Is Luigi Mansion 3 worth buying?
Absolutely! Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a must-have addition to any Nintendo Switch library, especially for fans of the Super Mario franchise. Read on to see why this spooky-fun adventure should be in every gamer‘s collection.
A Triumphant Return for a Beloved Underdog
Luigi, Mario’s lanky counterpart, has captured hearts for decades despite living in his brother‘s shadow. His long-awaited return as the reluctant hero of the Luigi’s Mansion series has seen critical and commercial success:
| Game | Release Year | Review Scores | Sales (Millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luigi‘s Mansion | 2001 | 78% | 3.6 |
| Luigi‘s Mansion: Dark Moon | 2013 | 86% | 6.16 |
These games blend haunted house thrills with delightfully goofy humor as the easily-spooked Luigi explores eerie mansions busting ghosts with his specialized vacuum cleaner, the Poltergust.
After a long 6 year wait, Luigi’s Mansion 3 exceeds expectations and stands tall among the best Switch exclusives. Let‘s explore why hardcore gamers and Nintendo fans alike should make room for this title.
State-of-the-Art Spectral Sucking
Luigi’s Mansion 3 represents a new pinnacle for the series with visual presentation that really brings the haunting hotel setting to life. The decaying hotel architecture and weather effects like sandstorms showcase the power of the Switch and feel like a Disney ride come to life.
Bright colors and expressive character animations blend with spooky ambience to perfectly capture Luigi’s endearing cowardice. In an interview with Engadget, the game’s art director Yoshihito Ikebata discussed their goal to “make everything looks tangible and soft so that it looked like a miniature diorama.” The resulting visual style is stunning while retaining the franchise’s charm.
Complementing the sights is a dynamic score mixing haunting piano, creepy strings, and uptempo jazz. The music matches each area’s mood from the tense mysticism of the Tomb Suites to the playful chaos of the dance hall. Sound designers used everyday objects like bicycle horns and balloons to create surprising ghostly sounds fitting of a poltergeist-plagued hotel.
Hotel of Horrors: Intricate Level Design with Impressive Scope
The setting of a luxury hotel overrun with ghosts allows for diverse environments across 17 floors plus a lobby, shops, and hidden areas. There are expected areas like guest rooms and restaurants along with imaginative zones like a Broadway theater, ancient Egyptian tomb, pirate cove, and greenhouse. Luigi employs his upgraded vacuum in creative ways to defeat ghostly foes, solve environmental puzzles, and unlock new paths across sprawling levels that hide money and gems.
The hotel’s size impresses, with some floors taking over an hour to fully explore. Critics praised the adventure’s scope, especially compared to the mission-based structure of previous entries. Ars Technica noted the new approach gives players “freedom to explore and investigate something closer to a Metroid-style interconnected map on each floor.” Luigi’s movement and vacuum capabilities feel great and strike an ideal balance between accessibility and challenge. Combat remains simple but varied with “boss ghosts that have different patterns and weaknesses to discover and exploit,” according to IGN’s review.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race: 10-20 Hours of Story Gameplay Plus Extras
Luigi’s Mansion 3 shines not just in creativity but also in value, offering a lengthy single player adventure players can easily sink 15+ hours into, along with extra modes that add plenty of replayability. Completing the story takes most gamers around 16 hours according to HowLongToBeat.com. Those aiming for 100% completion by obtaining all gems, buying everything, and exploring hidden areas can stretch playtime closer to 20 or 25 hours.
Beyond the story, the new ScareScraper mode allows co-op for up to 8 players as they clear floors under timed conditions. ScreamPark mode offers competitive minigames for up to 8 friends or family members too. So there are multiplayer and solo options to keep enjoying Luigi’s antics for dozens more hours.
Made for All Experience Levels
A major strength of Luigi’s Mansion 3 is its accessibility, making it fun for casual players and still challenging for longtime fans. Gooigi mode lets a second player control a jelly-like Luigi to assist the main player, great for kids or less experienced gamers. In single player, the addition of Gooigi also enables creative dual puzzles.
The default difficulty is pretty forgiving, with plenty of chances to recover health. But hardcore gamers have options like reducing the number of hearts or activating permadeath mode, where Luigi turns to a ghost after one hit! So anyone can tailor the experience to their skill level.
With fun humour, creative settings, and memorable music numbers, Luigi’s Mansion 3 has wide appeal from young gamers embarking on their first Mario journey to those who’ve grown up with the moustachioed brothers since the NES days.
Beyond the Last Boss: Post-Game Potential
Even after the credits roll, Luigi’s Mansion 3 gives you reasons to keep playing. There are hidden goals to unlock art, achievements for special challenges, and gems to find on each floor. Locating and sucking up all the creepy critters crawling around the hotel is oddly satisfying too!
These extras paired with the multiplayer ScreamPark and ScareScraper modes will keep players busting ghosts long after the story ends. There’s also possibility for paid DLC down the road. The original Luigi’s Mansion got an extra mansion via DLC, so hopefully Next Level Games has similar plans to expand Luigi’s spooky adventures.
Given the critical and commercial success of Luigi’s Mansion 3, the future looks bright for potential sequels as well. Franchise sales continue rising with each entry, and Nintendo’s decision to acquire Next Level Games earlier this year suggests they have long term plans to keep the series going strong.
A Must-Play Switch Exclusive and Mascot Showcase
For those on the fence, know that Luigi’s Mansion 3 stands tall among the Switch’s best exclusives. Critics praise it wholeheartedly, with review aggregates giving it a score of 86 on Metacritic and OpenCritic. Destructoid calls it “delightfully spooky, loaded with charm.” GameInformer says it “demonstrates a masterclass in refinement.”
As a marquee Nintendo franchise, Luigi’s Mansion 3 makes the most of Switch capabilities for the series’ most polished entry yet. It blends accessibility with challenge, encourages replayability, and shows love for the Mario universe from visual details to cameos. Luigi die-hards obviously can’t miss it, but any Switch owner looking for a fun adventure should be busting ghosts with their dusty old Poltergust.
Luigi‘s Mansion 3 is absolutely worth buying and belongs in every gamer‘s collection as a highlight of the Switch library. This Spooktacular spectacular will suck you and and keep you coming back for more supernatural antics.
