First Impressions: Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Nintendo Switch)

The 3rd game in the Luigi’s Mansion series and the first for the Switch, Luigi’s Mansion 3 follows on from 2001’s Luigi’s Mansion released on the Gamecube and 2013’s Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon released on the 3DS.

If you’ve played either of these games then you’re going to find yourself very much at home with this third iteration. It’s very much a Luigi’s Mansion game just with tweaking here and there to make the whole experience that much better.

However, if you’re brand new to the series there is nothing here that will really make you feel like you’ve missed out by not playing the previous releases.

The story is as straight-forward as you’d expect. Luigi, his pet ghost dog Polterpup, his brother Mario, Princess Peach, and a group of Toads are all invited to stay at a high-rise hotel called ‘The Last Resort’.

The group decide to take a vacation there and are treated like royalty by the owner, Hellen Gravely. Although, something seems off about her and the hotel staff.

That night, Luigi wakes to discover the hotel has transformed into his worst nightmare. A deserted and haunted building. Setting out to find the others, he discovers that the invitation was a set-up by Hellen who is a ghost. She has helped King Boo escape from Professor E. Gadd and the pair want revenge.

The plan is simple, King Boo has trapped the heroes in portraits and only Luigi remains. Before he can be caught though, Luigi manages to escape through a laundry chute where he ends up in the basement. There he finds Professor E. Gadd’s car and a new Poltergust – model G-00.

With the ghost catching device; players must explore the floors of the hotel, catching ghosts and solving puzzles, to reach Mario, Peach and the others.

One of the immediate things that make Luigi’s Mansion 3 stand out is the location. The hotel is huge and the game allows a lot more freedom to explore and take your time. Any floor can be explored provided you have found the elevator button for it, which are normally held by the boss ghosts.

Floors are themed, giving each new area a feeling of freshness and excitement as the elevator doors open.

As you unlock new upgrades for the Poltergust, new areas on previous floors become available. The most significant inclusion being ‘Gooigi’. A goo clone of Luigi that can do all the things the moustached one can but is pliable enough to squeeze through bars and gaps.

Gooigi is controlled by switching between it and Luigi although a second player can also control it in local co-op. The only drawback to Gooigi being that it is significantly weaker and will dissolve if it comes into contact with water.

It’s a simple but significant gameplay change which sums up most of what Luigi’s Mansion 3 is. Simple changes and tweaking to make it more enjoyable.

Even collecting treasure has more significance here as it can be spent in Professor E. Gadd’s mobile lab for items that can help make the game easier. Items such as a bone that will allow you carry on after you’ve been defeated.

Finally, to wrap up this first impressions, Luigi’s Mansion looks so lovely. The use of lighting and colours really sings here and be it docked or handheld, the detail is still excellent.

We’re about halfway through the game and still enjoying every second of it. We’ll be back with a full review soon where we’ll also touch on the multi-player too!