It’s pretty wild that’s it’s taken nearly 20 years to get Luigi’s Mansion up to trilogy
status, but here we are.
And this time, not only are the stakes higher, but so is the Mansion too.
With Luigi’s Mansion 3, the series returns to a single mansion format, only now in the
form of a high-rise hotel, in which every floor offers a unique setting for Luigi’s
ghost-hunting adventure.
It kicks off normal enough, with a hotel lobby, rooms, and even gift shops, but it’s not
long before things take a turn for the weird.
As you wind your way up and down the hotel, you’ll find that the floors only get increasingly
bizarre the deeper you venture, with levels dedicated to a film production studio, a Medieval
Castle, and an egyptian Pyramid--remember, we’re inside the hotel.
To help cope with all the paranormal activity, Luigi’s equipped with the latest Poltergust
model: the G-00--oh, I see what you did there Nintendo.
And it has more functions than ever before, giving Luigi an unprecedented number of ways
to interact with the environment.
Beyond the usual sucking and blowing, Luigi can flash light sensors.
fire plungers to flip over heavier objects, deploy a blast to create a strong updraft
and hover in the air, use a Dark Light to reveal invisible objects, and of course, create
a gooey clone of himself called Gooigi--that can T-1000 his way past all kinds of obstacles
like grates, fences, and even small pipes to reach areas that Luigi can’t.
And Gooigi might be the best new thing about Luigi’s Mansion 3, opening up a range of
exploration options and adding another layer to puzzle solving.
Swapping control between two is quick and easy, though it can be a little cumbersome
in situations that require rapid back and forth action.
Fortunately, a 2nd player can hop in and take control of Gooigi at any time for some true
co-op gameplay--and it works fantastically.
Unlike Luigi’s Mansion on 3DS which shoehorned co-op into a game clearly not designed for
it, it’s much better integrated this time around--to the point that I might prefer it
to playing solo.
Sure, things can get a little chaotic with two of you flinging ghosts around, but the
chaos only ad ds to the fun.
And it makes puzzle solving all the more enjoyable
Regardless of whether you’re playing together or alone, there are more ways to interact
with the environment than ever before--which goes goes hand-in-hand with the environments
also being more interactive than they’ve ever been.
Whereas most everything felt bolted to the floor in past games, now nearly everything
can be spun, thrown, dragged, knocked over, sucked up, or destroyed completely.
It can create quite the spectacle with how much stuff you can have flying around--especially
with two people--and it really makes the hotel come alive in a way that past games haven’t
quite.
All these interactions also mean that the puzzles are the most devious they’ve ever
been, constantly testing your understanding of Luiig’s moveset and how they manipulate
various objects.
Tracking down the pesky 5 gems hidden on each floor can prove to be especially troublesome,
as some of them are downright nasty to figure out.
I quite liked the added depth and, although there were times that it felt a little arbitrary
in exactly which move I had to to use for a specific challenge, and I’d sometimes
cycle through them all of them just to find the one required.
By default, the controls are similar to Dark Moon’s, with movement and aiming both handled
by the left stick.
But there is an option to separate the two, letting you aim independently with the right-stick,
which I vastly prefer.
Unfortunately, it only applies when actively charging the Strobulb or using the Poltergust,
so it doesn’t quite offer the complete freedom of the original game, though it gets pretty
close.
And it betters the original in one important way, as every function of the Poltergust is
also available via the Shoulder Buttons, giving you full control without having to take your
hand off the right stick, which feels pretty great, even if it takes a little getting used
to.
The core controls work well for the most part, though I did find aiming the plunger to be
a little finicky with an overly sensitive crosshair that awkwardly darts surface to
surface.
I also found it a little difficult to gauge depth at times when fighting enemies compared
to past games, which is likely due to how much more expansive the environments can be
and how far the camera has to zoom out to show it--which occurs even more frequently
in co-op in order to keep both players on-screen.
The ghost capturing mechanics also work similarly to Dark Moon: Stun ghosts with a charged flash,
then start sucking them up with the Poltergust.
