Ten years after the release of the 3DS masterpiece, Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon, Nintendo has now ported the ghost-hunting adventure to Switch. Essentially, the game is almost a copy-and-paste from the 3DS to the Switch with a few minor UI tweaks here and graphics improvements there.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD sees Luigi explore the land of Evershade Valley. The name is fitting given that this town and its outskirts are always shrouded in the cover of nights which naturally adds to the game’s ghostbuster-like elements.
Luigi is asked by Professor E. Gadd to hunt down fragments of the Dark Moon which have seemingly split up and been scattered around the land. Luigi is then equipped with the Poltergust 5000 which is an in and out vacuumed machine. It can blow out air while also sucking in air and whatever happens to come in contact with it.
The Poltergust 5000 is one of two handy tools Luigi uses. The other is a flashlight that shines across distances, can be used to blind ghosts, reveal hidden objects and features other upgradable tools. Together, Luigi may seem equipped for the undead that haunts the lands but he is far from it. Mainly because he is deathly afraid of ghosts.
Regardless of how Luigi feels about these ghosts, he is forced to do the bidding for Professor E. Gadd and explores different locations catching ghosts, collecting money in the form of gold bars and cash, finding secret gems and solving puzzles.
Unlike Luigi’s Mansion 3 which saw Luigi explore one large game hub that expanded as he progressed through the game, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD takes place across smaller hubs. These hubs are explored in “chapters” with cut-off points across different objectives.
So instead of endlessly running around one place, I saw myself returning to the same location over and over again as I moved through the area and explored further. After completing some chapters, I would then unlock a boss fight, complete that and move on to a new location.
While this approach suited the 3DS back in the day, it feels a bit dated on the Switch, however. Especially considering that these chapters also lock out certain areas until you reach a later chapter to venture through them. This results in a lot of rinse and repeat exploration and repeated fights against ghosts. Often, groups of ghosts would be back in the same room in every chapter so I expected them to jump out at me.
Ghosts in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD are characters on their own. Each comes with its own quirks and personalities. This means some are tougher to catch while others come with their own mechanics. Blue ghosts called Hiders hide away in cabinets, draws and jars. I had to force them out of hiding by opening up these draws and interacting with the jars. Once they were startled, I could then flash my torch to stun them and initiate the capture process.
The capture process is the same for all ghosts. Once stunned and weak, I could suck them into the Poltergust 5000 by holding down a button and pulling the analogue stick away from the direction they were fighting me against. This would deplete the stamina bar or I could press the A button to trigger a stronger suction pull. Inhaling ghosts essentially relies on depleting their stamina which acts as HP in a way.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD starts off slow with only a few ghosts to encounter. However, later levels include a wide range of them which enhances exploration and these so-called “combat” encounters. If anything, the later levels get quite challenging thanks to these various ghosts that you’ll need to tackle in specific ways to beat.
Exploration is a key focus in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD too. Luigi uses his Poltergust 5000 to interact with items and even uses the wind to trigger mechanics. Blowing air onto a fan, for example, would sometimes open up a secret room. Sucking on a curtain will get it caught in the inhaler and pull it off the railing. Often, this would reveal money to grab, maybe a spider to kill or a secret path to venture through.
Some later levels get even more complicated with puzzles I had to fully engage with rooms and items to move objects around, blow switches in place, inhale spider web balls and set them on fire to burn things and more. Every mansion comes with its own set of wholly unique puzzles thanks to their setting.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD also features the original ScareScraper multiplayer mode. While I wasn’t able to test this out during the review, I remember spending a few dozen hours on the 3DS version playing with friends and catching ghosts.
The added mode is nice to see given how so many “remastered” games launch without their original multiplayer component.
Of course, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD also has a number of visual improvements. This is seen across the entire game. Not only are textures sharper but all 3D objects are higher-poly too. That, combined with the new improved lighting creates a wonderfully dark and chilling ambience throughout the game.
It also comes with some notable Switch hardware features including HD rumble that mimics the suction and blowing of the Poltergust 5000. The lack of a dual-screen on the Switch means the map is also visible on the top right-hand side at all times. There’s also gyro movement for aiming and moving the nozzle of the Poltergust 5000.
I enjoyed Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD but I do have one gripe. The lack of manual saving does get in the way. Instead of the game saving your progress throughout a said chapter, it only records your progress at the end of the chapter instead. So if you exit the game mid-chapter, you’ll have to start the chapter from the start all over again.
This means watching the cutscenes, collecting all objects and catching all ghosts. I gett that the original didn’t have a manual save option but it could have been included here. I just feel like the change in pace of life today would greatly benefit from me not losing my Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD progress.
Overall, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD makes for a great addition to the Switch library. It might not be the most innovative experience around but the adventure is one to remember. The game will definitely tide us over while we wait for the inevitable fourth game.
This Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD review is based on a code sent to us by Nintendo. The game launches only on Nintendo Switch on 27 June and starts at R1185. If you pre-order it you’ll get a cool diorama statue.
Luigi's Mansion 2 HD
Summary
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD brings visual upgrades, new UI features and more to a 3DS game to deliver an excellent adventure game for the Nintendo Switch. If only the limited save game system was improved.