Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Family movie night? There's an app for that

Download our new mobile app on iOS and Android.

Get the app
Parents' Guide to

Luigi's Mansion 3

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Cartoonish haunted house game has a smart, brave hero.

Game Nintendo Switch 2019
Luigi's Mansion 3 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

See all
age 7+

Based on 4 parent reviews

lurbanci
lurbanci Adult
January 27, 2020
age 5+

Fun solving puzzles and even provided a couple challenges for Daughter and Daddy

I bought this "for me" as a late Christmas gift. I play Mario Kart and Mario Party with my daughter (we'll call her Princess Peach), and Dad needs something fresh. I had seen the gameplay for Luigi's Mansion 3 and noticed you could play it with two players on story mode. I've been playing games my whole life and naturally wanted to get Peach into them. So knowing Peach's level of critical thinking, I thought she might do well to challenge herself and learn a game that didn't drive for her (i.e. mario kart drive assist). Peach will be 5 in July 2020. Peach has got a pretty good grip on most the controls. You'll be using both thumbs, the left to move Luigi around and the right to aim the Poltergust (vaccuum) or flashlight. She moves around just fine, can open doors and interact with objects. There was a learning curve that I had to walk her through, but it didn't take her long to pick up on it at all. She sometimes struggles with aiming the Poltergust and getting the ghosts (which can get tougher the further up the mansion you go). Still, we were able to beat the entire game, but there were times I had to take on Luigi so we didn't die. I tried to have her use Gooigi who can die and come back to life as many times as you want. One note on Co-Op: You will be unable to play the story on co-op until you get through a "tutorial" portion at the beginning of the game - once you get the poltergust and defeat the bellhop ghost in the garage, you'll have to get a briefcase which gives you access to Gooigi and finally a
Heather M.
Heather M. Parent
February 29, 2020
age 8+
See all 4 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (4 ):
Kids say (24 ):

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

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended game lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate