Luigi's Mansion: Witching Hour

Luigi's Mansion: Witching Hour is an action-adventure/survival horror video game for the Nintendo Switch developed by Capcom and Next Level Games. It's the fourth entry in the ongoing Luigi's Mansion series and the second to be released on the Switch following 2019's Luigi's Mansion 3. The game delves further into the puzzle solving and horror aspects of the series as Luigi explores a decrepit town in search of his beloved Princess Daisy and save her from being used by a coven of witches as a vessel for an ancient being. In a first for the series, Witching Hour is relatively non-linear, allowing the player to explore different areas and almost always reap a reward upon going through them.

Story

Unlike previous Luigi's Mansion games, the game is broken up into chapters with a boss at the end of each. As the game is somewhat non-linear, however, the path shown from the midpoint of Chapter 1 onward is the ideal path the player will end up taking. Side missions and other minor occurrences are listed under the given locations' sections in Locations. 

Prologue

Millions of years ago, the universe was created. Life began to flourish all throughout it thanks to the divine powers of the Immaculate Ones. Each of them controlled a specific portion of the universe but the two most important were Gyvenimas, the One of Life, and Kuolema, the One of Death. The two kept the universe in balance for millennia, watching people come and go in the grand cycle of life. However, there came a day when Kuolema, distraught by having to see people die each and every day, rebelled and fought against Gyvenimas. The war waged on for years and ended up leaving many souls trapped between life and death. By the time it was through, both Ones were exhausted and the universe was a mess. As a result, the two were banished and a new Immaculate One known as Skärseld, who could control both life and death, was put in their place. The universe was promptly reset by a black hole created by the Ones' power and Gyvenimas and Kuolema were never heard from again, but their story would be passed down for generations until it soon turned simply to legend.

In the early 17th century, a young girl by the name of Theodosia Reinhardt discovered ancient texts describing the Immaculate Ones. She gathered a few of her friends, including local witch Alaibu, and sought to summon one of the Ones to aid their village in its suffering. Unfortunately, they ended up summoning Kuolema, who promptly possessed them and used them to grow its influence. While Kuolema was initially successful, he would eventually be subdued when all of those it had possessed were buried alive by a landslide which took Theodosia's hometown with it. Their souls remained trapped in purgatory, yearning for someone to let them out to wreak havoc once more.

In the present day, a coven of witches simply referring to themselves as the Shadow Sirens began a normal ritual to raise the dead for their own gains when they found themselves interrupted by Kuolema and its minions. Instead of retaliating, Beldam, the leader of the Shadow Sirens, struck a deal with Kuolema: bring it a human vessel so it could regain power and take over the universe once more. Kuolema agreed and offered to create more minions for them to help them in their search. When asked if she had her sights set on anyone, Beldam replied by mentioning the princess of Sarasaland's soul had not been corrupted by any force prior and would be a perfect candidate. Kuolema chuckled to itself and told its troops to hunt her down at all costs.

Chapter 1 - "Wrong Turn"

With the Last Resort restored to its former glory and King Boo and Hellen Gravely finally subdued, the Mario Brothers, alongside Princesses Peach and Daisy, a few Toads - most notably Toadbert, Captain Toad and Toadsworth - and Polterpup, finally set off to take a proper vacation around the world aboard Daisy's personal cruise liner. However, the bus they're on hits something in the road and causes them to crash, knocking them out. A few hours after the crash, Luigi, Polterpup and Toadbert awaken to find the other Toads missing along with Daisy and Mario. Thankfully Peach hasn't been taken and as such, she elects to stay behind and help Toadbert fix the bus back up while Luigi and Polterpup head further into the forest they crashed in to find their friends. After a bit of wandering through the foreboding forest, Luigi stumbles across a crumbling sign which welcomes him and Polterpup to Berken Township, the town that was once home to Theodosia Reinhardt and her group of friends. He finds Mario's cap hung up on the sign and Daisy's crown broken nearby, prompting him to head further in.

