Review: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD
For a series with only three games under its belt, Luigi’s Mansion The series feels like it has significant cultural weight as a core part of Nintendo’s identity. All three games in the series are good, but Luigi’s Mansion 3first released on Switch in 2019, is arguably the best: a visually stunning, exciting and varied adventure with plenty of fun combat and great environments to explore. Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is a remaster of the series that originally came out on 3DS in 2013, and it’s arrived on Switch in good shape. Replaying the game now is an interesting experience – it’s still a good game, and the remastered graphics are excellent. But it’s haunted by the quality of the third game in the series.
The plot of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD The game picks up where the first game left off (last re-released on 3DS in 2018). King Boo, the villain of this game, has broken the Black Moon, the only thing keeping the ghosts at bay in the mansions of Evershade Valley. Professor E. Gadd once again asks Luigi to fix the problem. Throughout the rest of the game, he keeps providing explanations, which sometimes stops the game. The game is fairly narrative, although the plot is not particularly deep.
While the first and third Luigi’s Mansion games are continuous adventures, Luigi’s Mansion 2 The game is mission-based: each time you enter one of the game’s five mansions, you’ll be given access to different objectives, collectibles, and paths to navigate. As such, the game can feel a bit choppy, as you’ll often be taken back to the beginning of the mansion. The idea behind this structure was to make the game more enjoyable on a handheld console, which is still true here. While I prefer the structure of the other two, I did appreciate being able to complete a mission quickly on the go.
Like all games in the series, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD It’s all about finding ghosts, stunning them with Luigi’s flashlight abilities, and sucking them into a vacuum. Ghost battles are tactile affairs: you usually have to figure out the right conditions to stun them, then when you’re in the middle of attacking, you have to pull the stick back to charge up a shock attack to do more damage, while being aware of other ghosts that might try to attack you and break your hold. It’s a fun system no matter which one you’re fighting. Luigi’s Mansion he appears in. As the song says – (ghost)busting feels good.
Different missions might ask you to discover a new path through the mansion, deal with a ghost infestation in a particular room, or solve a few simple puzzles. It’s not the most experimental game in Nintendo’s catalog, but it does have some very enjoyable boss encounters scattered throughout the experience, as well as loads of Easter eggs and hidden collectibles to discover. Exploration and diligence are rewarded with money (which automatically unlocks upgrades for your gear) and high scores. It’s a shame, though, that there are no leaderboards to compare your performance with others.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 was already one of the best-looking games on the 3DS, and this remaster wisely maintains that version’s art style. It’s not a rehash—put the two versions next to each other and the Switch version looks noticeably better, but still in keeping with the original. It’s absolutely the right approach: Luigi is brimming with personality, as are the various ghosts you’ll vacuum up, and the mansions look stunning. There are a few areas where the game has received a little less polish or attention—the collectible money scattered throughout the game lacks texture, for example—but those are minor quibbles. It’s just not as as beautiful as Luigi’s Mansion 3, which remains one of the most beautiful Switch games, if not the most beautiful.
It’s a shame that Nintendo didn’t include optional checkpoints in this remaster. Dying towards the end of a level and having to start over can be discouraging, especially when the levels are based around exploration and discovery. The first time it happened to me, I had to step away from the game for a while before I felt like playing it again. Discovering a secret the first time is fun, but when you have to recreate your stages multiple times, the thrill diminishes. The difficulty increases significantly during certain ghost encounters, and the structure of the game means that if you hit a wall, you simply can’t progress until you’ve passed it – which can mean trying the same 15+ minute mission over and over again.
The Scarescraper multiplayer mode from the 3DS version is also present, with online play. I didn’t find many players online when I searched, and there’s no split-screen option, so this mode probably won’t be very popular unless you approach it with a lot of intentionality. It pales in comparison to Luigi’s Mansion 3the co-op mode – which is a repeated shout-out throughout this review only because it’s hard not to think of that game while playing this one.
Considered at its true value, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is an excellent remaster of a very good game, balancing its odd structural decisions with a lot of charm and fun. If you’ve never played the third game, try this one first – it’s just a little hard to get back into.
James O’Connor has been writing about games since 2008.