This is my second time playing through this game. When I completed it back in 2019, I was more than done with it. The pace, the back tracking, that darn cat, all left me feeling fed up and pleased it was over, by the time I finished the game. It even took me a few attempts at the final boss, just because I was trying to rush it and get it over and done with.

It's something that's stuck with me since, and just starting the game up this time around felt like a chore. But I wanted to play a spooky game as it's that time of year. I enjoyed the opening hour or so, and I stuck with it. And something strange happened. I didn't stop enjoying it. Even the annoying back tracking bits were fun. I guess because I knew what was coming, it wasn't as frustrating this time around. I recall getting to the ancient Egyptian themed area the first time and being ready for the game to end.

When I got there this time around, I was so into it I didn't want it to end. Maybe I was just playing it to complete it back then, rather than enjoy the game. There's quite a few of the later stages that I really liked this time around, that I remember having really soured on before.

Even the goofy shit like Luigi absolutely shiting it whenever he sees something move or hears a noise, had me grinning like a fool, all the way to the end. Hoovering up stuff, collecting money, and ghosts, is a lot of fun. I had a great time, and glad I re-evaluated this, because up until last week when I started playing it again, I would not have recommended it. Now I'm quite the opposite. If you love all the silly bits, the toads, the almost self parody of Mario as well, you'll probably have a great time. Like some games, the forced back tracking and detours often feel unwelcome (Gears of War 4 springs to mind, one of the worst offenders), but if you didn't have these little diversions, the game would probably be an hour or two shorter. But given how much I enjoyed it this time around, I'm glad it was there. Its not to be rushed, it's to be savoured. I'm looking all the more forward to the remaster of 2 after playing this. It would be great if the first game got given the same treatment as well. The Nintendo GameCube remasters have all been brilliant so far.

That said, I do own them all on their original formats, but that would mean having to go to a different room. I'll wait...

One of the best examples of how other devs can make a character like Luigi go from having no soul to having the best character in the Mario cast (besides Wario). Luigis mansion 3 is an evolution in the franchise that started all the way in 2001 and got side tracked in 2013 but came back stronger than ever in 2019 with giving Luigi and his friends a new coat of hd shade and expressiveness and give King boo a new female subject who wants to help him rule the mushroom kingdom. Its a must buy on switch

This was really disappointing as a game but it has some of the best implemented couch co op ive ever seen. The co op companion actually has a distinct role so co op greatly improves this game as you end up working in tandem. If you play Solo you just switch between controlling Luigi and the companion (Gooigi) one at a time so its not nearly as fun.

Outside of this one mechanic, the game itself is unfortunately a linear slog that goes on way too long. The first Luigi's Mansion was fantastic because it had an interconnected world and was a very short, replayable game. The fun of that game was in its exploration - it was Resident Evil for kids, the exploration gave it a spooky atmosphere and while the combat was mediocre it wasn't the focus.
This game has a level-based structure where progression is locked behind solving puzzles and fighting enemies. The puzzles range from overly cryptic to "hold X on a door" but are hardly ever clever or interesting, it feels like the main challenge is always finding what the game will actually let you interact with. The combat is not nearly interesting enough to justify the length of the game and it crumbles under the repetitive rooms filled with the same 3 or 4 types of enemies.

There’s something about the style of Luigi’s Mansion 3 that just makes it look wonderful. The animation is very….animated and the clean style makes it seems like a Pixar animated film more than a video game. Luigi’s mumbles, screams and occasional words (occasional if you don’t press the “Mario?” button) all add to the lovely feel of the game.

You play as Luigi as you explore a haunted hotel trying to save Peach, Mario and some Toads. Using your trusty Vaccuum cleaner and its various settings to catch ghosts and save puzzles.

At first the controls were very fiddly, but once you realise you can use the shoulder buttons instead of the face buttons, you’ll be able to move, aim and use one of the poltergust’s features at the same time. The difficulty of the game is also very fair, there’s a bit of challenge in just completing the main story, but there’s a lot more challenge if you want to find everything.

As a fan of the previous 2 games I can confidently say that luigi's mansion 3 is another great entry in the series.

The gameplay is solid, keeps the already established formula intact but has enough changes to make it feel fresh but familiar with gooigi and the other new stuff you can do being really fun to mess around with and solve puzzles, defeat bosses etc., the presentation is incredible, definitely the best looking game on switch, the attention to detail is top notch whether it's luigi's personality and the way he reacts to his surroundings or how items and whatnot littered throughout the hotel interact with luigi and the poltergust, overall the game is brimming with charm and polish!

The return of the more human ghost mini bosses was a welcome one, each one being a puzzle and a fight merged to make a fun time, the main bosses were great too, some being somewhat suprisingly difficult. I also think this games the best one in the series for hunting boos, they're fun to find and yeah easy to defeat but slamming them on the ground like a maniac was always a treat, along with a sick theme to boot.

