Overview – Developed by Fumi Games and published by PlaySide, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a cartoon style first person shooter, mixing the rubber hose animation style with explosive shooting action. As private investigator Jack Pepper, go on a an adventure through Mouseburg, blasting bad guys, corrupt cops and more in black and white action. This title is currently on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and Steam, with a link to each version at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank the rep that provided the copy of MOUSE: P.I. For Hire that was used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. Thr provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this release, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the intoductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. For the sake of brevity, I will be referring to the game as simply MOUSE: P.I. during the review.
Story – in the city of Mouseburg in 1934, detective Jack Pepper investigates various cases through his agency. One day, he is approached by Wanda Fuler, a journalist who asks him to look into a missing persons case. During his investigation into the disappearance, Jack uncovers conspiracies, shadowy organisations, cults and the mob. What started as a simple disappearance, starts to spiral into something bigger and much more dangerous.
Gameplay – MOUSE: P.I. is a fast paced first person shooter, where players control Jack Pepper, the hardboiled detective as he investigates a mysterious case in Film Noir style. To complete his investigations, players must explore different areas around Mouseburg, looking for clues that will point them in the right direction. The investigation is broken down into individual missions or leads, which each have their own individual objectives that must be cleared.
When Jack is given a lead, players must make their way to a designated area, including an opera house, a subway and mysterious laboratory. To travel to the different areas, players must drive to each location on a large overworld map. When the target destination has reached, the player will enter the area, with each stage being their own isolated areas. This is where the action takes place, as players must search the area for clues to follow up on their lead.
The action levels are split into zones, made of rooms, corridors and open spaces for the player to explore in a fairly linear manner. Each of the levels will have doors, gates and paths that players will need to open up, either by finding keys or hitting switches. The game will gently nudge the player in different directions, using doors with signs the say “No Entry”, as well as those that say “No Entry (yet)” and doors that are barred from entry.
While the player makes their way through each of the different sections of a level, there will be bad guys that can be encountered. The different goons can be found wandering around the different spaces, or appear when the player crosses an invisible boundary, triggering a wave like gun fight. During these segments, the enemies will try to swarm the player, appearing from doors marked with skulls and will stop when all enemies are killed.
The enemy varieties include goons armed with machine guns, close range bad guys with clubs and rocks and heavies that will try to charge at Jack to crush him. To take down the various henchmen, Jack can employ a varied arsenal of weaponry. The player starts off with a pistol and their bare hands. But as the player gets deeper into the investigation, the shotgun, dynamite and a sub-machine gun will be added to the arsenal.
The different weapons have limited ammunition, but it will be hard pressed to run out of bullets, as there will be ammo pick-ups in scattered in levels. Bullets aren’t the only thing that can be found in levels, as there will be cash that can be collected and added to Jack’s total. If the player has taken damage during a battle, they can heal by finding health bottles which are drank when picked up. Armor can also be collected, providing some extra protection.
Each of the levels will have hidden objects, secret items and special collectibles to collect. Many of these pick-ups can be found in hidden paths, by solving puzzles to enter secret rooms and inside locked safes. To break a locked door or safe, players will need to pick the lock using Jack’s tail, lifting the tumblers of the lock from one end to the other. Some of these have a time limit and hazards, which will cause the lock to be jammed if the player fails.
Alongside the coins that players can collect, they can also find schematic sheets, newspaper headlines, comic strips and baseball cards. The coins and schematics are resources, whereas the headlines, strips and cards are special collectables as a bonus for players to find. Each of the levels have many secrets to discover, which adds gives players more reasons to explore, breaking windows and blowing up totally normal walls in the process.
Throughout each of the spaces, there will be boxes and barrels to break. These can be broken by using dynamite, shooting them or using Jack’s kick to bust them open. The different boxes have the chance to drop ammo and cash, which players can collect by just walking over it. Enemies can also drop ammo and cash when they are defeated. The abundance of money and bullets means players won’t be at risk of running out of shots.
