Luigi’s Mansion 3 Review – A Spooky, Charming, and Fun Experience

• Title – Luigi’s Mansion 3
• Developer – Next Level Games
• Publisher – Nintendo
• Platform(s) – Nintendo Switch
• MSRP – $59.99
• Release Date – October 31st, 2019
• Game was purchased for this Review

Nintendo has had quite the year with the releases of games such as Super Mario Maker 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and Astral Chain all of which were met with critical acclaim. It’s a pleasure to say that Luigi’s Mansion 3 definitely lives up to the heights of the titles mentioned above and may even surpass it. It’s a shame that we’ve only gotten three of these games over 18 years since this series first started. Luigi’s Mansion 3 was made by the same developer of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Next Level Games who have outdone themselves in 2019 as they did in 2013.

It can’t go without saying that visually, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is stunning, I never noticed anything that looked flat. The textures, the character design, and much more were completely on point. I must also bring notice to the attention to detail which I will always love about their games. I always appreciate games that have developers who go the extra mile to put stuff in their game that most people won’t recognize or care about. Nintendo has done this in many of their games such as Super Mario Odyssey, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Luigi’s Mansion 3 is no exception.

In Luigi’s Mansion 3 you take on the role of Luigi, who to start the game off is on a bus with Mario, Peach, Three Toads, and Polterpup going to a seemingly luxurious hotel. After getting there, everyone gets themselves settled in, Luigi wakes up from a scream from Peach and then searches around to find out the “owner” of the hotel, Hellen Gravely is working with King Boo and have captured Mario, Peach, and the Toads and are being held captive in paintings. Luigi escapes that fate and ends up in the garage where he finds the Poltergust G-00, which he has to use to defeat King Boo and get his brother and friends back. The plot is pretty straightforward, but that’s the case with most Nintendo games so this isn’t something that bothered me.

The gameplay of Luigi’s Mansion 3 is one of the most interesting and in-depth parts of the game. The Poltergust G-00 has many uses and each one is used and is never unaccustomed for too long. Luigi can use the Suction Shot to move objects that may be in his way or damage ghosts that may be covered in armor or other items. He can use the Strobulb which is a flashlight that releases a powerful light that can stun ghosts. Luigi may even use the Dark Light to reveal invisible objects and ghosts, it can also free items from certain paintings and characters. These are just a few of the many different gameplay features and I love them. If I had one gripe with the gameplay it would be the aiming, its not bad or even average by any means, but at times it can feel a little askew.

I can’t talk about the gameplay of Luigi’s Mansion 3 without bringing up one of the parts of the gameplay, Gooigi. Gooigi is an exact clone of Luigi but is made up entirely of green goo, but can’t touch water or fire or he will disintegrate immediately. Gooigi is used to help Luigi do certain things that he can’t do by himself like lifting a gate and can get to certain areas that Luigi can’t such as when there are spikes, firing arrows, vents, or a fence. Gooigi is used a good bit in the game but the clone never overstays its welcome and is used just enough to make the Gooigi addition worthwhile.

To achieve the mission of defeating King Boo and saving his brother and friends, Luigi must scale his way through the hotel. Luigi gets help from Polterpup and the returning Professor E. Gadd along his journey to the top of the hotel. I appreciate that Luigi’s Mansion 3 has a different theme and a different way to deal with the problems you encounter on each floor. There could be a theme of Gardens, Paranormal, or even Pharaohs and it all just works(Fallout 76 pun not intended)the way that you think it should. Each problem on each floor is solved a different way and seemingly gets harder to figure out the more floors you unlock and that’s the way I feel it should be.

Each floor has a boss that has a button to the elevator, some you must defeat, and some that have different approaches to them. The boss fights in Luigi’s Mansion 3 can be fun but they also feel very inconsistent. There are certain boss fights in this game that can be fun and a joy to play such as a Godzilla like boss fight in the middle of the game that is by far my favorite in the game. Then at certain times, there are boss fights that can drag and instead of having a feeling of excitement, you have a feeling of just wanting the fight to be over and move on to the next floor.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 also has some backtracking that is by far my least favorite part of the game. The entirety of this portion of the game is tedious and really feels like a chore to get through. I don’t have a problem with backtracking when its done right and feels interesting but this game doesn’t do it well.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 also has a lot of collecting in it whether its coins or gems. You can collect coins, bills, gold bars, and more to acquire money you can use in E. Gadd’s shop. I do wish there was more you could buy with your money because the shop selection is very dry. There is absolutely no shortage of money in Luigi’s Mansion 3, in fact, I had over $40,000 by the time I was done but I wish there was more to do with it instead of doing barely anything with it.

While I did have some complaints on Luigi’s mansion 3 itself, they were minor or not big enough issues to sway my enjoyment of the game. Next Level Games should be proud of this game, it’s charming fun and has a lot of things going for. The gameplay, graphics, level design, and certain boss fights are a joy to sit down and take in.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is another great installment in this beloved franchise from Fans and Critics alike. The problems it does have aren’t too much of a burden on the entire experience. It’s the right length, never feels like it drags to the point of complete boredom. If you already own a Nintendo Switch or are thinking of purchasing one soon, make sure this is one of the games on your list to get, I highly recommend it. My only request to Nintendo is to make sure we get another Luigi’s Mansion game in a couple of years instead of 5-10 years, I know Nintendo fans would have no problem with that.