Ennuigi

Reviewers described Luigi's character in Ennuigi as "chain smoking,"[3] "depressed,"[3][6] "laconic,"[5] "perpetually miserable,"[15] and "an angsty teenager who just finished writing a book report about Albert Camus' The Stranger."[8] A reviewer said "it’s like Luigi read too much Derrida" while another adds "Sartre and Nietzsche too to that assessment."[8][13] IndieGames.com's Joel Couture called Luigi "a man commenting on a lifetime of strange things and events beyond his control."[9]

Polygon's Owen S. Good said "That brooding chiptune will have you questioning what you've really done with your life, too."[6] The Mary Sue's Jessica Lachenal described the music as "slow, plodding, aimless."[16] Dangerous Minds's Martin Schneider reviewed "The slow, tinny music is a perfect complement" to the game.[7]

In 2015, the game was received by various news publications favorably. In a review for the interactive movie video game Night Trap, TechCrunch's John Biggs recommended playing a little Ennuigi.[17] The A.V. Club's Jennifer Billock appraised the game favorably stating "thankfully, you can play."[4] Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Emily Gera praised the game with "It is excellent."[5] Destructoid's Steven Hansen said it "makes for a fun, depressing little distraction as it looks literally at the cartoonish abstractions of the Mushroom Kingdom."[10] Pajiba's Vivian Kane described it as "Luigi minus that philistine Mario, plus cigarettes and deep thoughts."[18] Columbus Alive's Brad Keefe listed Ennuigi on their list of fictional siblings remarking "Think it wasn’t hard growing up in his brother’s shadow?"[19]

The Mary Sue's Jessica Lachenal called Ennuigi a "hilarious parody."[16] Motherboard's Emanuel Maiberg remarked while it is a "small and funny browser game," it is "not as fun to play as the original Super Mario Bros."[8] Gamnesia's Gabriel McBride found the game as "possible interpretation" to Luigi's actions and thoughts in official games and thus "manages to be pretty amusing in the process."[3] Boing Boing's David Pescovitz reviewed the game "excellent."[1] GamesRadar's Sam Prell, despite the concept, implored "It's funny though, I promise."[15] Dangerous Minds's Martin Schneider described Ennuigi as a "dreary, Beckettian video game."[7] The Next Web's Mic Wright received the game favorably stating it "reveals the bleakness of Luigi alone time. There are no bad guys, no adventure, just smoking and moping."[14]

In 2016, Polygon's Owen S. Good said "[Ennuigi]'s gotten some attention lately."[6] PC Gamer's Steven Messner reviewed the game with "Where Mario games are typically upbeat and energetic, Josh Millard's reinterpretation of the Mushroom Kingdom is glum, sometimes pretentious, and sometimes wonderfully insightful."[2] The Nerdist's Blake Rodgers said "this side-scrolling game staring Luigi is equal parts hilarious and heart-wrenching."[12] The Boston Globe's Jesse Singal called it "a very different, very dark take on its 'Mario Bros.' source material."[13] Wired UK described it as "a darkly amusing take on video game worlds."[20]