It works, but it lacks the depth of the GameCube game, where the ghosts would drag you all
over the room as you battled for control.
In Luigi’s Mansion 3, you’re always always in control--which isn’t a good thing in
this case.
That’s partly because the common ghost enemies don’t put up much of a fight, although that’s
not entirely their fault, as they’re up against a new mechanic in which they don’t
stand a ghost of a chance: the Slam.
After latching onto a ghost for a couple of seconds, you can slam them into the ground
repeatedly just by tapping the A button.
If it doesn’t kill the ghost out-right, it’ll at least inflict some major damage--oh,
and you’re practically invincible during the maneuver too.
It seems awesome at first, allowing you to toss ghosts around like yesterday’s trash
while flattening nearly everything in their path.
You feel powerful... too powerful, as it doesn’t take long to realize that’s essentially
all there is to the combat.
Not only does it damage the ghost you’re currently slamming, but it also hurts and
incapacitates any other ghost that gets hit by it too, making means you can clear an entire
room by slamming one ghost into a bunch of others and then latching onto the victims
and repeating the process.
And this works up until the very end of the game.
The slam is so readily accessible and vastly overpowered that it overshadows the capturing
mechanics that the series was founded on.
The tug-of-war sensation, like reeling in an incredibly angry fish, is completely gone,
replaced by a button mashing minigame that takes almost no skill to use and offers little
satisfaction once the novelty wears off.
And in case you’re wondering: Yes, I tried ignoring the move entirely to see if it would
help, but it’s clear the game was built with it in mind, as you’re left defenseless
with almost no movement options unlike the original game.
It doesn’t help that you’ll be find yourself battling the same 4 ghost types throughout
the adventure, adding to the repetition.
Although the game tries to mix things up by equipping them with different gear, such as
sunglasses that prevents them from being stunned--they rarely add much complexity as even they can
usually be removed by slamming another ghost into them.
It all amounts to a combat system that quickly grows stale and mind-numbingly simple--which
is a bummer considering that’s it’s not only significant component of the game but
a defining element of the series.
It also had the effect of making the game remarkably easy for most of the adventure--especially
when you factor in the Gold Bones you can purchase from Professor E. Gadd that respawn
you on the spot.
Thankfully, the game’s wide assortment of bosses prove to be much more interesting,
challenging, and surprisingly frequent.
With one per floor, they nearly match the impressive amount of portrait ghosts from
the original game, only now in far more elaborate set pieces.
These are proper boss battles through and through and are among the best the series
has to offer.
I won’t spoil the cooler moments, but some of the encounters thoroughly surprised me
with how cleverly they used the environment and Luigi’s moveset.
While not every boss is a homerun, with some being a little too obtuse for their own good,
they inject a much-needed breath of fresh air into an otherwise dull combat system.
And while the Final Boss might be a little disappointing, the build-up to it might be
my favorite sequence in a Luigi’s Mansion game yet.
Again, I won’t spoil it, but it all comes down to character--and that’s something
that Luigi’s Mansion 3 has in spades.
The hotel setting is an ingenious way of bringing all of these environments under a single roof,
with the scenery changing frequently enough that no single area ever feels tiresome.
Most floors will take around 45 minutes to an hour to complete, though you can easily
double that if you’re looking for all the gems.
However, while I love the diversity of the adventure, I also feel like the mansion doesn’t
make the most of its hotel theme.
I was personally hoping for a little more interplay between floors, such as finding
secret routes between them, or objects that can be carried from one to the next.
But outside of a handful of scripted sequences, there is almost no reason to revisit previous
areas besides backtracking for hidden Gems or Boos, both of which are entirely optional
and offer disappointing rewards for the effort.
In addition, because you unlock floors sequentially by defeating bosses, there’s almost no room
for free-roaming as you’ll always explore the hotel in the same linear order.
All of this means that the elevator is little more than an elaborate level select menu,
when it could have been used in much more interesting ways.
Imagine the surprise of summoning it, only to find the doors open to an empty shaft,
or how having to await for the elevator to arrive could have added tension to a battle
happening right outside its closed doors.
