Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is a game that strives to adapt the environmental puzzle solving of the first title to a handheld experience; unfortunately, most of the changes make this title less satisfying to play than the first in the series.
The biggest offender in this regard is the episodic style of the gameplay, which plucks you out of the experience just when you're beginning to feel immersed. The first title was about methodically exploring a mansion full of puzzles and engaging in Ghostbusters style combat with a varied cast of enemy ghosts (more on this later...). The combat is still here and is, in fact, improved through the addition of the dark light which adds some depth to ghost encounters. Unfortunately, the episodic structure really clashes with the idea of thoroughly exploring each environment. This is mostly due to the gems, which function as the main reward for exploration. Each level has a gem that can be collected and which appears only in that level. This is despite the fact that locations are often returned to between missions leading you to find the secret location of a gem, but unable to pick it up because you are not on the correct mission. Aside from collectibles, though, the episodic structure generally just makes the missions feel somewhat contrived. The original title showcased that highly interactive spaces can make up for a shorter run time and some missions feel like they are padding out the experience rather than adding to it.
The ghost designs were another big sticking point for me and something I remember feeling strongly about when the game first released. In the original title, normal ghosts were punctuated by bosses which were each unique in their design and gameplay approach. These designs gave the game flavor and made the mansion feel more like a real place. In Dark Moon, these boss designs are replaced by Possessors, a class of ghost with a repeated design, but an interesting gimmick: they can possess anything near them. With so many options, they must implement them in an exciting way, right? ...right?! In reality, the possessors end up possessing a staircase, a clock, and other mundane objects and their fights boil down to sucking up the possessor three times. The possessors were a great idea, but they aren't used effectively here.
Although this review has been pretty negative up to now, it's not all bad for this title. The signature expressivity of Luigi is brought back and enhanced in this title and his character is one of the reasons I kept playing. If you idle during a mission for long enough, he even starts humming along to the background music. Touches like that go a long way in terms of adding charm to the experience. I also think that the introduction of several mansions was an overall positive. It allows the environmental puzzles to be more elaborate and the environments themselves to be more visually distinct.
Overall I wouldn't say this is a bad game, just a misguided one and certainly weaker than the first in the series. If you're looking for a cutesy on-rails experience akin to a dark ride at a theme park, you could do far worse. I am doubtfully optimistic that some of these aspects may be changed in the HD remake for the Switch, but only time will tell.
The biggest offender in this regard is the episodic style of the gameplay, which plucks you out of the experience just when you're beginning to feel immersed. The first title was about methodically exploring a mansion full of puzzles and engaging in Ghostbusters style combat with a varied cast of enemy ghosts (more on this later...). The combat is still here and is, in fact, improved through the addition of the dark light which adds some depth to ghost encounters. Unfortunately, the episodic structure really clashes with the idea of thoroughly exploring each environment. This is mostly due to the gems, which function as the main reward for exploration. Each level has a gem that can be collected and which appears only in that level. This is despite the fact that locations are often returned to between missions leading you to find the secret location of a gem, but unable to pick it up because you are not on the correct mission. Aside from collectibles, though, the episodic structure generally just makes the missions feel somewhat contrived. The original title showcased that highly interactive spaces can make up for a shorter run time and some missions feel like they are padding out the experience rather than adding to it.
The ghost designs were another big sticking point for me and something I remember feeling strongly about when the game first released. In the original title, normal ghosts were punctuated by bosses which were each unique in their design and gameplay approach. These designs gave the game flavor and made the mansion feel more like a real place. In Dark Moon, these boss designs are replaced by Possessors, a class of ghost with a repeated design, but an interesting gimmick: they can possess anything near them. With so many options, they must implement them in an exciting way, right? ...right?! In reality, the possessors end up possessing a staircase, a clock, and other mundane objects and their fights boil down to sucking up the possessor three times. The possessors were a great idea, but they aren't used effectively here.
Although this review has been pretty negative up to now, it's not all bad for this title. The signature expressivity of Luigi is brought back and enhanced in this title and his character is one of the reasons I kept playing. If you idle during a mission for long enough, he even starts humming along to the background music. Touches like that go a long way in terms of adding charm to the experience. I also think that the introduction of several mansions was an overall positive. It allows the environmental puzzles to be more elaborate and the environments themselves to be more visually distinct.
Overall I wouldn't say this is a bad game, just a misguided one and certainly weaker than the first in the series. If you're looking for a cutesy on-rails experience akin to a dark ride at a theme park, you could do far worse. I am doubtfully optimistic that some of these aspects may be changed in the HD remake for the Switch, but only time will tell.