In an industry constantly chasing photorealism, it takes a lot of guts to throw millions of polygons out the window in favor of monochromatic, hand-drawn 2D sprites. When the earliest clips of MOUSE: P.I. For Hire went viral a few years ago, the internet was instantly captivated by its 1930s Steamboat Willie aesthetic. But a great art style can only carry a game so far. The question remained: is there a solid game beneath the novelty?
Releasing today from developer Fumi Games and publisher PlaySide, MOUSE proves it is much more than just a visual gimmick. It is a confident, jazz-soaked boomer shooter that wraps a gritty, surprisingly dark noir detective story inside a charming cartoon exterior.
Grab your fedora and load your Tommy gun. We have a mystery to solve.
A Cartoon Noir with a Dark Underbelly
You step into the polished shoes of Jack Pepper, a cynical, wisecracking private investigator and former war hero. When a famous magician and an actress mysteriously vanish, Jack finds himself tangled in a massive conspiracy involving crooked cops, ruthless street gangs, and the seedy underbelly of Mouseburg.
The narrative presentation is phenomenal. Jack is voiced by the legendary Troy Baker, who slips effortlessly into the gritty, sarcastic noir detective persona. The supporting cast—featuring talents like Fred Tatasciore and Cameron Grimes—all understand exactly what kind of movie they are in, delivering performances that perfectly balance cheesy 1930s gangster tropes with genuine emotional weight.
But do not let the smiling mice and bouncy animations fool you: MOUSE is surprisingly dark. The game masterfully uses its cartoon logic to execute some genuinely grim world-building. When you blow an enemy’s head off, they gurgle and spout black ink. You will burn down the homes of flying shrews and listen to them scream, and stumble across disturbing environmental storytelling detailing gangland torture. This jarring contrast between the cheerful rubber-hose art style and the gritty mob violence gives the game an incredibly unique, uncompromising soul.
Spinach, Shotguns, and Speed
If you have played a modern retro-shooter like DOOM (2016) or Turbo Overkill, you will feel right at home in Mouseburg. Constant movement is your key to survival. Jack can double-jump, wall-run, dash, and utilize a grappling hook to navigate multi-tiered combat arenas.
The arsenal is a creative blend of classic mobster firearms and wacky cartoon sci-fi. You have your standard pistols, Tommy guns, and pump-action shotguns, but you also get to play with the “Turpentine Gun”—which literally erases enemies down to their cartoon skeletons—and the Mind-Conscious Beam for precision headshots. Finding blueprints hidden throughout the world allows you to upgrade these weapons with alternate fire modes, adding a satisfying layer of progression to the carnage.
However, the combat has a glaring weak point: the variety of enemies. The vast majority of the mobsters you fight fall into two distinct categories: guys with melee weapons who blindly rush you, and guys with guns who stand perfectly still and shoot. Because the enemies rarely force you to change your tactics, you will likely find yourself just defaulting to your favorite gun for the entire 15-hour campaign. It lacks the tactical “combat puzzle” depth found in the DOOM franchise it draws so heavily on.
Baseball Cards and Fake Sleuthing
Between the chaotic, ink-spilling firefights, MOUSE slows down to let you explore the city of Mouseburg. The pacing here is excellent. You can chat with locals, read newspapers to absorb the rich lore, and hunt down hidden collectibles.
Two side activities stand out brilliantly. The first is a highly entertaining lockpicking mini-game where you use Jack’s mouse tail to carefully navigate the inner tumblers of a safe. The second is a fully-fledged baseball card battle game you can play at the local bar. It is a simple “high/low number” strategy game, but as a massive baseball fan, collecting cards throughout the levels to build a better deck became an absolute obsession for me.
Where the game drops the ball outside of combat is in its actual detective work. Despite playing as a Private Investigator, you do very little actual investigating. The game is highly linear, automatically holding your hand and telling you exactly where to go and who to talk to next. You pin clues to a corkboard, but the game resolves the mysteries for you. I would have loved to see some immersive-sim elements where the player actually has to deduce passwords, uncover secret passages, or connect the dots themselves.
The Soundtrack and Presentation
I would be remiss not to dedicate an entire section to the audio design. The original big band jazz soundtrack is an absolute triumph. Blaring trumpets, heavy drums, and frantic saxophones perfectly score the chaotic gunfights, while melancholic piano melodies carry the quieter, story-heavy moments.
The sound effects are the cherry on top. The little cartoon squeaks when you double jump, the classic boings of explosions, and the muffled, vintage audio filters make every single second of MOUSE a treat for the ears.
The Good, The Bad, & The Inky
| The Good | The Bad | The Ugly |
| The Art Style: The hand-drawn, rubber-hose animation is flawlessly executed and endlessly charming. | Enemy Variety: The goons are highly predictable, mostly consisting of mindless rushers or stationary shooters. | Telegraphed Arenas: The game ruins the surprise of combat by placing massive piles of health and ammo right before every fight. |
| The Soundtrack: An incredible original big band jazz score that perfectly matches the 1930s aesthetic. | Fake Detective Work: The game holds your hand entirely through the mystery, offering no real deduction mechanics. | |
| World Building: Mouseburg is surprisingly dark, offering a great contrast to the cute character designs. | Secret Clutter: The game labels almost every minor detour as a “Secret,” making discovery feel a bit cheap. | |
| Voice Acting: Troy Baker and the supporting cast deliver stellar, perfectly pitched noir performances. |
Should You Buy It?
Yes, if: You love fast-paced boomer shooters (like DOOM or Dusk), you appreciate incredible, unique art direction, and you enjoy a good, pulpy noir detective story.
No, if: You are looking for a deep, cerebral detective game (like L.A. Noire or Return of the Obra Dinn), or you need highly complex, tactical combat to stay engaged in an FPS.
Recommended for fans of: Cuphead, DOOM (2016), Bioshock, Bendy and the Ink Machine, Forgive Me Father.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire: MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a phenomenal achievement in art direction and tone. Fumi Games has successfully built a world that feels incredibly distinct, blending the innocent charm of 1930s animation with the bloody, gritty reality of a mobster FPS. While the core gunplay could have benefited from a wider variety of enemy archetypes, and the detective mechanics are far too streamlined, the sheer joy of blasting your way through Mouseburg carries the experience easily across the finish line. If you are looking for a shooter bursting with style, soul, and jazz, this is a case worth taking. – Flare
