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Games of the Decade: Expansion Pass #17/Blog a Day #14

Hello everyone, how are you?

There are a number of games that star iconic duos. One of them is usually the main and the other is usually the sidekick. The main ends up being the star and the sidekick lives in the shadows of the star. Except sometimes the sidekick ends up getting a game. Case in point, the most famous brother in all of video games is none other than Luigi. He has lived in the shadow of his older brother Mario, though recent years have been kind to Luigi. For this we are going to take a look at Luigi's most recent game, Luigi's Mansion 3.

                                        The music matches the atmosphere well

I've talked about Luigi's Mansion 3 as part of the big Super Mario Multiverse community collaboration from last year. But I loved this game so much that it definitely deserves another mention here. It's too late since you're already reading this. Anyway, Luigi's Mansion 3, originally a Wii U game, imagine that, is the current game in the franchse developed by Next Level Games. This game was actually teased in that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in that one Direct that resulted in Luigi's apparent death. Masahiro Sakurai is quite the sly developer. The game was officially anounced in a Direct but it wasn't till E3 2019 that we finally got our glimpse of how the game will be and you'll find out how it was as you read on.

Luigi's Mansion 3 stars our favorite green sidekick himself. That's right, Yoshi. Nah I'm kidding. It stars Luigi and this time he's brought along his brother Mario, Peach, Polterpup, and a cavalcade of Toads and they receive an invitation to the luxurious highrise hotel known as The Last Resort. I imagine like in the first game, Luigi thought it was too good to be true but he went anyway. And just like before, not everything is what it seems because it turns out that the hotel is haunted. Gasp.

Luigi this time has some new moves as well as some new gadgets. The Poltergust G-00 is Luigi's new ghost catching vacuum and it has some new features. Luigi can now slam ghosts on the ground for extra damage using a suction plunger attachment from the Poltergust. It kinda reminds me of a technique from the 2009 Ghostbusters game and it works well here. I suppose Luigi has had enough of the ghosts so he has resorted to violence. You can also slam ghosts on other ghosts to damage them too. You can also use the plunger to solve puzzles as well.

 

                                   The attention to detail in this game is really good

Luigi is not alone this time around since Gooigi makes a return as well and this time he has a much more bigger role. You can use Gooigi to help you solve puzzles and get into areas that Luigi normally can't like vents or drains or over hazards like spikes. You can even play local co-op with a friend and they can assume the role of Gooigi and help you on your quest to navigate the hotel. Only thing is Gooigi is weaker and he disolves when he comes in contact with fire or water.

Each of the floors in The Last Resort are different. Some are traditional hotel floors, another has a shopping mall. But then it starts getting more and more mundane like one of them features a movie studio and another might have a garden with a tree overgrowing in the middle. It gets even more crazy but I don't want to spoil anymore since you have to see the hotel for yourself.

"But Captain N, where can I play this game" Well if it isn't obvious you can play it on the Nintendo Switch. It rarely goes on sale but when it does it can go from $45-50 which is a great price for the game. The game even features the Screampark, a party mode for local multiplayer that supports up to 8 players. There is also an online mode called the Scarescraper and you and a group of players must team up to take on 5/10 of the Scarescraper's randomly generated floors. It's a really fun mode and yes you can also invite someone who is playing with you in the same room and they take the role of Gooigi to help you out. My younger brother and I played through this mode and it so much fun, especially with someone who knows what they are doing. Definitely try it out.

 

                                      By far my favorite floor in The Last Resort

Final Thoughts: Luigi's Mansion 3 is fantastic. It's a great game that deserves to be in your Switch library of games. The game is full of charm everywhere you look. Every floor has its own theme and pretty much its own thing. Granted there is some annoying backtracking later on in the game though. All of the new gadgets you have access to work really well and make some some really creative puzzles and fights. Gooigi is definitely one of the best additions to the game and in some ways you can break the game as well if you use Gooigi in boss fights.

The game looks amazing, it might actually be the best looking game on the Switch and I wouldn't be surprised if its pushing the Switch to its limits. The best part? The characters themselves are just full of expression and charm and definitely gives them more personality. Next Level Games is really a master of this and you'll notice it too if you have played some of their past games.

Speaking of Next Level Games, they are now owned by Nintendo. Congrats! I wonder why Nintendo never bothered to own them since NGL mostly work on Nintendo games and games that run on their hardware. I'm glad they did though since they would be dumb not to. I'm really excited to see what their next game is. Luigi's Mansion 4? Maybe a new Wario World game or maybe Chibi-Robo? Whatever it is I have confidence that it'll be fun. Also another fun fact for you, the art director for Hotel Mario was also the lead technical artist for Luigi's Mansion 3. If that isn't the best redemption arc ever then I don't know what is.

 

                        Luigi is as shocked as you are by that Hotel Mario revelation

You don't have to live in the shadows, you are just as capable of doing anything you want but don't forget to ask for help if you somehow need it.

That's it for this one. For the next one we are going to wander into forbidden lands to seek something. Happy Valentine's Day, thanks for reading and...

 

 

*All game images were taken by my Switch and our copy of the game*