With the Vancouver-based Next Level Games, the talented team behind the excellent Luigi's Mansion 3 now a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo. No word on the dollarydoo value attributed to the deal, but it's good to see Big N getting in on the studio acquisition game.

Next Level Games was founded in 2002 and is well known for its various partnerships with Nintendo -- from the aforementioned Luigi's Mansion through to Super Mario Strikers for the GameCube and Punch-Out!! for the Wii.

The deal is set to close on March 1, 2021 with the official statement from Nintendo noting that the acquisition will secure the team for development on Nintendo hardware and leverage their expertise as well as streamline communication on any future projects. With Luigi's Mansion 3 being one of the most visually impressive games on the Nintendo Switch, not to mention it having that 'classic Nintendo' feel -- no doubt the studio's next project will be one to keep an eye on.

Luigi's Mansion 3 represents two things: classic Nintendo game-design on the Switch, and perhaps the most technically impressive game ever released by The Big N since The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Fun, engaging but maybe just a little too easy... check out our full review for more.

Here's a snippet:

Of course, applying context and realism to a game where you’ve visited a giant hotel with a ghost dog friend, a princess incapable of locking her door, Toads who don’t know they’re just pawns in a silly game of redundant back and forth and a brother who just wont let be, was never going to end in simplicity. Although, it kind of does. Luigi’s Mansion 3 has as little context and bait possible: those superstar saps mentioned above -- they’ve been entrapped in paintings in a hotel with 18 floors. The elevator buttons for each floor have been stolen by bosses, and each floor is themed (read: puzzled), giving fruit to Nintendo-style gameplay design and a platform for the company’s penchant for cuteness. It’s as classic a Nintendo game as we’ve seen in some time; gameplay throwbacks partnered with some of the most progressive tech ever seen in a Big N game. Hell, it even has in-game Achievements -- something I’ve spoken about Ninty needing before.

Click here for our in-depth Luigi's Mansion 3 review.