Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock

Recommended reading

Little Nightmares 3 Alone and Low
Horror Games Little Nightmares 3: Everything we know so far about the new horror game from Supermassive
Donkey Kong punches towards the screen in Donkey King Bananaza with a big, mischievous grin on his expressive face
Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Bananza feels like a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey to me, and it couldn't be in better monkey paws
Resident Evil Requiem Summer Preview
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem's demo tops the series' scariest moments with what might be the most upsetting monster Capcom’s ever devised, and as a horror baby I'm afraid of how much I want to play it
Resident Evil Requiem screenshot showing Grace Ashcroft walking down a dark hallway with a lighter in hand. The GR+ Summer Preview 2025 banner frames the image
Horror Games In just 30 minutes, Resident Evil Requiem scared me more than anything in the series' 29-year history
Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken screenshot
Survival Horror Games Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken puts an Inception spin on PS1-era survival horror games, and I totally get why it's winning pre-launch awards
Taking a closer look at a photo in Blue Prince in a dark room, and using a magnifying glass to read some handwriting on it
Puzzle Games I love Blue Prince for one simple reason: it's the closest thing we'll get to a House of Leaves game
Ghost Keeper demo screenshots
Real Time Strategy Games I'm celebrating Steam's Zombies vs Vampires Fest with a different monster: an RTS demo that's essentially reverse Ghostbusters, strategy style
  1. Games
  2. Adventure
  3. Luigis Mansion: Dark Moon

Luigis Mansion: Dark Moon preview Scared of the spotlight

Features
By Henry Gilbert published 18 December 2012

We’ve spent more than an hour in Luigi’s haunted house and lived to tell the tale

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
CATEGORIES
Nintendo Platforms
Henry Gilbert
Henry Gilbert
Social Links Navigation

Henry Gilbert is a former GamesRadar+ Editor, having spent seven years at the site helping to navigate our readers through the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation. Henry is now following another passion of his besides video games, working as the producer and podcast cohost of the popular Talking Simpsons and What a Cartoon podcasts. 

If we had to bet on what game would never, ever get a sequel, Luigi’s Mansion would be near the top of that list. The GameCube launch title might not have been a blockbuster, but now the green one is getting another shot at a starring role in the 3DS sequel titled Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. Out early next year, we recently played over an hour of Dark Moon, and it’s clear the near-final game improves on the original in substantial ways.

The story seems to follow the original’s, namely that oddball Professor E. Gadd needs help rounding up the dozens of formerly friendly ghosts that have gone AWOL in several different mansions. Despite his cowardly nature, Luigi is tasked with catching the specters using a modified vacuum cleaner, though his larger goal is to collect pieces of the shattered Dark Moon, the artifact that must be reformed to get the ghosts to behave once again.

The game is divided into multiple chapters spread over several different haunts, and our demo started in one of the first sections. Luigi had just been given the Poltergust 5000 (aka, the vacuum) and a flashlight--the combo needed to start busting ghosts. Unlike in the first game, simply shining a light on the apparitions doesn’t freeze them. Instead, you have to time flashing them with a strobe effect from your flashlight, an approach that adds a little more skill to ghost hunting.

You may like
  • Little Nightmares 3 Alone and Low Little Nightmares 3: Everything we know so far about the new horror game from Supermassive
  • Donkey Kong punches towards the screen in Donkey King Bananaza with a big, mischievous grin on his expressive face Donkey Kong Bananza feels like a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey to me, and it couldn't be in better monkey paws
  • Resident Evil Requiem Summer Preview Resident Evil Requiem's demo tops the series' scariest moments with what might be the most upsetting monster Capcom’s ever devised, and as a horror baby I'm afraid of how much I want to play it

Aside from the strobe effect, the ghost-catching seems fairly unchanged from the original. After stunning a ghost with your flashlight, you switch on the Poltergust and suck up the ghosts in a whirlwind of excitement. The ornery ghosts will pull Luigi around the room, so the player has to pull in the opposite direction to get the ghost in. And if you can stun more than one ghost in a single strobe flash, you can inhale multiple ones for a bonus, though it’s much tougher for Luigi to pull in two opposing directions.

In exploring the mansion, we searched multiple rooms for ghosts and can say that developer Next Level has certainly captured the feel of the original, at least in the first stages. Each room Luigi enters has new puzzles to interact with and secrets to find, demanding we use every tool at our disposal. And the rooms look great with the added depth of 3D.