The hotel is very well designed, each room being something different than the last, you'll start off with regular hotel rooms and in no time find yourself in a castle, a garden, a movie set, a desert, magician themes etc. Each room is full of stuff to do and look out for, sure it makes some rooms feel samey but that feeling doesn't last very long as the game is full of surprises. The gems make a return too and are fun to find, a few are in very odd places but I found a majority throughout my playthrough. I also enjoy how alive the hotel feels too, with the other 2 games once you cleared a room and the lights came on that was it, but here even after you finish an area, if you go back there's likely going to be a new batch of ghosts in there, just doing there own charming little thing until they spot you, it can make for some challenging revisits.

However I do have a few minor gripes, firstly the music. Now I don't have a problem with the soundtrack generally infact I think they fit the themes of the rooms quite well, and I may be alone in this but I just struggled to hear most of it over all the ghost catching and objects smashing, I just felt like most of the rooms music was too quiet and not very memorable (keep in mind I mostly did not play with headphones) but then certain rooms and events played the music loud and proud, infact in the case of the boo theme the music was very loud, again the soundtrack is good I just don't think there's many memorable tunes here.

Then there's the common enemy ghosts, I'm sorry but what happend here, again like with the music they're not BAD but uninspired, they are ripped right from dark moon, infact there's less variety here, I don't mind the more cartoony designs of 2 and 3, but with 3 it's mostly the same as 2, there's like 1 fully original enemy ghost here, those door ones with the tounges, but even then they're barley in the game anyway.

Last gripe I'll talk about is the money, while it is satisfying to collect as much as ya can there really isn't much you can do with it. You can buy hints and continues and you get ranked at the end like the first game, but that's it really, and the game really encourages you search every nook and cranny for money but... it's just kinda meaningless.

There's a few other very minor gripes too like I think the hotel as a whole could've been darker, I found myself questioning sometimes why luigi has his flashlight on, and certain rooms and bosses/ mini bosses were a bit eh, but overall these issues aren't really things that bother me that much.

The game does indeed also have multiplayer, a local mode with different types of minigames, and a mode that's playable both local and online, I can't talk much about the minigame mode but the scarescraper online mode is decent fun, but I think it drags on a bit longer than it needs to and is a bit too strict with the time and requirements, and then there's your teamates which you always get that one guy who just doesn't get with the program, like the room which requires everyone to be in to open a door, you can spam "over here" and "help" as much as ya can, they'll just be off doing there own thing. Also I recommend not beating this mode before you finish the game as the boss for the scarescraper and the final boss do share some attacks, so the final boss might not be as cool or challenging if you've already beaten the scarescraper boss.

Although it's not bad getting all the boos and gems, infact it's quite fun to do so, there's really not much in terms of unlockables, a few cosmetics and that's it really, and that includes achievements which I didn't bother with as I really can't be bothered to play that much scarescraper.

But overall, Luigi's mansion 3 is a great time, I can understand why some may not enjoy it, whether they're fans of the series or not, but despite the minor flaws I had a blast the whole way through.

Luigi's Mansion 3 has all of the Nintendo charm you've come to love despite Next Level Gmaes not becoming a Nintendo developer till after its release. On a technical level, they pulled off a lot with the weak Switch. The animations are quite stunning with lots of nice little details. The series has never been mechanically dense, Luigi has a few different moves to keep it interesting. The new Gooigi feature adds a bit to the puzzle solving. That said, often when I'm faced with a problem in the game, I just cycle through the toolset till one of them works. I still do find it fun though at least with the puzzles and exploration. Combat is a bit boring with flashing and slamming them with the vacuum cleaner; at least for the normal enemies. The game does show a lot of creativity with the different floors of the hotel feeling different from one another. It probably doesn't make sense that a hotel has an Ancient Egypt floor but who cares? The variety is also seen with the bosses which pretty much every floor has and it rarely feels like ideas are being repeated. The normal combat may be dull but they really did a good job with the boss fights. The flow of new ideas for each floor and boss rivals the inventiveness of the mainline Mario games. Although I don't think Luigi's Mansion 3 has as high a quality of some of the Nintendo greats, it still was a joy to play through.

This game oozes with charisma from beginning to end. Never have I seen these characters show so much emotion outside of the Mario Strikers games.

I love the idea of setting the game in a haunted hotel, it's like a mix of the first game's haunted mansion and the second game's isolated and different themed levels.

I still think this game could've tried to go for a scarier and darker atmosphere like the first one, but it really does look absolutely amazing, both aesthetically and animation wise. Plus, the villains are great, I really love how they both look and interact with Luigi.

It really does feel like King Boo is absolutely fed up with Luigi's bullshit and at many points in the game it's like they won't stop at anything until you are dead. I love it.

This is what happens when you actually give Next Level Games some time and let them do their magic, Nintendo. Top 5 best games on the Switch most certainly.