Somehow, we’ve entered the final third of 2019. It might seem like only days have passed since we were last opening Christmas presents, but the nights are already drawing in once more. Soon, people will be asking you what you want for Christmas. For gamers, the answer to that question hasn’t changed since we were small children: video games. We get excited during the final few months of the year, because if we’re lucky, the games that will be released during the next couple of months might be waiting for us under the tree when we wake up on December 25th!
With that magical moment in mind, we’ve been looking ahead as to which games might make a good present. Ignoring the big-name releases which will launch with plenty of fanfare without our help, we’ve picked out a title which looks like it’s going to be a delight for owners of the Nintendo Switch: Luigi’s Mansion 3. According to some sources who’ve had the chance to play demo versions of the game, it might turn out to be the greatest Nintendo Switch game to date.
The Eternal Lore Of The Mario Brothers
When it comes to video gaming, thing don’t get much bigger than the Mario Brothers. They’re pop culture icons. They’ve been reimagined and re-invented on every Nintendo console since the very first NES system, and they’ve managed to stay relevant for more than thirty years. If you’re old enough to remember those primitive pieces of 8-Bit kit, the Mario games might be what made you fall in love with video games in the first place.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that thousands of people have literally grown up with the Mario Brothers. We played their games for the first time when we were wide-eyed children, and we’re still playing them as we head toward middle age. At the same time, the Mario Brothers have grown up with us. That’s why they’ve followed us into more adult areas of entertainment; there’s even a Mario’s Gold mobile slots game, made especially for people who grew up loving the video games, but now have a taste for games where money is at stake. In that respect, it joins Tomb Raider and Street Fighter as video games which have become mobile slots on casino website such as Amigo Slots. Given the popularity of these mobile slots, it’s no surprise that there’s still a business case for new games featuring the characters.
There’s just one issue with Luigi’s Mansion though – it starts Luigi, and not Mario. So does that mean it loses some of its star power?
Striking Out On His Own
Luigi isn’t the only video game character who struggles in the shadow of someone better known. Poor Ken has been dealing with being the American knock-off version of Ryu forever in Street Fighter. Tails probably grew up to be quite resentful of Sonic after his first few Sonic the Hedgehog appearances. Luigi has never been quite as iconic as Mario, but he’s also famous in his own right. When someone as famous as Katy Perry dresses up as him to go out cosplaying, we think he’s probably doing fine.
Also – and perhaps more importantly – this isn’t Luigi’s first solo rodeo by a long chalk. This isn’t even his first dash around a haunted mansion. As the name suggests, there have been two previous Luigi’s Mansion games – but we believe that this one has the potential to blow the two prior games out of the water.
What We Know About The Game
Well, the first point of interest is that despite the name, it isn’t set in a mansion. It’s actually set in a creepy old hotel – and one which is haunted from top to bottom. Ghosts and ghouls appear to be the order of the day with late 2019 releases – we already have our eye on the 10th-anniversary Ghostbusters re-release. This is the first time that a Luigi’s Mansion game has been released on the Nintendo Switch, so it’s also had some graphical tweaks to bring it in line with the new format. We don’t like Luigi has ever looked so good. For a guy who must be approaching 80 by now, he’s in excellent shape.
The preview of the game that’s been made available is a little limited (15 minutes of gameplay, to be precise), but from that, we’ve been able to glean that each floor of the hotel will feature a different theme, and ghosts and enemies which are specific to that theme. As an example, one of the floors is an old medieval jousting arena. It’s a little eccentric in terms of design, but it’s certainly going to avoid accusations of being boring and safe.
We didn’t mention Ghostbusters by accident earlier. It’s to be hoped that the design team behind the new Luigi game avoid a lawsuit from Dan Aykroyd, as the device Luigi is carrying around with him to catch spooks looks more than a little familiar. Known as the Poltergust 3000, it’s a little like a hoover which sucks up ghosts. If you think that sounds like one of the ecto-traps from the Ghostbusters movies, you’d be very right to say so. Before Luigi can trap a ghost, though, he has to freeze it by pointing his (apparently magical) flashlight at it. Swap out the flashlight for a proton beam, and we’re sure you’ll get our point. While it may be heavily borrowed from elsewhere, the system makes for entertaining gameplay, and combines well with the ‘touch and flick’ style of the Nintendo Switch device.
Oh, and in a somewhat surreal development, Luigi is able to turn into an ectoplasm ghost called Gooigi, and walk through walls. We don’t know how, and we don’t know why, but it happens, and it’s as cool as it is unsettling to look at.
If you want to indulge in some Mario Brothers nostalgia – or if you just want to play what’s potentially going to be a great Nintendo Switch game – you’ll be able to pick up Luigi’s Mansion 3 on October 31st (because of course it has a Halloween release date).
Alternatively, just put it on your Christmas wish list and let someone else pick it up for you!
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