His Brother Mario is considered the real star of the show, but there is no doubt that Nintendo definitely has a soft spot for his brother Luigi. Luigi’s Mansion might have started off as a bizarre launch title on the GameCube, but it has now gained enough fans to warrant not only a sequel on the Nintendo 3DS, but also a port of the first game on the same handheld and now a third sequel on the wildly successful Nintendo Switch.
You would assume that poor Luigi is traumatised after everything that he went through in the previous games. After all, he seems like the Nintendo version of the Poltergeist films, in that he has a knack for attracting the worst of the supernatural world in the Mushroom Kingdom. Yet, he still manages to get himself involved in another ghostly adventure as he and the Mushroom Kingdom entourage get tricked into going to a haunted hotel for a holiday. As expected, the trip goes sideways and everyone but Luigi ends up trapped in paintings (very Mario 64) and it’s up to him to save the day with the aid of his mad scientist (even though he can be a bit too chatty) and ghost dog pals.
In order to do so, Luigi must find every missing button to make use of the only lift in the hotel to eventually make it all the way to the top and rescue everyone else. It’s not an easy feat to accomplish, given that there are more than ten floors to explore and a few distractions along the way to help make it even more challenging.
What is easy to notice within the first hour or so is that the extra power of the Nintendo Switch does wonders for the game. No detail has been spared as Luigi can interact with pretty much every bit and bob found in each floor. What is also clear is that these ghost must have been fond of hiding their prized possessions and money, since Luigi will find them in all sorts of nooks and crannies. This makes a system used to barter money and valuables in exchange for items used to making life easier in the hotel somewhat redundant, given how easy it is to amass a fortune.
As with the previous two games, the main focus is to catch ghosts and Luigi is a pro at it by now. To do so, Luigi must first shine a bright light directly at one or more ghosts and then use his trusty vacuum cleaner to suck up the ghosts. This results in one of the more satisfying actions in the game, where Luigi can slam ghosts caveman style until they are weak enough to be sucked into the vacuum.
What doesn’t always work so well is how some of the flashlight abilities are used. It’s a bit awkward to aim and use some of these and it’s only slightly more accurate to do so when using the motion sensor in the right Joy-Con controller. Oddly enough, it becomes far easier to aim the flashlight by making use of just one Joy-Con controller when playing through the story mode with another player.
A green goo called Gooigi is used to make puzzle solving more interesting. It’s also the way that the game makes it possible for two players to play together. When playing alone, players will control one of the characters at a time and the use of Gooigi has some additional advantages, on top of having the same abilities as Luigi, such as not being hurt by projectiles and being able to squeeze through narrow spots. Gooigi is also not scared of the ghosts, but will dissolve at the mere touch of a water drop.
Albeit most of the puzzles are not that difficult to solve, it’s still enjoyable to do so. In fact, it’s a testament to Nintendo’s high standards that Luigi’s Mansion 3 manages to make such good use of various unique Nintendo Switch features without making it too obvious. The hotel location is a clever idea as well, since it makes it possible to use its various floors to include different themes. This means that players will no doubt find themselves looking forward to what comes next. In fact, it will keep players guessing right up to the end as it successfully changes its format of finding buttons for the lift with a few delightful distractions along the way. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is just one of those games that manages to surprise, even when it seems like it has finally revealed everything.
Such is the quality of the level design that players will find themselves looking for every nook and cranny for secrets without even realising it. Then there are bosses to defeat with their own quirks and ghosts that will need to be tricked into revealing their weak spots before it’s possible to suck them in. Although, yet again the controls are somewhat of an issue during a boss battle where an inflatable duck must be used to fight it inside a water tank.
On top of a perfectly functional co-op mode found in story mode, it’s also possible to play with others in local and online modes. ScreamPark contains a variety of mini-games that players can play as 2 teams playing against each other. ScareScraper sees players working together as a team to catch a certain number of ghosts within a limited amount of time and best of all is that it can also be done online. Both of these are a really good use of Luigi’s Mansion 3 and its concept and the proverbial cherry on top of an excellent story mode cake.
Albeit there are a few niggles with some of its controls, there is no doubt that this is another must play title on the Nintendo Switch and one more reason to own one. Luigi’s Mansion 3 might not have the same pull as a Mario title, but it’s another remarkable entry in the series.