As Luigi approaches Berken Township proper, he finds the place abandoned, most of its buildings in ruin. Polterpup scouts ahead and sniffs out a sign of life in one of the buildings. Luigi rushes after and finds Captain Toad inside of what appears to be a church. He tries approaching the Toad Brigade's captain but soon sees his headlamp flickering on and off rapidly. The Toad's head twists around as long spider-like appendages rip out of his clothes. Paranormal gates slam down and Luigi is forced to fight the corrupted Captain Toad.

After tripping up Captain Toad by using Polterpup to pull rugs out from under him and allow Luigi to ground pound him three times, the corrupted Toad is about to lunge at them once more before a green beam shoots out from seemingly nowhere. Luigi turns toward the entrance of the church where he spots Professor E. Gadd and Vivian rushing in with the Professor wielding a brand new Poltergust on his back. Captain Toad writhes in pain before returning to normal, sitting back up and wondering what happened. As the gates lift up, E. Gadd explains that Captain Toad was taken over by some malevolent force that's haunting the town and that it's likely what snatched up Mario and Daisy a few minutes prior. Vivian and he usher the three back to his lab, but not before making a quick detour to grab Peach and Toadbert. Thankfully, both are still by the bus when the quintet finds them.

Once they're at E. Gadd's majorly expanded laboratory, the scientist requests an audience with Luigi, Polterpup and Vivian. He goes in further detail about the Berken Township Curse and how the coven has found new life thanks to the Shadow Sirens and Kuoelma's influence. E. Gadd informs Luigi it is his duty to save Daisy, stop the coven from resurrecting Kuoelma fully, and save Berken Township from certain doom. Vivian then helps him get the brand new Poltergust H3-X set up, along with a proper ghost hunting suit to avoid the effects of the curse; she also shows him the Revitalizer Hex, a useful tool which can both revive dead plants and create vines to trip things up or move them around as well as restore any corrupted creature or person to its original state. With a few small attachments, including the new Nightmare Slab, Luigi's ready to head out and capture some ghosts. E. Gadd and the others wish him well, with Peach even giving him a kiss on the cheek.

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It is at this point in the story that the world opens up to the player. Everything beyond this is merely the suggested order, though certain bosses and encounters are required to be dealt with to progress the story.

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Luigi and Polterpup's first task is to investigate Eclipsewood Bank, which is supposedly haunted by a corrupt banker who drove several people out of town due to raising the rent on various establishments. He died in a fire protecting his ill-gotten gains and is rumored to have been merged with the spirit of one of Kuoelma's minions who apparently offered him eternal wealth if he found a tablet buried beneath one of the buildings he owned. To even get access to the bank, which has mostly collapsed due to structural damage from the fire, they'll have to find an alternate entrance into it through the sewer system. Thankfully, however, the entrance to the sewers is located at an old sewage treatment plant near the river that cuts through Berken Township.

Upon arriving at Muddy Waters Sewage Treatment Plant, Luigi takes out a few ghosts before making his way up to the manager's office and snagging the Sewer System Access Key. As Luigi heads down toward the entrance, however, he finds himself beset by ghosts of those who died in a freak overflow accident several decades prior. The ghosts snatch the key and dash off into the sewer system, prompting Luigi to send Gooigi after them. While traveling through the sewers and avoiding water wherever he goes, Gooigi comes across a Scaredy Rat carrying a part of a piece of paper. He follows the rat back to its colony and discovers Rascal, the Rat Prince holding the remaining parts of the paper - revealed to be a map of the sewer system - above a feral-looking rat. Gooigi squares off with Rascal and defeats him by turning his feral rat pet on him several times. Gooigi grabs the map and uses it to locate an old set of sleeping quarters where he takes care of the ghosts resting there and snatches the key back before scrambling back to Luigi.

