Gonna try to challenge myself to articulate why I like this game without saying "mood," "atmosphere," or "ambience."

This game really was a risk: a gamble on a popular IP, breaking from the established platforming formula--and as a launch title, no less. And god damn, it worked.

Luigi's Mansion gameplay is half exploratory puzzle-solving and half fishing minigame disguised as ghost vacuuming. These two halves work seamlessly off each other, as 99% of your interactions with the environment come from the Poltergust (the aforementioned vacuum cleaner) anyway. Catching ghosts is a thrilling affair, especially when you have to wrangle multiple at once while dodging their attacks, getting dragged along in their desperate flailing to escape.

The titular mansion, too, is such an inspired locale. It really does feel "lived in" and not just a video game level, if you catch my drift. Keeping the target demographic in mind, it's not scary, but certainly spooky, all its dark hallways teeming with mischievous spirits. Luigi, ever the lovable coward, is the perfect choice of protagonist for this sort of haunt: a match made in heaven.

The game can be beaten in a matter of hours, with an unlockable hard mode upon completion. Highly recommend.