There's always been something very tactile, very tangible about the Luigi's Mansion experience. It comes mostly, we guess, from how this most terrified of heroes chooses to tip-toe and panic-run around levels. He moves differently, is more animated and purposeful than your usual game protagonist, and the world around him is designed to suit this more methodical and careful style.
The haunted houses here are stuffed full of all manner of interactive environmental bits and bobs to investigate, open, suck into your Poltergust 5000, or stun with a blast from your Strobulb. It makes for a world that's always felt great to move around in as you hunt down spooks and well-hidden treasures. It's also the one aspect of the original Luigi's Mansion 2 that feels most improved by this HD revisit; with a level of detail in animations and environments that makes sucking up every last coin, ghoul, and gem feel great all over again.
It doesn't really take Luigi's Mansion 2 HD's upgrades to have fun here, of course, and having played through the OG on 2DS before approaching this revamp, it's still one of our all-time favourite Nintendo games, one that has stood the test of time very, very well. However, once you've spent a little time with these new looks, alongside a handful of Switch-centric augmentations to gameplay, it's pretty hard to go back to Next Level Games' original.
The complete graphical overhaul is obviously intended to bring 2013's 3DS offering more in line with 2019's Luigi's Mansion 3, and the devs have done a fantastic job of breathing new life into every single room that we've explored so far in the opening two areas. We won't spoil any of the little touches that've been added as you investigate, but there are some new surprises - and everything just looks so dang great now. We've been wowed as we entered some of the bigger rooms early on, fights look and feel brilliant — HD rumble doing some top work in this regard — and overall, if you didn't know better, you'd think this was a much more modern game that than it actually is. Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious.
Looking back on screens from the original, it's quite remarkable just how many jaggies we were willing to put up with back in the day, and in some early areas — the garage is a good example here — background details which were a smudgy mess in 2013 are now displayed with wonderful crispness and clarity. It helps that we've got fancy lens flare effects and shadows, shiny floors, flickering lights, and all that good stuff too and these new details feed into how Luigi now feels more responsive than ever to control. Just take a look at the two shots of the garage below, the left from 2013 and the right showing just how much more readable everything is circa 2024. It's quite a big upgrade!
If we did have an issue with the original Luigi's Mansion and this sequel, it's that sometimes it can get a little fiddly when aiming around, directing your vacuum into corners or above you, and fights against multiple enemies could be a bit...well...frustrating at times as a result. This all feels much better now, thanks in part to how easy it is to see everything in motion with the huge resolution bump/graphical upgrade, but also because Luigi moves more smoothly and freely, making spinning around on the spot or directing your ire at a particular ghost much easier to do.
Maybe it's just the Switch's sticks (more likely all the new animations, let's face it), but turning around in a tight spot feels much better now. Which is important — you can also switch between omnidirectional or horizontal controls for Luigi, and adjust stick sensitivities should you need to, and the game includes a gameplay guide that features handy videos should you need any coaching tips.
We do lose the signature DS double screen, hardly a surprise, but the replacement here, pulling up a personalised DS to enter a new map screen (accompanied by a little mini-map in the top right corner during normal play, which can be switched off), is a fine alternative that feels clean and clear to use so far. We're still early in this revamped adventure as things stand, but any concerns about navigation being made fussier or more time spent in menus can be laid to rest, as everything here feels very swish and easy to use.
So, with much better readability in environments, brand-new character models with lots of new animations, improved controls, great use of HD rumble in fights, gyro-aiming added, and lots of little surprises and touches as you manoeuvre around environs, this is looking like a nice treat so far. It's not reinventing any wheels, it doesn't feel essential in that way — this is still the exact same game, which is a good thing! — and you should definitely still prepare for a much slower, puzzle-oriented affair than any of Luigi's platforming adventures if you're new to the franchise, but we're very excited to continue our playthrough. This is an 11-year-old game that's still stuffed full of charm and atmosphere, even before the devs started modernising everything.
Here's a few more screens to keep you busy as we wait for the full experience to arrive on 27th June!
Looking forward to jumping into Luigi's Mansion 2 HD? Have you played it before or is this going to be your first time? Let us know in the comments!