At different points during the investigations, there will be arena battles against powerful enemies. These boss battles can be very challenging, as Jack will need to avoid hazards, obstacles and deadly attacks from the enemies. Many of these battles will be multi-phase, where their attacks will change as they are damaged. In these battles, there will be health and ammo scattered around, which will regenerate over time, allowing players to restock and heal.
At the end of each level, the player will pick up clues that will send them on track to the next lead. Additional clues can also be found by talking to various characters, as well as through searching around the different areas. When the investigation of the level is done, Jack will return to his local area, where his agency is located. In his office, he can use the Crime Wall to organise clues for cases, finding the next lead to investigate.
In the area surrounding the agency, Jack can interact with several characters, including Wanda Fuller, a journalist that can help Jack with leads. There will also be other characters that appear, which will provide details that can guide the investigation forward. Players can also access the ammo store, where they can reload before a level buying ammo. Players can also pick up the collectibles that have been missed in a level for a price.
In a back alley, there will also be the workshop run by Tammy, the grease mouse that will tinker with Jack’s weaponry. In her workshop, Jack will be able to upgrade his weaponry, improving the damage and number of shots before reloading. When upgrading the weapons in the workshop, they will unlock alternate fire modes and maximum ammo capacity. These upgrades cost schematics, with multiple levels of firepower to unlock for weapons.
The last thing to discuss is the Baseball cards, which are found scattered throughout the levels of the game (or bought from the ammo shop). These cards are used for the baseball mini game, which are found in the Mouseburg bar or the different roadhouse locations. In this table top game, the player takes turns dropping cards as the batter and pitcher. If the player earns enough points to win, they will get the chance to earn a reward.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of the game, starting with the controls.
Controls – MOUSE P.I. uses the traditional mouse and keyboard set up, which works very well for players with the standardised WASD style of input. This works comfortably and offers a familiar set up for players, with the ability to remap the inputs freely. The general feel for the game is responsive and can be tuned to fit any play style. There is also controller support for this release, which does feel intuitive for those who want to play with a pad in their hands.
Difficulty – there are three different options for difficulty in this release, with Rookie, Detective and Supersleuth to select from. The lower level is more of a breezy experience, where less damage is done, Detective is the balanced option and Supersleuth is the toughest, with increased damage. Each of these settings offer experiences that suit a range of skill levels, allowing for all players to be able to enjoy the adventure with a challenge to suit their tastes.
Presentation – MOUSE P.I. has a very unique style to it, mixing hand drawn sprites in the classic Rubber Hose style, with full 3D environments to explore all wrapped in that Noir atmosphere. All of the sprites and assets are expressive, making good use of exaggerated details. The sprite style is reminiscent of classic DOOM, where the flat sprites will follow the direction the camera is pointing. Then there is the Monochrome look, which gives the action a vintage feel to them.
Then we have the music and sound which is very reminiscent of the time period, with smooth jazz compositions for the different areas of the game. These are accompanied by big band sections, which make excellent use of the energy that horns and trumpets provide. MOUSE P.I. also features fully voiced dialogue, featuring the talents of Troy Baker as the lead, supported by notable voices like Frank Todaro, Florian Clare and Fred Tatasciore.
Final Thoughts – as an enjoyer of the Boomer Shooter style, as well as the classic theatrical shorts like Steamboat Willie, this blend of styles really grabbed my attention. After getting to really dive into this game, I had a tremendous amount of fun with this game. The intrigue of the stories, with the different twists and turns kept me engaged for the whole time playing. This is combined with gunplay that is reactive, satisfying and implemented very well.
There is a great depth of content with this release, with the different areas that can be explored, the hidden collectables and the weapon upgrades. I very much enjoyed the different approaches that some levels provided, with different routes that players can take in missions. The only negative for me is there is no way to replay the missions. I am happy to recommend MOUSE P.I., as it is a unique a fresh experience in a flooded boomer shooter genre.
In the end, I give MOUSE P.I. For Hire a final score of 4.75/5. This is a fantastic and unique boomer shooter, with the distinct black and white look, cartoon style and soundtrack allowing it stand out, especially in a market that has been heavily saturated over the years. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch 2 version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation 5 version (HERE)
Link to Xbox series version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 