Looking back on our 2013 review of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon on the 3DS has given us a timely reminder of why we love this game so much, yet haven’t managed to return to it after our original playthrough at the time – an oddity, given that we have quite a penchant for soaking up every last secret there is to be found in most games we enjoy.
It was the controls, you see. They were clunky in the first Luigi’s Mansion, and in the second game the lack of an additional thumbstick on the 3DS made for an experience that felt somewhat marred by the shortcomings of the system it shipped on. It wasn’t a big deal – this writer still very much agrees with the 9/10 rating this site gave out at the time – it was always just one of those things with this series. A great idea, clever games, excellent puzzles and loads of atmosphere, all a bit reserved. A franchise that felt like it needed to be unleashed on a new platform.
This problem was then fully addressed with Luigi’s Mansion 3. The big, beautiful Switch follow-up that showed just how great this creepy sub-series could be if given the right treatment and not held back in the controls department. It’s our favorite game of the franchise, an experience that surpasses the scope and scale of the first two games, and the model that Next Level Games has been working towards with this HD refresh of the first sequel.
We already discussed in our preview of the HD version how this glossy remaster sticks firmly to what’s found in the original package from a content perspective. There’s no ‘Deluxe’ or anything like that in the title, indicating we’re just getting a resolution bump and some extra animations. And for the most part it is. It will be a sticking point for some, but Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is the exactly the same game which many of you will no doubt have played eleven years ago – it just looks a lot more fun.
And we really mean that much nicer. Yes, a lot of the work is in the resolution bump – there was always a ton of detail and artistry to ogle at in Luigi’s Mansion. The lighting and environmental effects have been improved, the animations have been improved, cleaned up and added – Luigi and his enemies are so much more emotional than we remember – and the whole thing feels a lot more readable and effective as these fine details become a lot more legible. chance to shine in both docked and handheld modes. This is a very nice version of a very good game.
And then we get to the real highlight, at least from a personal perspective, in that the second-stick controls are fair so much better. Your mileage will vary depending on how annoying you found sending the Poltergust 5000 to specific places in the original, but for us it eliminates the only real problem we had at the time. This now feels almost on par with Luigi’s 2019 adventure in the way it plays, and it makes for a decade-old game that hasn’t lost its ability to entertain in the slightest.
If you’ve never played it before, Luigi’s Mansion 2 abandons the claustrophobia of the creepier first game, in favor of a bigger and brighter adventure that gives the hapless Mario brother several locations to explore, rather than a singular mansion. It’s a surprisingly big game, somewhere around 30 hours if you dig into it and look for secrets, and every location is designed with a careful cleverness that really makes it feel like a bona fide Nintendo-made product, rather than the work of a third party (Canadian studio Next Level Games, now owned by Nintendo).
Rumble has been effectively added to fight sequences on Switch, which feel much better now that wrangling ghosts and aiming is smoother. Motion controls are used to fine-tune and direct the camera for certain parts, and these details, along with the updated look, make for a refresh that looks and feels really modern.
The five different areas that Luigi and company must fight through to collect pieces of the Dark Moon have lost none of their ability to draw you in, with each new mission balancing just the right amount of gentle combat with puzzle-solving make full use of your beautiful surroundings – this is one of those games that makes you feel like you’re rummaging around in drawers Awesome. Treasures, hearts and secrets fly out of things in just the right way, which in turn traps us in the quest to find every last hidden boo and gem. We’ve never spent much time with ScareScaper, the game’s local and online multiplayer mode. We have to be honest that it is not really our bag, but it is also recommended here for those who are into that kind of thing.
So, with so many good things to say about all of this, how come (review spoilers!) we went with a lower score this time? Well, because we feel that this HD package is all a bit too safe and secure considering the premium price it’s being flogged at. Make no mistake: this is a great game and it has never been played as well as it is here. But to leave the small, niggling issues of the past unchanged… it’s just not quite a good fit considering the price.
We really wonder why there isn’t a custom storage system; you have to restart a mission from the beginning if you die, and that hasn’t changed here. Loading times haven’t been as reduced as we expected either, so there are no benefits in terms of being able to dip in and out of levels faster than in the original. We also noticed a moment during an early cutscene where the frame rate stutters a bit, which is a bit surprising. It doesn’t affect the gameplay at all, but it does fit the overall vibe of “All very well, just a little push could have made it great, guys.”
When I speak to other people who have played this game in the past, there is always a slight reluctance at how slow these games can make the time between missions feel. Luigi’s Mansion 2 suffers from this kind of plodding pacing in the menus and in how often it feels like the Professor is pulling you out of levels rather than just letting you rip a little longer. It would have been great to see some of this stuff moved aside to make it all a little… faster, we think. A little smoother in the way it moves us. However, that’s for the luxury models, not the HD ports of this world.
For the price, it would have been nice to see these things fixed, more options for saving/pausing progress, or some new supported modes for players like the kind we see in those snazzy deluxe re-releases. However, away from those niggles, and away from the fact that they didn’t make climbing those big, bloody stairs in the Hollow Tree any easier, here we have a very simple – but also very shiny and beautiful – HD refresh from one of the 3DS’s best games. It looks great, it feels better than ever to play, it does just now about enough to warrant another visit. All these things are true.
Conclusion
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is Luigi’s Mansion 2 with a nice HD paint job. Surprise! It looks great, and the new models, animations and updated visuals make for a game that’s close to the glorious Luigi’s Mansion 3 in how modern and chic it all is. It also controls much better thanks to the second stick on the Switch. It’s just a shame we have no extras, no new ways to save mid-mission, no added content or bonuses. This is without a doubt 100% the best way to play the game from 2024 onwards, but it would have been nice to get something extra, especially considering the price. Maybe one day we’ll get a Deluxe edition.