Now able to descend into the sewers fully and explore them with the help of the Sewer Map, Luigi wades through the knee-deep waters of the sewers and has a few close calls with various ghosts and other creatures lurking in the pipes. Eventually, he comes to a fork in the road and follows one path toward some mysterious music. After emerging from the sewers, Luigi finds himself in the freezer of Mr. Wally's Ice Lollies. He exits after using Gooigi to unlock the door and finds the source of the music: an old record playing the store's jingle. As Luigi goes to turn it off, he's suddenly thrust back against the wall and is knocked out cold. Luigi awakens and finds himself face to face with the deceased proprietor of the shop: Wallace "Wally" Bailey. Luigi squares off with Wally and eventually manages to defeat him by turning up the heat in the freezer, causing him to melt and his spirit to pass on thanks to some Revitalizer-fueled cold air. Before departing, Wally gives Luigi the Frostbite Hex, which he mentions could be useful against whoever's haunting Eclipsewood. All of the souls in Mr. Wally's Ice Lollies pass on peacefully and it becomes the first spot protected from the Berken Township Curse.

Seeing that the door to the shop is boarded up, Luigi descends back into the sewers and takes the alternate path, which happens to lead right into the vault at Eclipsewood Bank. He's careful not to trip any of the sensors, using both Gooigi and Polterpup to sneak by, and eventually makes it out mostly unharmed. Luigi then fights a pair of security guard ghosts - Eleanor and Michael  - before heading upstairs to the banker's office. Even in death, Eugene Sawyers continues to scam his customers further and further into debt as Luigi sees when he watches him turn a lowly ghost into a golden version of themselves before draining their free will. Luigi bursts into the office, prompting Eugene to summon a few other ghosts to his aid. Kuoelma's symbol glows brightly on a briefcase he's carrying, meaning Luigi has to open it and suck up all the cash within if he wants to win. Luigi does so in a battle involving Mr. Sawyers using his massive amounts of money to try and bury Luigi, his security guards to hold Luigi in place with tasers, and slamming him into the wall with desk drawers. Once Mr. Sawyers' money is gone, he panics before being struck by the Revitalizer and sucked into the Poltergust. The remaining souls at Eclipsewood Bank are freed and leave Luigi with a gift: a shard of a mysterious purple gem. Luigi thanks them and leaves, watching as the bank returns to its former glory, protected from the curse.

With Mr. Sawyers sucked into the Poltergust and the Frostbite Hex in hand, Luigi returns to E. Gadd's lab and reports his findings. E. Gadd informs him there's been an uptick in activity near the suburban areas and directs him to head to Clofeld Estates to find the next corrupted soul. Chapter One ends with Luigi back in the lab with Polterpup and Toadbert working on improving the Poltergust's power, all while another Shadow Siren watches through a nearby window. 

Chapter 2 - "No Reservations"

Chapter Two opens with a dream sequence where Luigi is wandering through a field of flowers clad in much finer clothes than he's used to. He eventually comes across Daisy in a much more regal dress and goes in to give her a kiss. Right as he's about to, though, Daisy morphs into a hideous beast only shown in shadow and lunges at Luigi. The plumber catapults out of his bed in E. Gadd's bunkhouse and is met by Vivian, who shows a bit of concern over his condition.

Gameplay

Luigi's Mansion: Witching Hour plays very similarly to the past entries in the series, but throws in some twists to make it stand out. Like before, players control Luigi in a third-person perspective as he travels throughout Berken Township and the areas around it looking for Mario and Daisy. The game features an emphasis on puzzle-solving and using different tactics to defeat enemies and find clues related to the mysteries of the town and the supernatural phenomena within it.

Poltergust H3-X

Once Professor E. Gadd and Vivian are met early on in the story, Luigi gains access to the Poltergust H3-X, which retains all of the functionalities of its predecessors. These include;

• The vacuum function, which allows Luigi to suck in ghosts, small creatures and certain objects or blow them away. The Slam function introduced in Luigi's Mansion 3 returns as well.
• Strobulb, used to stun ghosts, activate certain switches, and illuminate dark pathways. It can be turned off to avoid detection from certain enemies.
• Dark-Light Device, used to unveil hidden objects and codes as well as gaining the ability to slow ghosts and creatures it is aimed at.
• Suction Shot, which shoots out a suction cup that can grab certain objects and ghosts.
• Burst, which propels Luigi into the air and sends a shockwave beneath him, pushing nearby ghosts and objects away.
• The G-00 Cylinder, which contains Gooigi by default. Gooigi can be summoned for different puzzles by pressing down once and recalled by pressing twice.

