Dr. Luigi

While I greatly enjoyed Dr. Luigi, most of my joy can be attributed to my profound love for Dr. Mario. Those who have such a nostalgic tie to the game will love Dr. Luigi in the same way the new iterations of Tetris keep fans from the '80s and '90s coming back.

This high-priced Dr. Mario clone is still loads of fun – especially in groups – and serves as an effective prescription for anyone suffering a deficiency in accessible, competitive puzzle play.

When Nintendo first announced Dr. Luigi during the most recent Nintendo Direct, Operation L mode took center stage. While this turns out to be the least enjoyable part of this farewell to the Year of Luigi, Dr. Luigi does offer other competent updates to the classic gameplay. I can’t get the classic tune out of my head or the smile off my face.

A nice new entry in the classic puzzle game series, with some interesting new ideas but also a not perfectly balanced difficulty level and a couple of missing options that we saw in previous entries.

Dr. Luigi does an excellent job capturing the addictive gameplay that made Dr. Mario so memorable and fun.

All in all, I think Dr. Luigi is fun call back to an NES classic, with just enough spin put on the original formula to make it feel fresh again.

The lack of notable features of previous games, especially four-player matches, is puzzling and disappointing. Instead of the definitive Dr. Mario experience, Dr. Luigi is an interesting spin of an established classic.

If you don't find yourself getting excited at the prospect of L-shaped blocks or GamePad play though, you might as well just stick with Dr. Mario Online Rx. Either way, the Wii U's newest entry in the Dr. series is a nice cap on a great first Year of Luigi.

Dr. Luigi is less entertaining than its predecessor on the Wii. The new game modes are nice but not thrilling, and the multiplayer falls short. At the same time, this is a game that the fan of the series should take into consideration.

This is as close as we are going to get to a proper Dr. Mario sequel for a while, so while the prescription doesn’t cure all woes; it does help dull the pain.

Lovely retro-style, interesting new game modes.

Changing characters can bring new stimulation but in the case of Dr. Luigi, virtually nothing else differs when compared to the latest Dr. Mario. A fun and competent effort using very familiar mechanics but which will fail to impress those looking for something fresh and new.

This isn't the best game in the series, but it's a fun and addictive puzzle game anyway. The traditional Dr.Mario is still here, and the new "Luigi mode" is an interesting addiction; the online play also works well. An essential and alternative version of a classic.

It's the kind of game that doesn't need to change a great deal between versions, and its designers have wisely stuck to the basics while adding some entertaining twists to the gameplay with Operation L.

Dr Luigi is basically the same addictive and fun puzzle game than Nintendo created two decades ago. Lacking new modes, the strong points of this game are classic gameplay and solid online game.

After a year that showed Nintendo straying from their comfort zones and confidently iterating on sacred cows, it's a bit of a letdown to see Dr. Luigi make so little forward progress.

It's a simple, clear experience with strong gameplay that reminds us why we love the Mario Bros. in the first place.

The main reason to get this title is its online mode. If you're not interested in facing new players via Nintendo Network, its lack of content should lead to consideration of other options.

Dr. Luigi does everything his brother does, but sadly not much more. The new modes do nothing to spice up this aging series' formula, and I really doubt they will be enough to justify a purchase for even the most diehard fan.

The concept is timeless, but more variety and a little progress would have gone a long way.

Dr. Luigi is an alternative version of a classic. This isn't the best game in the series, but it's a fun puzzle game anyway.

This isn't an especially memorable game, doesn't utilise the capabilities of the Wii U to any meaningful degree, and is nothing more than a brief diversion on the way to something more.

Germ fighting with Luigi offers good fun, but Dr Luigi is way over prized and you can easily get more and better similar puzzle games for less than a dollar/euro. This is just not worth the cost for Wii U, it doesn't have enough content.

It's undeniable that the game is fun, but it relies too much on past glory and doesn't add anything new that's really interesting.

The two new modes are alternatives to the classic game (Retro Remedy), but with the exception of Germ Buster, the Operation G is not as strong as we thought , creating difficulties that are not always compatible with the nature of the challenge. Incidentally, the two new modes offer some resilience in an attempt to stand out from the classic game.

Dr. Luigi for the series is more a step backward than a leap forward. No four players modes, two game modes too simple and some issues in the online connectivity, are not a good business card for a game that asks 15 euros to be bought. Not the right prescription for Wii U's illness.

Dr. Luigi's methods are closely based on Dr. Mario's proven experiences, but he dares to develop his own therapy through signature pills. This innovative approach speeds up the virus eradication, even though it has secondary effects, as the versus battles show. It's just a shame that only two players can benefit this treatment, since the fun provided is really contagious.

A competent and unexciting update to a competent and unexciting puzzler, which is not nearly praise enough to forgive the optimistically high price.

Medicine that most of us can do without. [March 2014, p.82]

Hardly the ointment Ninty needs to soothe its Wii U woes. [Apr 2014, p.79]

Just leave this puzzle game alone, it's not nice to play. The Dr. Mario games from the past were so much fun and so much better. This one isn't worth its money.

So if you’re feeling particularly flush and have some yearning to play another block puzzler, Dr. Luigi does a fine job of sitting somewhere in the middle of this well-worn genre. Hardly a glowing endorsement, and a pretty sad way to end Luigi’s very own year.

It's easy to see Dr Luigi as a symptom of the current malaise affecting its home console business. It features a strange gimmick no one's really that interested in, it highlights an increasing reliance on past glories, and most will find it somewhat overpriced.

The most disappointing part of Dr. Luigi is that it doesn't give the Dr. Mario formula that shot in the arm it needs to feel magical again.

It's still a far cry from the top-tier classic puzzlers, but Dr. Luigi manages to be fun enough... even if there is that nebulous whiff of tragedy about the whole affair. On the other hand, it doesn't leave the nasty taste in your mouth that you get from exploitatively designed free-to-play puzzlers like Candy Crush Saga, so that's something.

Other than the new Operation L and Virus Buster modes, there is little in the way of new content that makes this a better deal than the previous (and cheaper) versions.