As is a common trend among a lot of games I review, this was my first time entering the Luigi’s Mansion series of games. I was initially sold on this game the minute I saw it, with the stunning animations and visuals something that majorly tickled my fancy. However, I just never got around to getting the game until 2020, so, here is my slightly late review of Luigi’s Mansion 3.
Story –
The story in any Mario-character-related game is not one that is ever crazy in-depth, but nonetheless, I will summarise it. This game follows Luigi and his usual gang, of Mario, Peach and two Toads, as they take a holiday to a hotel. Obviously, this hotel is haunted by an evil Madame ghost, as well as a number of other personalised ghosts. Mario and Co. have been frozen into paintings, and it is down to Luigi, with the assistance of Professor E. Gadd to rise through the levels of the of the hotel saving his friends one by one along the way.
Graphics, Details and Animations –
Luigi’s Mansion 3 has to be easily one of the best looking games on the Nintendo Switch. The animations that have been put into every single aspect of this game are some of the most satisfying and detailed I have witnessed in a game, let alone a game on the Switch. The levels of detail put into every setting is incredible, ranging from general hotel-settings, shopping malls, to even a God of War 3 Hades’ Chamber-type vibe.
Graphically as mentioned with animations, this game is at the top of the food chain. I really cannot think of many Switch games that reach this level of polish visually. Luigi’s Mansion 3 saves no expense when it comes to the visual eye-candy on offer. These graphics are obviously complimented by what I had just mentioned with the environments and animations.
Controls –
In most circumstances, this game controls fine, but there is a number of instances where it is a complete pain, especially if you are playing with a controller for the most part, like I was. On so many occasions I found myself perplexed by the odd hand movements and shapes that I was forced to put myself in, just to catch the ghosts or shine the torch at times. I am not sure how this could have been improved, but at times this feels like a game that was ported to the Switch with them doing the best they could with the control-scheme for another console, rather than a game being specifically made for Switch control options in mind.
Puzzles and Game-Play Elements –
The puzzles are a downside to a game like this. This is a personal preference but I am the type of person who is easily deterred and bored when it comes to puzzles and unseen things. With Luigi’s Mansion 3, the puzzles and other aspects of certain areas are often completely unseen and do little to remind you of your abilities or traits that you have at your disposal for certain abilities.
Collecthathon –
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a bit of a collectathon, and providing collectables to try and hunt down on every floor of the mansion. Such as the basement floor’s gems for example.
However, as you’ll see mentioned throughout this piece, I struggle to really 100% Nintendo games and collect everything the game has to offer, due to the lack of a reward system. Why should I collect every film tape or whatever each floor’s collectable is? What is there to earn as a result? I rarely care about fully beating games unless there is a trophy or achievement system in-place attached to my account that drives me beyond just finishing the game.
However, it is important to keep in mind that if this does not matter for you, then there is a decent amount to collect throughout the game to keep your mind occupied.
Ghosts –
Obviously when it comes to Luigi’s Mansion the ghosts are a big part. However, despite there being plenty of encounters, they do feel somewhat sparse throughout the game. Most of my time was felt spent more so just travelling around floors and observing different settings, with the occasional ghost-attack from somewhere in between the boss battles.
Mentioning boss battles, they are unique. My personal favourite is less of a traditional boss battle in the sense that the ghost himself isn’t the boss, but rather he has you take place in his film. I just loved everything about this boss specifically.
Difficulty –
Difficulty is actually here in this game surprisingly, with the puzzles not being obvious whatsoever and the fights all requiring different strategies and approaches to win. This isn’t to say you’ll be dying over and over though, as money is easy to come by, and a result, so are the bones that can revive you if you were to ever have the rare event of actually dying, which is even rarer due to how many hearts are laying around the actual mansion for you to take advantage of if you ever do manage to get low health.
Length –
Despite not being that long of a game, popping in at around 10 hours to finish the main story. I have to admit, I did find Luigi’s Mansion 3 to become quite the drag to get through. I’m not sure what it was really, as each floor was interesting, the animations and general gameplay was enough to maintain interest, yet for some reason, about half-way in, I found myself almost forcing myself to get through the second-half of the game.
If I had to try and chalk it down to something, I suppose the game just isn’t very compelling? I mean this in the lightest way possible but generally there wasn’t really anything that I desperately needed to come back to, to ensure that I got the full experience. I think this is an issue with a lot of Nintendo games sadly. I’ve mentioned in previous articles how a lack of a trophy or gamerscore-type system on the Switch does take a little away from the motivation and incentive to continue to play games. It almost takes away the reward and progression factor from them.
Conclusion –
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a game that all Switch owners should experience, due to the incredible level of detail and effort put into it, which is front and centre. However, it is a bit of a repetitive drag that did become a chore to return to with little incentive to continue playing with the gameplay loop not really being that rewarding.
Final Rating – 7/10
Nathan Brennan 