Or, maybe you could lure a boss onto it in an attempt to trap it on a different floor.
It could have been a seriously cool gameplay mechanic instead of just fancy window dressing,
and the missed potential is unfortunate given the otherwise brilliant setting.
And speaking of brilliant, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a sight to behold with spectacular large
environments and what might be the best lighting effects on Switch yet.
I often just had fun playing around with Luigi’s flashlight, watching how it painted shadows
of every object onto the wall--even picture frames if you get close enough!
It’s some really impressive stuff.
You’ll find all kinds of neat real-time lighting effects throughout the hotel--I especially
love the blinding blue glow of these orbs that illuminate Luigi and everything else
nearby.
You’ll find a ton of reflective surfaces too, like marble floors that add to the hotel’s
grandeur.
The animation is also top-notch, whether it’s Luigi’s consistently hilarious scaredy-cat
reactions or Ghosts desperately clawing to avoid being sucked up.
The cutscenes, in particular, could almost be mistaken for a Luigi’s Mansion movie
at first glance, especially with how many there are--just check out the texture on Luigi’s
clothes!
The attention to detail is just fantastic throughout the adventure, like how Luigi blinds
himself every time he unleashes a charged flash or how rats cling to the floor to avoid
being sucked up.
Performance wise, the game seems to maintain 30 frames per seconds most of the time with
occasional small dips when things get a little hectic, which seemed a little more common
when playing co-op.
Unfortunately, I found the music to be entirely forgettable throughout, lacking the catchy
and memorable tunes found in the prior two games.
Beyond co-op.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 also offers a couple of multiplayer modes.
ScreamPark offers a trio of minigames playable by up to 8 people locally, but perplexingly
are entirely team-based, meaning you’ll need an even amount of players to make it
fair, and there are no CPUs available to make up the difference.
As I was only able to try it out with a handful of friends, I can’t definitively say whether
they’re worth getting a large group together, but I can’t imagine it’d be worth the
effort as they felt more like Mario Party rejects during my time with them.
The ScareScaper fairs better fortunately, allowing you to explore a 5 or 10 story tower
with a team of 4 people--or 8 if you count their co-op Gooigi partners.
And it’s playable both locally and online.
And every session offers something slightly different, wuth the maze-like floors are randomly
generated, requiring you to learn them on the fly as you go about completing each floor’s
objective before the time limit elapses, whether it’s capturing all the ghosts, collecting
a set amount of money, or rescuing Toads.
I played through the ScareScraper probably close to a dozen times or so, in both the
5 and 10 floor variants and while I had fun, it’s still subject to the same mediocre
combat system that can be found in the main game.
And even though I was playing with 3 other people, it rarely felt like the mode required
or even incentivised much teamwork, beyond splitting up to try and cover more ground
faster, which kind of undermines the point of working as a team.
Disappointingly, it only takes a few playthroughs to see every challenge this mode has to offer--and
it offers shockingly few options compared to the original version found in Dark Moon,
even scrapping the upgrade system that gave your coins purpose.
It also doesn’t help that the boss fight at the end is always the same, which is even
worse considering it lifts most of its attacks from the game’s real final boss.
On the upside, the online worked well in my experience, with no real notable lag issue.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a beautiful-looking adventure full of great puzzles and cute moments.
I enjoyed exploring the hotel’s eclectic floors and unraveling their many puzzles,
especially with what Gooig brings to the table.
But the entire experience is stunted by a shallow combat system and repetitive ghost
encounters that aren’t particularly fun or exciting--outside of boss battles--when
is especially disappointing considering that used to be a series highlight for me.
Overall, I Liked Luigi’s Mansion 3--I just wish it had better combat and went a bit further
with the hotel concept.
Thankfully, playing co-op with a friend makes these issues a bit easier to overlook, while
letting you better focus on what the game does well, which is great set pieces and some
awesome boss battles.
And with that, thanks for watching and make sure to subscribe to GameXplain for more on
LM3 and all things Nintendo Switch.