Article

Luigi's Mansion 3 makes a haunted hotel feel hilarious

21 September 2026

Vacuum ghosts, explore wildly themed hotel floors, solve puzzles with Gooigi, and rescue Mario in the funny spooky adventure of Luigi's Mansion 3.

Luigi steps out of a lift, sees something terrifying, and immediately looks like he would rather be anywhere else. That is exactly why I like him. Mario usually charges into danger as if giant fire breathing turtles are completely normal. Luigi shakes, gulps, and still keeps going. In Luigi’s Mansion 3, that makes every spooky hotel floor feel funny and heroic at the same time.

A holiday goes very wrong

The adventure begins with Luigi, Mario, Princess Peach and some Toads arriving at the Last Resort hotel. It looks fancy at first, but the holiday quickly becomes a ghostly trap. King Boo captures Luigi’s friends inside paintings, leaving the most nervous member of the group to rescue everyone.

The hotel is a brilliant setting because it does not stay like an ordinary hotel for long. Different floors feel like completely different worlds. There are places inspired by castles, film studios, museums, gardens and other strange attractions. Riding the lift to a newly unlocked button feels exciting because you never quite know what ridiculous room will appear when the doors open.

It also makes exploring more interesting than walking through a row of similar corridors. One minute Luigi is dodging suits of armour and the next he is dealing with scenery that looks as if it belongs in a movie. The whole building feels like a stack of themed playgrounds with ghosts hiding inside them.

The vacuum is the star

Professor E. Gadd gives Luigi the Poltergust G 00, which is much more entertaining than an ordinary vacuum cleaner. Luigi can stun ghosts with his torch, suck them towards him and then slam them around the room. The slam is especially satisfying because it turns a scary ghost battle into a noisy mess of furniture, coins and surprised expressions.

The Poltergust can also blow air, fire a suction cup and reveal hidden things with the Dark Light. These abilities make nearly every room into a small puzzle. A suspicious cupboard, curtain or cracked object might hide money or the way forward. I would probably spend ages vacuuming every cushion just to see what falls out.

Hunting for gems gives careful players another reason to inspect the scenery. Some are visible but tricky to reach, while others need a clever combination of tools. Finding one after staring at a room and finally noticing the clue feels much better than simply following an arrow.

Gooigi is weird and useful

Gooigi might be one of the strangest helpers Nintendo has ever created. He looks like Luigi made from green jelly and can squeeze through tight spaces, cross spikes and slip into places that Luigi cannot reach. He can also help move heavy objects and deal with puzzles that need two characters.

There is a catch. Gooigi melts when he touches water, which creates some funny problems. A tiny puddle can be more dangerous to him than a huge ghost. Swapping between Luigi and Gooigi makes solo puzzles feel like controlling a little team, especially when one character must hold something open for the other.

A second player can control Gooigi in local co op during the main adventure. That is a great option for families because one person does not have to sit and watch the whole story. Working together also creates opportunities for the sort of communication that starts sensible and ends with someone yelling, “Do not walk into the water again!”

Spooky without being miserable

Luigi’s Mansion 3 has ghosts, dark hallways and sudden surprises, but it is more silly than horrible. Luigi’s terrified reactions are wonderfully dramatic. His knees wobble, his teeth chatter and he calls for Mario as if the hotel itself is listening. Even the ghosts often act like cheeky cartoon troublemakers instead of proper nightmares.

The animation adds heaps of personality. Luigi carefully creeps around corners while his ghost dog, Polterpup, bounces through danger without worrying at all. Boss ghosts have costumes and big personalities that match their floors. Learning their tricks is part puzzle and part battle, so winning takes more than pointing the vacuum in one direction.

Some younger players may still find King Boo and a few darker scenes creepy. The good thing is that the comedy keeps breaking the tension. If a room feels scary, it usually will not be long before Luigi gets startled in a ridiculous way or a ghost causes complete chaos.

More ways to hunt ghosts

The story is the main attraction, but there are multiplayer modes too. ScareScraper lets players work together locally or online to complete timed objectives, such as catching ghosts or rescuing Toads. It can support up to eight players, so it feels busier and more frantic than the careful exploring in the hotel story.

ScreamPark is the competitive option. Players split into teams for quick games, and up to eight people can join on one Nintendo Switch console. It is the sort of mode that can turn a friendly lounge room session into loud ghost hunting chaos very quickly.

Online play has membership requirements, so it is worth checking Nintendo’s details before planning a ScareScraper group. The main story still works as a complete adventure by itself, either alone or with a local Gooigi partner.

Why this hotel is worth checking into

Luigi’s Mansion 3 takes a simple idea about vacuuming ghosts and fills it with clever rooms, expressive animation and heaps of things to discover. It rewards curiosity without becoming too serious. I love that Luigi never suddenly becomes fearless. He stays nervous, but he saves his friends anyway.

That makes him a different kind of hero. Courage is not about laughing at every ghost. Sometimes it is about trembling in a haunted lift, gripping a ridiculous vacuum cleaner and pressing the button for the next floor anyway.