Hexes

New to Witching Hour are Hexes, spells that can be activated by pressing and then tilting the stick in the direction of the desired hex. These hexes are unlocked after certain bosses are defeated and can be used to access different areas on the map.

Hex	Description
Afterburn	Originally crafted by a pyrokinetic witch proclaimed as a valkyrie, this flaming hex allows Luigi to shoot a stream of fire which can light flammable objects and lanterns to make a path through in some way. He can also set the floor on fire to burn any ghosts or other creatures walking over it. Luigi moves much faster and has a more powerful Poltergust at the cost of the hex lasting a short amount of time and his defense being lowered. Location: ??? Activated by tilting the stick to the left.
Counterclockwise	A wizard who believed he could reverse time to prevent his friend from dying created this spell and hasn't been seen in over a century. In modern times, Luigi can use this hex to reverse time to 10 seconds prior for either him, the creature in the G-00 Cylinder, or an enemy close to him. Luigi's movement speed is slowed while using this Hex but the Poltergust's power is doubled. Location: ??? Activated by tilting the stick to the upper right.
Frostbite	A scientist looking to cure his dying wife's disease resorted to witchcraft to find a cure. Though it failed, Luigi benefits from it by being able to shoot a freezing beam of ice to slow and freeze enemies and create ice barriers. He moves faster but has less traction while using this hex. Location: Mr. Wally's Ice Lollies Activated by tilting the stick down.
Psychgeist	Created from Professor E. Gadd's research on the mental functions and natural abilities of Poltergeists, this artificially made Hex allows Luigi to use the Poltergust as an extension of himself to activate switches, grab objects, and travel along walls and ceilings. Luigi's Poltergust is more powerful and he moves faster while on ceilings and walls, but is slower normally and has less traction in anti-gravity mode. Location: ??? Activated by tilting the stick to the upper left.
Revitalizer	An ancient hex remade by the Shadow Sirens to restore the dead to life found its way into the hands of Luigi through Vivian. This rather basic hex is Luigi's default hex and allows him to spray life energy onto plants to unlock new passages, create vines to grab things from far away or trip enemies up, and allow the corrupted souls plaguing Berken Township to pass on. It gives Luigi no new weaknesses but at the same time, it also provides no benefits to his abilities. Location: E. Gadd Labs Activated by tilting the stick to the lower right.
Shadow Walker	Created by a mysterious former resident of Twilight Town simply known as Victor, this hex allows whoever utilizes it to walk among the shadows. Luigi can not only use it to move across otherwise uncrossable gaps but also avoid detection from enemies and use whoever's in the G-00 Cylinder to possess objects. While in the shadows, Luigi moves much faster and has a more powerful Poltergust but loses those benefits when normal with the hex active. Location: ??? Activated by tilting the stick to the right.
Tesla Coil	A familiar pair of sisters conjured up this spell initially to teach those who sought them out an advanced technique to wield electricity with. Now Luigi can channel the electricity through his Poltergust to activate electrical equipment, stun ghosts, and even pull himself along powerlines. Luigi has better traction and a stronger Poltergust at the cost of lower defense. Location: ??? Activated by tilting the stick up.
Whirlpool	A sea witch formed this to drag more poor, unfortunate souls into the depths and convert them into her servants. While the part of the hex containing the last part has been lost, Luigi can use what remains to shoot beams of water which can fill tanks, extinguish flaming objects, and push enemies and objects back. Luigi's Poltergust is much weaker with this Hex active but he's much faster and stronger to compensate. Location: ??? Activated by tilting the stick to the lower left.

