Luigi's Mansion 2 HD: What is it?

Published on 5th April 2024 by Guy Lanham

Who you gonna call? Is it a-me, Mario? No, it's Luigi, the number one!

Mario's trusty sidekick is back in the continuation of the fan-loved series! It's been a while since the last instalment of Luigi's Mansion 3 in 2019, but now our timid hero is back and ready for another ghostly adventure in this remake of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.

What is Luigi's Mansion 2 HD?

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is a Nintendo Switch remaster of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, originally released in 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS. This upgraded version breathes new life into the handheld game, bringing it to the big screen with better-than-ever HD graphics. However, do bear in mind that this is a Nintendo Switch exclusive, meaning it won't be available on either Xbox or PS5.

When did the series begin?

The Luigi's Mansion series made its debut in 2001 with the release of Luigi's Mansion on the Nintendo GameCube. Quite a few years later, in 2013, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon was released on the Nintendo 3DS. In 2019, Luigi's Mansion 3 made an appearance for the Nintendo Switch, and it has remained the latest instalment of the series.

What is the premise?

In Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, we join Luigi on a ghost-hunting mission in Evershade Valley after Professor E. Gadd's research goes awry.

Summoned by the Professor, our timid hero finds himself facing the return of King Boo. Using his magical crown, King Boo shatters the Dark Moon into six pieces, unleashing chaos. The crystal artifact that once pacified the ghosts is destroyed, causing them to turn hostile. Now, Luigi must retrieve the pieces and restore peace to Evershade Valley.

The shattered fragments of the Dark Moon are scattered across various mansions. As Luigi, your mission is to solve puzzles in each mansion and capture any hostile boos in your way (little, floaty ghosts). However, just as Luigi is able to retrieve a few pieces, a twist unfolds: Mario is revealed to be kidnapped and imprisoned in a painting.

With a little help from the Professor, Luigi is able to navigate each location with his ingenious inventions. Equipped with the Strobulb, Luigi can stun boos momentarily and suck them in with the Poltergust 5000, making you feel like an epic ghostbuster (or boo-buster!). Plus, you get to adopt a cute ghostly doggo along the way!

What can you expect?

Players can expect action-packed levels filled with puzzles, secrets, and hidden zones waiting to be discovered. While the game makes use of subtle elements of horror, it maintains a playful and humorous atmosphere throughout. With five unique mansions to explore and plenty of replayable missions, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD promises endless hours of ghost-bustin' fun.

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is not just for Super Mario fans. It can be enjoyed solo or with a group of friends and family. With cooperative play available, you can team up for even more fun!

Do you need to play Luigi's Mansion 1 before playing this game?

There's no connecting plot between the games in the series, so players can jump in and play any one of them in whichever order. Each game is designed to be enjoyed as a standalone title.

While Luigi's Mansion 2 HD does follow on from the first instalment where Luigi meets Professor E. Gadd for the first time, inexperienced players can still enjoy it all the same. In the first game of the series, Luigi wins a haunted mansion that he gets to explore. In this game, we follow on from the original story of Dark Moon, where E. Gadd teleports Luigi in from a TV to help him restore some crystal fragments and defeat King Boo.

Multiplayer Co-op Mode

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD features cooperative play with the return of ScareScraper mode, which supports up to four players locally or online. If it's anything like its predecessor, players can expect to scale a haunted tower with multiple levels of varying difficulty.

When does Luigi's Mansion 2 HD come out?

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD released on the 27th of July, 2024.