Review – MOUSE: P.I. For Hire

Popularized by Wolfenstein 3D in 1992, first-person shooters have been an industry staple for nearly forty years. While the genre largely swims in the multiplayer space nowadays, it built its legacy on immersive single-player experiences. With MOUSE: P.I. for Hire, that old-school sensibility sees new life along an ironically striking retro cartoon aesthetic reminiscent of Steamboat Willie, and it’s one of the best shooters you’ll play this year.

Content Guide

Violence: MOUSE leans into the cartoonish violence. Explosions and fire burn enemies to ash while the Devarnisher melts the flesh off their bones. There are skeletons to be found that paint a grisly scene, but none of it is ever visually more disturbing than an old-school cartoon.

Sexual Content: There are innuendos that some of the younger audience may miss. Nothing is explicitly shown. There are instances of implied infidelity.

Drugs and Alcohol: Drugs and alcohol are heavily present in MOUSE, though they’re wrapped up in cheese puns. Jack will have a bartender pour some of his best fondue. Some party-goers imply a loved one has their nose “in a pile of blue cheese.” These very clearly represent alcohol and narcotics in the world of MOUSE.

Language/Crude Humor: For all intents and purposes, MOUSE has the language of a hard PG-13 movie. G**D***, D***, S***, etc., were all used fairly regularly throughout the storytelling, though I don’t recall any uses of the F*** word.

Dark/Spiritual Content: The game references magic and alternate dimensions (including Hell, complete with demons to fight). There is a cult you’ll bump heads with regularly.

Review

The setting is 1930s-era Mouseberg. Jack Pepper has returned from the war and set himself up as a private investigator, having earned notoriety for his involvement in solving some major cases. After one of his old war pals goes missing, Jack picks up the case. What he discovers will lead him on the biggest case of his career. Kidnappings, murders, conspiracies, and political intrigue (including the involvement of an up-and-coming, erm, N*zi party equivalent) will turn Mouseburg upside down.

MOUSE: P.I. for Hire’s story really is one of its strongest aspects. The game has fantastic writing, and it ties all the strands together beautifully. It hits all the high points you’d expect from a hard-boiled private eye story. Like The Rocketeer or Dick Tracy, it sets up a period-appropriate world but allows for some fantastical whimsy in the mix.

Don’t let that fool you, though. The topics addressed in MOUSE are hard-hitting adult themes that anyone with a passing understanding of history will pick up. Racism, the shady part of the film industry, prohibition, dirty cops, and the rise of Big Mouse Party (MOUSE’s equivalent to a certain mid-40s German party) are just a few examples of mature themes you can expect here. Despite heavy thematic elements, though, MOUSE does an excellent job delivering the story in a sharp, witty manner couched in humor. It feels like an amalgamation of Steamboat Willie-era Mickey Mouse, Indiana Jones, and a noir crime film with Cagney or Bogart. It’s a phenomenal ride you’ll enjoy each moment of.

What would the story be without characters to bring it to life? Jack Pepper, played by the phenomenal Troy Baker (The Last of Us, Death Stranding 2), is the perpetual voice in our ear, and his performance is nothing short of incredible. He’s wreathed by a cast who’ve gone all out to bring Mouseburg to life.

Beyond the VO work, MOUSE’s audio design is impeccable. Period-appropriate music and sound effects bring a 1930’s cartoon world to life with great effect. The game’s firearms, though silly at times, sound great too.

Most obviously, MOUSE’s visual design is incredible. Mouseburg and its surrounding areas are fully realized in 3-D, but each of the characters is represented with 2-D sprites. The monochromatic color palette and occasional film grain do wonders to pull you into that old rubber-hose animation world. I never thought a black-and-white game would be one of the most engaging things I’ve played in 2026, but here we are. 

I’ve bragged so much on the game’s story and aesthetics, but we still need to discuss the actual gameplay. Sure, MOUSE: P.I. for Hire is a standard first-person shooter. Don’t get me wrong, the shooting mechanics still feel great. There’s a lott more than goes into this game, though. 

MOUSE has a certain flow to it. You’ll talk to a few folks in Mouseburg, develop a lead, then get in your car and drive out to the location. While there, you’ll work on completing your mission, looking for clues and snapping photos while you’re there. After you finish your mission (complete with killing dozens and dozens of bad guys), you’ll return to your office in Mouseburg where you’ll use pins and string to put your clues on a corkboard. When a new lead opens up, you’ll pursue it instead.

Once you’re in a mission, MOUSE plays like so many other FPS titles. Plenty of gunplay, a few light puzzles, and a trove of hidden secrets to find. Along the way, you’ll pick blueprints to upgrade your arsenal of guns or money to buy ammunition and baseball cards. There’s actually a whole baseball card minigame that offers a fun diversion, should you wish to chase that down as well.

While the look of the game is an undeniable eye-catcher, MOUSE: P.I. for Hire puts in the work to set itself apart as a top-tier FPS experience. While it dances on the line of heavy thematic storytelling, it pulls it off with aplomb. Anyone old enough to appreciate a good shooter should do themselves a favor and indulge in the best FPS campaign since Titanfall 2.

Review copy provided by PlaySide and Fumi Games