Characters

Heroes

Playable

Character	Description
Ghostbuster with a Big Heart Luigi
Goopy Ghost Hunter Gooigi
Creepy Canine Polterpup

Supporting

Character	Description
Eccentric Parapsychologist Professor Elvin Gadd
Mushroom Kingdom Superstar Mario
Sporty Sarasaland Royal Princess Daisy
Frequent Damsel in Distress Princess Peach Toadstool
Time Traveller Toad Toadbert
Pint-Sized Adventurer Captain Toad
Mushroom Retainer Toadsworth

Trivia

General Trivia

• This installment draws inspiration from other horror games, most notably Capcom's own Resident Evil series, Konami's Silent Hill series, and Supermassive Games' Until Dawn and Little Hope.
  • The Salem Witch Trials, as well as The Crucible, the 1953 play based on them, also provided inspiration for the game's setting and tone.
  • Poptropica's Ghost Story Island inspired a few of the ghosts in the story, as well as several twists and turns.
• The page received a massive overhaul after TheScarn took over from Niobium Moon. Originally, the plot involved Luigi setting out to stop Norton, an old friend of the Mario Bros. who went insane with power thanks to the beauty of the princesses and kidnapped Daisy.

Influences and references

Characters

• Each of the Immaculate Ones' names comes from a foreign spelling of the portion of the universe they represent.
  • Gyvenimas is Lithueanian for life.
  • Kuolema is Finnish for death.
  • Skärseld is Swedish for purgatory.
• Mr. Sawyers, the banker fought at the end of Chapter One, is based upon Mr. Potter, Lionel Barrymore's character from the 1946 Frank Capra film It's A Wonderful Life.
  • Needing the Frostbite hex to beat him is in reference to the film's wintertime setting.

Items

• In the same vein as previous pieces of E. Gadd hardware being based on Nintendo consoles, the Nightmare Slab is based on the Nintendo Switch.
• The Dark-Light Device's new ability was inspired by the Ultra Violet Light in Luigi's Mansion Hunter.
• The Frostbite hex's description is a reference to the backstory of frequent Batman villain Mr. Freeze.
• The Tesla Coil hex and the increased speed and lower traction effects of the Frostbite hex were suggested by DoodleFox in a Discord DM.
• The Psychgeist's functions were suggested by ValkyriePyra on the Fantendo Discord server.
  • Its color is haint blue, a color used in many porch ceilings in the Southern United States. African-American folklore states the color was used to trick ghosts into believing they were seeing the sky or water, which most apparently cannot cross.
• The Whirlpool hex's description references the song "Poor, Unfortunate Souls" from the Disney version of The Little Mermaid.

References to other Mario games

• Luigi's Mansion: Professor E. Gadd and King Boo return. The Poltergust 3000 can be seen being used for parts in E. Gadd's lab with the Game Boy Horror propped up next to it; occasionally, the Game Boy Horror will display part of the first floor map from this game.
  • Gooigi returns from the 3DS remake of this game as well.
• Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon: The Dark-Light Device, Strobulb and Polterpup return. The Poltergust 5000 can be seen being used for parts in E. Gadd's Lab; its flashlight infrequently blinks on and off while idling in E. Gadd's Lab. The Psychgeist Hex is mentioned as being the result of Professor E. Gadd's experiments with the Poltergeist found in Gloomy Manor.
• Luigi's Mansion 3: The Slam, Burst and Suction Shot functions on the Poltergust return. Hellen Gravely is mentioned in the game's intro and the Last Resort is shown briefly. The Poltergust G-00 can be seen being used for parts in E. Gadd's Lab; specifically, it appears the Suction Shot and jets which allowed Luigi to burst into the air have been retrofitted onto the Poltergust H3-X. Additionally, the Virtual Boo can be seen sticking out of a dumpster outside of a decrepit computer shop in Inner City.
• Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: Toadbert returns. His title references his status as one of the first three people to time travel in that game.
• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: The Jellyfish Sisters are heavily implied to be the creators of the Tesla Coil hex.
• Mario Kart DS: The Poltergust 4000, one of Luigi's karts, can be seen being used for parts in E. Gadd's Lab; while remaining idle in E. Gadd's Lab, one of its wheels may roll past the camera.
• Super Mario Galaxy: Captain Toad returns once again.
• Super Mario Sunshine: Toadsworth returns as Peach's aide once more. A prototype version of FLUDD can be seen hanging up in E. Gadd's Lab, while the Magic Paintbrush's blueprints are hanging near it.