Nintendo will release Luigi’s Mansion 3 on Halloween itself, and I couldn’t be any more excited to dig into the green Mario Bros.’ latest adventure.

It’s not often that Luigi gets the limelight. Younger brother to Super Mario himself, Luigi is seen as being goofy, noodly, and overall unimpressive. Luigi’s Mansion 3 looks to prove those perceptions wrong.

Luigi has had starring roles in the Luigi’s Mansion games ever since the first’s release for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2001. Nearly two decades later, Luigi’s haunted travels through ghostly manors are still just as, if not more fun.

Mario and co. aren’t of any help in the Luigi’s Mansion games, as they are all tossed away at the endgame’s boss dungeon, crying out for Luigi to come save them. Trembling and nervous, the green mustachioed plumber always hikes his overalls up, enters the dungeon, and doesn’t leave until everyone has been saved.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is far from just another sequel in the series. Here’s what makes this haunted hotel getaway the perfect game to play on your Nintendo Switch this Halloween.

‘Luigi’s Mansion 3’ features

Sucking action

The star of the show in any Luigi’s Mansion game is the way objects interact with the sucking physics of Luigi’s Poltergust vacuum. Tablecloths ripple, curtains struggle to stay on their hooks, money flies toward you, and objects get tossed around as Luigi casts his sucking magic upon the environment. As if the ways objects moved around you weren’t cool enough, each Luigi’s Mansion title introduces new gameplay elements that revolve around an update to the Poltergust’s technological capabilities.

Professor E. Gadd always keeps Luigi in the know with the latest and greatest inventions for the Poltergust vacuum. In Luigi’s Mansion 3, E. Gadd has equipped Luigi with two new functions. The first is the ability to hop in place. Luigi’s legs can’t exactly handle a jump, what with all of that heavy equipment on his back. However, with the vacuum sucking and blowing powers of the Poltergust, he will be able to lift up a little bit to catch some airtime.

Lastly, the Poltergust now allows Luigi to perform a smash attack with a ghost. Not only does this smash attack damage the ghost you’ve sucked up, it also allows you to use the ghost in your stream as a weapon against other enemies. It’s an epic way to deal heavy damage to bosses, or even to unlock hidden collectibles. The ghosts may already be dead, but Luigi won’t be taking it easy on them this time.

Floor bosses

Some of the best elements of the Luigi’s Mansion games are the bosses at the end of the levels. Most have difficult puzzle elements that will truly make you scratch your head (not unlike bosses in The Legend of Zelda titles). In Luigi’s Mansion 3, every one of the hotel’s floors has a new superpowered poltergeist to take down, and they aren’t going down without a fight.

While the boss battles themselves are still under lock and key, what we’ve seen of the third title’s endlevel bosses makes them seem like some of the hardest to defeat in the series. As Mansion 3 is a more linear title than the other two, the game will feel a bit more like a boss rush, which is fine by me. While exploring levels in the Mansion titles can be fun, nothing compares to the feeling you get when you finally take down that boss that has been kicking your butt for the past half hour.

A gooy co-op companion

The biggest gimmick introduced in Luigi’s Mansion 3 is that of Gooigi. He is a slimy, green Luigi clone that can be controlled by a second player, thus further unlocking your abilities of exploration and of battle. For instance, Gooigi can travel down a warp pipe to a lower level of the room that you’re in, revealing new details of the map that you wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise.

One of the most impressive Gooigi elements introduced in Mansion 3 is that of the production set elements. With Googi’s help, Luigi can point a camera at a movie set, thus revealing invisible pieces of the level that can only be seen via special angles of the camera. It’s an ingenious use of co-op, and is a treat to look at.

For the first time in the series, players will be able to play online with other players. In the ScareScaper mode, players can work together with fellow Gooigis to clear waves of ghosts on the floor. It feels a bit like Splatoon, as players are able to send out one of three preset text options to communicate with others. It’s a family-friendly approach to online gaming, and with a game that can be as spooky as Luigi’s Mansion 3, that friendliness goes pretty far.

‘Luigi’s Mansion 3’ release date

Luigi’s Mansion 3 releases exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on October 31, 2019.