Luigi's Mansion 2 Review: Gameplay Impressions and Top Features for Nintendo Switch

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is an impressive remake that continues Nintendo's amazing streak of phenomenal remakes after the successful release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in May.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon first released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013 as a highly successful sequel to Luigi's Mansion, which was released in 2001 as the flagship launch game on the Nintendo GameCube. In 2019, Luigi's Mansion 3 released and may be regarded as the best in this underrated series but it has been a long time coming to finally experience Luigi's Mansion 2 on a home console.

For fans of the series or those jumping in for the first time, Luigi's Mansion 2 is no mere port for the big screen. If not for the numbering, this could easily be seen as the next installment in the series because it looks as fantastic as other Nintendo Switch games and the gameplay is as good as any other in the series.

Gameplay Impressions and Top Features

Luigi's Mansion has always been one of the wildest departures of expectations in Nintendo's catalog. Instead of the usual platforming adventures of Mario and Luigi, gamers are dropped into a spooky setting to hunt ghosts and fulfill their ghostbusting dreams while controlling the terrified Luigi. Overall, Luigi in this series is one of the most entertaining and expressive characters in Nintendo's games. Luigi's mannerisms, fearful reactions to different ghosts and nervous humming is always a joy to watch unfold. There are many animations and sound effects for Luigi that keeps him relatable and entertaining throughout the game.

Across the adventure to rescue familiar characters of the Mushroom Kingdom and uncover mysteries, gamers will explore several different locations to capture enemy ghosts and find money to upgrade the poltergust, which is nothing more than an impressive vacuum Luigi uses to suck up ghosts and money. Gamers will absolutely want to take their time exploring every part of the mansions and other locations because the upgraded poltergust is essential late in the game to take down stronger enemies.

Beyond the fantastic graphics, art style and engaging sound effects, which resemble high-quality animated movies, arguably the most impressive aspect of the Luigi's Mansion series is the general physics and animations of Luigi's ghostbusting journey. Luigi's poltergust can latch onto many different items, such as table cloths, toilet paper, curtains, rugs, etc. to uncover hidden paths, money and other secrets. Gamers can rattle chairs and other furniture, spin ceiling fans and steering wheels, and of course, bust some ghosts.

The ghostbusting gameplay and physics is most spectacular, engaging and challenging because the ghosts will try to escape in all different directions and the gamer must use the joysticks to reposition and try to capture the ghost. Easier said than done because ghosts have different health meters, which must be depleted in order to capture them. If the ghost escapes, they'll go back into hiding and sometimes have weapons that they can use to attack Luigi. It's one constant cat-and-mouse game that is always fun and amusing. Of course, there's a variety of ghosts with different skills, strengths, behaviors and attacks, plus unique boss encounters that scale well in difficulty.

One of the best design choices is the different perspectives in levels during exploration as it helps keep gameplay feeling fresh. In addition to aiding combat encounters, these various camera angles allow gamers to see locations from a different point of view to create more options to explore secrets. The game being set across different levels and locations helps maintain an excellent pace and feels like Luigi is truly on a journey across a lived-in world as opposed to just being set in a singular mansion like the first game was. Luigi's Mansion 2 is every bit a sequel that expands upon everything that was beloved from the first game and pushes it to the next level. For those who have already played Lugii's Mansion 3, it will be easy to notice the influences from this game, especially with the variety in levels.

The levels are bite-sized, objective-based levels that are perfect for pick-up-and-play sessions. The game is especially great for parents and children who may have limited time as each mission can be completed in under 30 minutes. The objectives are clear and the map is excellent about directing the player, plus the dark light is fun to use to uncover new paths and solve puzzles. The environmental storytelling is excellent because players need to be mindful of their surroundings in order to complete puzzles and advance towards the main objective. After each level is a ranking based on various parameters such as clear time, money found, health lost and ghosts captured, which will help with replayability as gamers try to accomplish each mission to 100 percent completion.

As has been the case for decades, the music and sound effects are top notch. They have the usual Super Mario-esque charm but with spooky undertones that perfectly fit the setting to enhance the mystery vibes. Whether it's Luigi humming to a theme to calm his nerves, his shrieks, the sound effects from the ghosts, Luigi's flashlight or the vacuum effect from the poltergust, everything is meticulously crafted to excellence.

Beyond the music, the art style remains timeless like it did with the original release in 2001. As expected, the game runs flawlessly on Switch with no technical hiccups, glitches or crashes. This is the definitive way to play one of the best games from the 3DS library.

Conclusion

It's about time Luigi is back in the spotlight and releases at a great time ahead of the recently-announced Mario & Luigi: Brothership coming in November. Although a few months before Halloween, Luigi's Mansion 2 is a fun reintroduction to Luigi since it's been nearly five years since Luigi's Mansion 3. It will surely have fans calling for Nintendo to release the original Luigi's Mansion on Switch to be able to experience the full trilogy on one console.

Luigi's Mansion 2 on Switch is the definitive version of a fantastic 3DS game that is a blast to play for newcomers or veterans of the series. It is perfect for gamers to play with friends and a fantastic game for parents to experience with their children. Gamers looking for an entertaining ghostbusting adventure need to look no further. It's every bit as joyous to play as Luigi's Mansion 3 and is amazing to see on the big screen for the first time. It easily rivals Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as one of the best remakes on the Switch and should be in the running for any awards regarding remakes releases this year.