does a lot to move the series forward, but in ways that feel so natural,
it’s hard to imagine playing without its new additions.
It’s easily the best game in the series, and we’re glad Luigi’s been given another chance
to step out of the shadows.
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