Experience Now
Aaron "Dobler" Goldstein It feels fitting that, for our final night of Halloween 2026, we’re strapping on our Poltergust G-00 to capture ghosts in a game that came out on Halloween seven years ago. That game is one of the most inventive and family-friendly games: LUIGI’S MANSION 3.
I first bought LUIGI’S MANSION 3 for the Switch in 2019 and spent about 15 hours beating it with my little brother from the Big Brother program, who was around twelve at the time. We had a blast playing as Luigi together. I later beat it again with my wife’s kid, Slater, and my nephew, Jacob, in a Big Bear cabin, and I still have pictures that remind me how much fun we all had playing it.
Most recently, I knew my four-year-old, Aiden, was ready for it. He loves Halloween, scary stuff, ghosts, and treasures. He watched me play the entire game and was enthralled. LUIGI’S MANSION 3 follows a scared Luigi as he solves puzzles, captures ghosts, and figures things out with the help of his little ghost dog. The elevator button mechanism gives the game a clear, linear story, and fully exploring the hotel is optional.
Aiden is afraid of the dark, so watching Luigi face his fear of ghosts and stand up to King Boo and Hellen Gravely lets him conquer his own fear with Luigi. He sat there wanting more and pointed at the screen to tell me, “Dad, to solve this, it’s over here. Go this way.” He loved the cute ghosts, the sound effects, and the movie stage, where he had a blast going in and out of the TV sets. The mummies were the only stage that scared him, since he’s really scared of mummies right now, and he thought the Polterkitty was super annoying because I had to chase it across so many levels.
Also, don’t just take my word for it. Here’s Aiden’s unfiltered thoughts (with mild spoilers) about his experience playing LUIGI’S MANSION 3:
Final Thought: LUIGI’S MANSION 3 has given me great memories with several generations of kids and carries a positive message about facing your fears. I can’t wait for Aiden to be older and take the controller in his hand so I can play as Gooigi while he fearlessly leads the way.
LUIGI’S MANSION 3 is available now on Nintendo Switch; we played it on the Switch 2.
