After not being certain which of the first 2 games I liked more, Luigi's Mansion 3 ended up going with the mixed approach. A lot of people saw it as a return to form by going with one main building. I was initially really stoked that the location of the game was in a haunted hotel. I thought that idea sounded incredible.
What we actually got felt quite a lot like Dark Moon - though the game was not quite episodic, the floors of the hotel act as a way of splitting the game up and creating levels. I was not someone who disliked Dark Moon for the level based layout, and felt that at times, it allowed for sharper moment to moment gameplay than the first game. However, I felt disappointed with how levels were implemented in Luigi's Mansion 3 after hoping it could work out better, as a result of not being booted out of levels when finishing tasks.
When I think of the potential the hotel had, I was thinking that you could add a lot of verticality to the level design, somewhat like the first game. I thought that the story (a hotel vacation) could give the gameplay something unique to brag about. But in the end, the progression is incredibly linear for an exploration focused game. When you finish a "level" you go up one floor. Floors are completely separated from the rest of the hotel, unlike in the original game. The game felt predictable as a result.
Each floor did have themes, and some of them were fun. But overall it didn't make up for what I felt was a missed opportunity in game design. The feel of the mansion in the original far exceeds the environments this game provides.
Not only did it not match up with the original, I believe Dark Moon had better moment to moment gameplay. This game felt weirdly sluggish to me, and at times I felt like my time was being wasted. Many boss fights have unskippable cutscenes, even if you've seen them before. The run meter feels annoying - and worst of all, the combat feels dumbed down.
The new big feature in this game was being able to slam ghosts for massive damage. The game has been built around this feature, making it not really optional. All ghosts have more HP as a result, and the objective really always turns into slamming ghosts. I much preferred the chase in the other games, and struggling to hold on to them as they tried to escape. In Dark Moon especially, the added jump you could do while vacuuming a ghost allowed you to skillfully escape situations where you would lose hold of the ghost. In this game, capturing ghosts feels almost telegraphed. After X amount of damage, you always lost certain ghosts, and as a player, it feels like you have less control. Overall, the "combat" just felt dumbed down, and not matching Dark Moon, or the original for that matter. Battles are easy, and the last boss was not particularly great or memorable in my opinion either.
Overall, I find this to be the weak point of the series. Dark Moon felt more engaging to me, and the first one had an "it" factor that is hard to describe, but anyone who has played it understands what I mean. As a standalone game however, Luigi's Mansion 3 is a fine game, with a lot of love put into it. It has the classic Nintendo charm.
Visually, it is one of the best looking games on the Switch. The presentation is awesome. There's just enough quirk that the game feels alive. I love how the ghosts interact with Luigi. Whether that's just typical trolling or throwing water polo balls at him. The moment in the game I remember looking back on laughing was on one of the later floors, climbing to the top of the staircase. Everything appears to be operating normal, until Luigi approaches. His reaction to the scenario was just so Luigi that it's not even funny.
In summary, the game is alright. It's not particularly memorable to me. Years later, I can't even remember anything from the OST. It was kind of disappointing to me because while there's nothing truly wrong with it, it felt like a game that just exists. I had enough fun in one playthrough and have no desire to replay it, but that's okay. It was cool that they even put a new Luigi's Mansion on Switch, and while I'm left thinking the game had much higher potential, it was pretty much what I was expecting all along.
What we actually got felt quite a lot like Dark Moon - though the game was not quite episodic, the floors of the hotel act as a way of splitting the game up and creating levels. I was not someone who disliked Dark Moon for the level based layout, and felt that at times, it allowed for sharper moment to moment gameplay than the first game. However, I felt disappointed with how levels were implemented in Luigi's Mansion 3 after hoping it could work out better, as a result of not being booted out of levels when finishing tasks.
When I think of the potential the hotel had, I was thinking that you could add a lot of verticality to the level design, somewhat like the first game. I thought that the story (a hotel vacation) could give the gameplay something unique to brag about. But in the end, the progression is incredibly linear for an exploration focused game. When you finish a "level" you go up one floor. Floors are completely separated from the rest of the hotel, unlike in the original game. The game felt predictable as a result.
Each floor did have themes, and some of them were fun. But overall it didn't make up for what I felt was a missed opportunity in game design. The feel of the mansion in the original far exceeds the environments this game provides.
Not only did it not match up with the original, I believe Dark Moon had better moment to moment gameplay. This game felt weirdly sluggish to me, and at times I felt like my time was being wasted. Many boss fights have unskippable cutscenes, even if you've seen them before. The run meter feels annoying - and worst of all, the combat feels dumbed down.
The new big feature in this game was being able to slam ghosts for massive damage. The game has been built around this feature, making it not really optional. All ghosts have more HP as a result, and the objective really always turns into slamming ghosts. I much preferred the chase in the other games, and struggling to hold on to them as they tried to escape. In Dark Moon especially, the added jump you could do while vacuuming a ghost allowed you to skillfully escape situations where you would lose hold of the ghost. In this game, capturing ghosts feels almost telegraphed. After X amount of damage, you always lost certain ghosts, and as a player, it feels like you have less control. Overall, the "combat" just felt dumbed down, and not matching Dark Moon, or the original for that matter. Battles are easy, and the last boss was not particularly great or memorable in my opinion either.
Overall, I find this to be the weak point of the series. Dark Moon felt more engaging to me, and the first one had an "it" factor that is hard to describe, but anyone who has played it understands what I mean. As a standalone game however, Luigi's Mansion 3 is a fine game, with a lot of love put into it. It has the classic Nintendo charm.
Visually, it is one of the best looking games on the Switch. The presentation is awesome. There's just enough quirk that the game feels alive. I love how the ghosts interact with Luigi. Whether that's just typical trolling or throwing water polo balls at him. The moment in the game I remember looking back on laughing was on one of the later floors, climbing to the top of the staircase. Everything appears to be operating normal, until Luigi approaches. His reaction to the scenario was just so Luigi that it's not even funny.
In summary, the game is alright. It's not particularly memorable to me. Years later, I can't even remember anything from the OST. It was kind of disappointing to me because while there's nothing truly wrong with it, it felt like a game that just exists. I had enough fun in one playthrough and have no desire to replay it, but that's okay. It was cool that they even put a new Luigi's Mansion on Switch, and while I'm left thinking the game had much higher potential, it was pretty much what I was expecting all along.