Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is putting a spooky coat of paint on a 3DS classic

As we creep closer to the end of the Switch’s life cycle, Nintendo has been turning to more beloved games from consoles past for modern revisits. The latest is Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, a remaster of 2013’s Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon for the 3DS. I stepped into the haunted mansion to see what Nintendo had in store for the remaster.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD most notably provides a facelift to the 2013 action-adventure game. The older character models have been updated with smoother looks, and environments have been given fresh textures to put them more in line with modern games. Thanks to the Switch’s hardware, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD also enjoys an increased resolution, making everything on-screen clearer and more pleasant to look at.

Those who enjoyed the original Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon will find the core of the original game intact with the remaster. The game follows Luigi as he’s once again sent into the mansions of Evershade Valley, this time to help Professor E. Gadd collect pieces of the Dark Moon. As Luigi looks to restore the Dark Moon to its rightful place in the sky, he comes up against various ghosts and a series of spooky puzzles.

However, the jump to a modern console means the game’s controls have been retrofitted for a new control scheme. There are no longer touchscreen controls, but you can still choose to aim the Poltergust 5000 with gyro controls, if that’s your thing.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD also takes advantage of the Switch’s HD Rumble feature. It’s nothing complex, but the Joy-Cons and Pro Controller vibrate when you use the Poltergust 5000, with the intensity of the vibration building as the spectral vacuum picks up power.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD sees the return of the green-wearing Mario brother in the leading role, alongside memorable characters like Professor E. Gadd and Polterpup. It’s got all the makings of a solid remaster, but we’ll have to see how the full thing comes together when it releases on June 27.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_