Next Level Games takes another crack at the Luigi's Mansion series, with mostly successful results. The pacing is greatly improved over 2, the game generally doesn't overstay its welcome and it's constantly throwing different things at you (the 17 floors/levels are all wildly different in theme and all have something worth remembering them for, making it more similar to the first one in this regard).

The inclusion of Gooigi was great as it allowed for really interesting puzzles and even a couple of really good bosses, the second to last one being my personal favourite. Having to manage both Luigis at the same time is something the game does fairly often and it's always clever.

Clever is a good way to describe the entire game, as everything here has a very specific purpose and there's very little in terms of filler or padding. Really the only issues I have with the game are that there's things I wish it did, like having a bit more backtracking (considering how interesting every level this time around I'm surprised it only happens around 3-4 times) and generally the game not having a lot of unlockables, meaning that unless you're going for 100% there's not much reason to explore this game. Which is a shame as this is one of those games where it's really fun to interact with everything and see every nook and cranny of every room.

Also kudos to the developers for managing to make a game this good looking on Switch while also having a physics engine running in the background, which I thought really enhanced the game. It's just really satisfying to vacuum objects and throwing stuff at stuff, I could do that for hours.

And ranks are back! They're not as interesting as they were in the first one but I'll let that slide. All in all, this game is very much a worthwhile experience for anybody who is looking for a unique game to play. Very interested to see Next Level Games do more with the series in the future, which I imagine will happen eventually

I'm very conflicted on Luigi's Mansion 2. It is a general improvement on everything the first game did, but it also has a ton more useless backtracking which I thought even the first game had too much of. Combine that with the fact that the 3DS wasn't the best console to put this sort of game on and you get kind of a mixed bag.

All in all though I think I prefer this one over the first one, mainly because it's a lot more interesting to play and even explore half the time. Too bad that a lot of the charm of the first one is gone but it was inevitable since Luigi's Mansion is now an IP and not just a one-off game. Either way I commend the developer for trying to do something different with the idea and expand on it, even though it not always works.

I have to say though, why was there no rank here? I get that money has another purpose in theory, but it would've been nice to keep that in to give you an excuse to still pick up the money even after you completely upgrade. Can't have my cake and eat it too I guess.

This is Exhibit A for games that get completely bailed by their charm and uniqueness, the gameplay itself here is fairly basic (understandable since it's a launch title and it was meant to show the capabilities of the Gamecube more than anything), but it manages to be pretty memorable and even mostly well paced thanks to its short length, the constant barrage of different little scenarios and just how different and wild it all feels.

Everyone has played this game but if you haven't, this is very well worth the 4 or so hours it takes to beat. Just beware of the final act, which is made of really boring backtracking through the by then mostly empty mansion. At least the final boss is pretty cool.

Also this game might have one of my favourite credits themes in any game, I don't know what it is but it's so catchy

Really fun and unique platformer, I wasn't expecting to like this game as much as I did considering it's from WayForward, a developer I'm usually not particularly fond of. This is one of those games where the gimmick (changing gravity) is the entire point of it, and it is a gimmick that is used to great effect, they really go far and beyond with the usage of it. After a while it becomes second nature to go through a level upside down which I consider really impressive considering how disorienting it could've been. Only two problems I had are some occasionally sloppy level design and the really short length, even considering that this is a Game Boy Color game.

It may feel more like a proof of concept of a great game than a great game in itself, but you can't go wrong with spending 30-40 minutes with this game.

Also I didn't know TDK used to publish games for a bit, I just remember seeing their logo because my dad bought tons of TDK blank VHS tapes. The things you learn by playing forgotten kids games from 20 years ago

This is a perfectly acceptable point and click adventure game. A little too much backtracking and towards the end the puzzles start asking a bit too much out of you, but despite the gameplay and writing hurdles this manages to be entertaining, probably also because of how short it is. I mean it, the game can't wait to end, one second you're doing normal investigation stuff and suddenly you're thrown into the climax, then the ending happens and it kinda feels like the writer got a little bored and just put in the bare minimum

This is a game that I played only because it was given away for free on Steam at some point, and I guess I didn't mind spending the 0 money that was required for me to play it. Check it out if you already have it and you like point and click adventure games I guess.

On a final note, the sheriff character's voice constantly sounded familiar to me but I couldn't put my finger on who the VA was. I checked the credits specifically for this, and he was played by Mike Pollock, who voices Dr Eggman. I guess there's my reason to remember this game for more than a day.