Luigi's Mansion 3
Cartoonish haunted house game has a smart, brave hero.
Parents say
Based on 5 reviews
Kids say
Based on 23 reviews
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Luigi's Mansion 3
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Luigi's Mansion 3 is a comical, lighthearted haunted house game exclusively for the Nintendo Switch that sees Mario's brother exploring a ghost-infested hotel. He's pretty scared, flinching at the slightest sound, teeth chattering whenever he sees something spooky. But he faces his fears in order to take on the hotel's unnerving matriarch, who has captured and frozen his friends in paintings. Puzzle-like locations and ghosts force him (and the player) to put on his thinking cap and figure out how to defeat them. Violence is cartoonish and mild, involving only a vacuum cleaner that Luigi uses to grab onto and suck up ghosts, whacking them on objects and other ghosts to weaken them. But parents should note that this game can prove a bit tricky thanks to some tough puzzles that could leave players stumped. An on-call hint system is helpful, but it doesn't provide guidance in every situation. Under the CCPA law you have the right to protect your personal information. Make a Do Not Sell request to Luigi's Mansion 3.
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What’s It About?
LUIGI'S MANSION 3 begins with Mario's easily spooked sibling receiving a special invitation to visit a luxurious hotel with his friends. But things go awry once he arrives. His pals are captured by the hotel's villainous proprietor, who freezes them in paintings. Worse, it turns out that the hotel is brimming with ghosts eager to scare Luigi senseless. It's up to Nintendo's green-clad hero to search the place floor by floor, sucking up spirits with his trusty vacuum cleaner while trying to locate and rescue his chums. Play is broken into a couple of elements: exploration and ghost battles. Players need to use Luigi's growing arsenal of paranormal gadgetry -- including a dark light that reveals secrets, a suction cup that can latch onto physical objects, and a Luigi clone made of green goo (controlled by either you or, in cooperative play, a friend) who can do anything Luigi can do -- to examine every nook and cranny of the hotel to ferret out secrets and discover collectibles. Once in a while, Luigi's searching will reveal one or more ghosts, which is when combat starts. Players need to figure out how to stun the ghosts -- typically by using a flash of Luigi's Strobulb -- before activating the vacuum's suction function to grab onto and tug the ghosts, pulling them around the environment and whacking them on things to weaken them. Outside the story mode, cooperative and competitive multiplayer games allow groups of up to eight players locally or online to work together to solve puzzles and face off in mini-games that challenge teams to hunt ghosts and collect coins.
Is It Any Good?
Luigi may never be as popular as his spotlight-hogging brother, but this distinctive ghost adventure is just as innovative and entertaining as anything Mario has been up to on Switch. The first thing many players will notice about Luigi's Mansion 3 is its beautifully drawn world rich with details. Each room is loaded with stuff to investigate and appreciate, from realistically flowing curtains and bedsheets to suspicious paintings and crevices. The dynamic lighting effects are particularly impressive, augmenting the spooky mood while also being ingeniously used as a game mechanic to reveal secrets and stun ghosts. And the whole game is absolutely brimming with personality, from themed rooms -- including a movie set, a restaurant, and luxury suites -- to memorable temperamental ghost bosses who become irate in funny and delightful ways when Luigi disturbs them.
These environments and characters have been cleverly built around the game's exploration, puzzle, and combat systems. Players must constantly think about Luigi's range of abilities and how they can be used in order to find secrets and overcome obstacles. If Luigi isn't strong enough to tug something on his own, have Gooigi join him to see if the pair can do it together. If a painting looks dodgy, blast it with dark light to see if you can reveal something new. If your vacuum cleaner's sucking function isn't doing the trick, try reversing the flow and blasting air to push objects around instead. It's all about curiosity and experimentation -- and the delight you feel when you discover something new. Luigi's Mansion 3 is creative game design at its best, and will be most rewarding to players who enjoy taking the time to investigate everything that the game will let them do.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in media. Is the impact of the violence in Luigi's Mansion 3 affected by the cartoonish visuals of the game? What's the difference between scariness and violence? Are they sometimes the same thing?
You can't be brave if you're not scared, so can you think of any times when you worked up the courage to face your fears? How did you feel afterward?
Game Details
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release date: October 31, 2019
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters, Great Boy Role Models, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- ESRB rating: E for Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence
- Last updated: October 28, 2019
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