Later on, Luigi received a tool that makes its premiere in Dark Moon, the Darklight Device. Once Luigi attaches it to his flashlight, he can shine this specific light spectrum to find items that pesky ghosts have turned invisible. This potentially deepens the game considerably. Before we were checking every item in the room we could see; now, we need to check all the ones we can’t see. This technique came into play in the second stage we explored, a sand-covered clock tower in need of some serious renovation.

Dark Moon looks like it’s going to be a pretty long game once it finally comes to stores early next year. Each chapter has a mission that can take up to 20 minutes, depending on how quickly you can solve the many environmental puzzles. And each stage is meant to be played multiple times so you can seek out all the hidden gems, golden bones, and other collectibles the ghosts have sneakily hidden all over the mansions. We won’t know for sure till we play the final game, but this looks like it could be one of the deepest adventures the 3DS has seen yet.

See more Nintendo Features
Read more
Little Nightmares 3 Alone and Low
Little Nightmares 3: Everything we know so far about the new horror game from Supermassive
Donkey Kong punches towards the screen in Donkey King Bananaza with a big, mischievous grin on his expressive face
Donkey Kong Bananza feels like a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey to me, and it couldn't be in better monkey paws
Resident Evil Requiem Summer Preview
Resident Evil Requiem's demo tops the series' scariest moments with what might be the most upsetting monster Capcom’s ever devised, and as a horror baby I'm afraid of how much I want to play it
Resident Evil Requiem screenshot showing Grace Ashcroft walking down a dark hallway with a lighter in hand. The GR+ Summer Preview 2025 banner frames the image
In just 30 minutes, Resident Evil Requiem scared me more than anything in the series' 29-year history
Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken screenshot
Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken puts an Inception spin on PS1-era survival horror games, and I totally get why it's winning pre-launch awards
Taking a closer look at a photo in Blue Prince in a dark room, and using a magnifying glass to read some handwriting on it
I love Blue Prince for one simple reason: it's the closest thing we'll get to a House of Leaves game
Latest in Adventure
Hytale
Stardew Valley's ConcernedApe reportedly says he could "possibly" step in to save cancelled Minecraft-like Hytale, but he'd need to know "why it failed" first
GTA Online Safeguard deliveries
How to complete GTA Online Safeguard deliveries
A Cairn screenshot shows an impressive mountain during sunset
The best new game I've played all year is a 30-minute demo where I just climbed rocks and ate chocolate bars – and I still care about it more than Borderlands 4 and GTA 6 combined
On Sempiria in an Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet PS5 screenshot, Jodran leaps towards a robot with her glowing red sword
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet apparently has "RPG progression systems," which could be as simple as The Last of Us' supplements or usher in a whole new era
Screenshot from Dreamsettler's reveal trailer, showing a clay-like face on a black background with different cities existing in bulbs on the face's head.
"This is almost 5 years here of my life": Sequel to early internet sim Hypnospace Outlaw, one of the best adventure games of the decade, has been cancelled
Mixtape protagonists lounge in a sunlit bedroom with purple walls and fairy lights
Nostalgic indie game from publisher Annapurna is a "respite from the current cursed reality" inspired by real-life, dev says: "Ended about as well as you can expect, including a nice scar, and cow s***"
Latest in Features
One-Punch Man season 3: Saitama punching while in mid-air during the anime One-Punch Man.
Anime Expo 2025: dates, announcements, and why One-Punch Man fans should be excited
The Shrouds
It may feature corpses, missing limbs, and AI, but with The Shrouds, legendary director David Cronenberg has made the ultimate meditation on grief: "To me, there is no afterlife"
A full setup for Fate of the Fellowship with cards, tokens, and pieces all laid out
Legendary board game designer says his upcoming Lord of the Rings project is "definitely the most thematically and mechanically rich game I’ve worked on"
Promotional artwork for the Steam Summer Sale 2025 which runs from June 26th - July 10th at 10am PT
I've spent six hours exploring the Steam Summer Sale with our Games Editor, and these are the 10 best games on discount I'd recommend so far
The Outer Worlds 2 screenshot of Aza, a cultist companion with short pink hair who holds a dagger
The Outer Worlds 2 is "going deeper and more complex" with its companions, and I'm already making grabby hands at this RPG
Ruffy runs across the ocean on wooden crates in Ruffy and the Riverside, with the GamesRadar+ Indie Spotlight logo
Banjo-Kazooie and Paper Mario mix together in this delightful puzzle platformer that has me swapping textures to solve puzzles by changing the world
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. M3GAN doll in M3GAN 2.0
    1
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  2. 2
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  3. 3
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  4. 4
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  5. 5
    Karate Kid: Legends review: "Better than Karate Kid (2010), nothing on Karate Kid (1984)"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...