Developed by Fumi Games and published by PlaySide Studios, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a 2026 rubberhose-style first-person shooter game set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic mice in the 1930s. It follows private investigator Jack Pepper (Troy Baker), who must investigate a series of connected cases across the fictional town of Mouseburg.
I don’t do video game reviews often but every once in a while a very special game comes along that catches my interest and ends up being really worth my time, so I can’t help but want to talk about it. MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is an indie developer-made game that has long been in the making, and it has been on my radar ever since the first test footage of the game surfaced online. After years of waiting, the game has finally arrived and after completing it twice I can happily say the wait was well worth it.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is one of the best original games I have played in a very long time, standing out hugely from most other first-person shooters that have come out in the past two decades. This game was clearly crafted with incredible passion, with its phenomenal rubberhose-style animated visuals, majorly addictive gameplay and its cheesy yet fun noir detective story full of great characters and truly bonkers twists. The fact that this game was so fun that I ended up completing its story twice says a lot about how amazing it is, especially when it has a lot of replay value with its different approaches to playing and how it appeals to all kinds of gamers. Want a bloody unhinged first-person shooter adventure that has you decimating enemies with crazy weapons and cartoon logic? This is the game for you. Want a noir-style detective story that blends humorous gumshoe hijinks with surprisingly mature themes of racism, corruption, and prohibition? This is the game for you. Want a full-on Collect-a-Thon that has you scouring level by level for clues, secrets, and puzzles? This is the game for you. There is so much this game provides for all kinds of players with only a $30 price tag that most other games made by big studio developers don’t deliver with their overpriced triple-A titles.
The game’s plot is largely inspired by noir detective fiction of the 1930s/40s, and it fully embraces elements of those classic stories while being presented through rubber hose animated characters and a world inspired by animated films of the same era. Think Steamboat Willie meets The Maltese Falcon and that’s the best way to describe the story of MOUSE: P.I. For Hire.
The leading character is Jack Pepper, a smooth-talking super sleuth who embodies the classic hard-boiled detective archetype who possesses a cynical worldview, gritty determination, and a strong moral code, despite the rampant corruption surrounding him. He is characterized mostly by his sharp wit and a soothingly cool voice that reflects years of weariness and experience, which is provided by the immensely talented Troy Baker, who never fails to deliver phenomenal voice work no matter what project he is in. Jack Pepper has honestly become a new favorite protagonist of mine in video games, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up earning a cult status amongst the gaming community.
The rest of the voice cast also does an awesome job playing their respective roles, including Florian Clare as resourceful journalist Wanda Fuller, Camryn Grimes as resourceful inventions/weapons maker Tammy Tumbler, Fred Tatasciore as bar owner John Brown, and Frank Todaro as politician Cornelius Stilton. The entire cast, main and supporting, all commit to the fun characters of this world, making it feel truly alive and interactive.
The story focuses on Jack tackling three different but connected cases that each have their own well-written mysteries and wild twists. The narrative’s direction and order can be slightly determined by players on different playthroughs, but the story always remains the same regardless. The world-building is also incredibly well done, with the cartoon anthropomorphic animal society blending in perfectly with the noir-style city that mimics a 1930s-style New York, with prohibitions, film industries, and city corruption. Mouseburg is not shy of crime rates, as there are many criminal operations involved inspired by the 1930s/40s era, such as racial violence against shrews, organized crime, and “cheeselegging.”
Now, despite having a story involving murder, corruption, kidnapping, and mature themes tackled in a unique way, this game doesn’t hesitate to be very funny at times with its complete self-awareness and meta gags that sometimes tribute or make fun of films, shows, and other video games. The developers clearly had fun creating all these wild ideas and executing them in a unique format without negatively affecting the quality of the main story or the gameplay in the process. And considering this is meant to be the first flagship title released by Fumi Games, this game is honestly a very impressive feat for an indie developer to create on its first go.
The main gameplay includes both fun investigative sections where Jack has to find clues, solve puzzles, and use platforming skills as well as combat sections where he engages in shootouts, wielding a variety of guns, melee weapons, and cartoon gadgets that get increasingly crazier and challenging as the game progresses. There are 24 missions in total that take you to completely distinct biomes, from opera theaters to film sets to haunted mansions to sewers to laboratories to stinky ports and much more that were all created with detailed cartoon visuals that get paired with a wonderful noir-inspired soundtrack by composer Patryk Scelina.
Certain levels feature a variety of intense boss fights that start off easy but get increasingly harder as the story progresses, even when playing on the easiest difficulty. In between levels you can upgrade weapons, restock on supplies, and even play a fun little mini game involving baseball cards to pass the time as well as unlock a secret item if you win enough rounds of it.
With this being a detective-themed game there are tons of hidden collectibles scattered throughout each of the levels that can be easy to miss if you don’t pay close attention to your surroundings and may require multiple runs to collect due to no replay level options available. Yes, you read that right. There is no replay option in this game once you complete levels, nor a new game plus option available when you complete the story, meaning that you’d have to play the whole game from scratch if you missed several collectibles in certain levels. Some collectibles are buyable in the hub world store if you missed them in certain levels but not all of them are. Now while this may sound like a turn off, the game is so enjoyable to play in multiple ways that I didn’t mind starting a new game to focus on collecting everything, as it allowed me to enjoy all the fun I had the first time all over again while also adding a new level of challenge to playing that in my opinion makes it even more fun. Would I like to see a new game plus feature added in the future? Sure, but I’m not bothered by its absence currently due to the amount of content the game provides in its current state.
When it comes to glitches or bugs I did unfortunately come across a few during my first run that affected some of the achievements I was meant to get after completing required tasks, but they ended up being quickly fixed by the developers, who were able to provide immediate hot fixes almost a day after an issue was first reported. Most other games by bigger developers that I’ve played in the past with serious bugs like this usually took weeks or months to fix the issues, which would sometimes put me off from playing the game further if it was going to have constant issues with long wait times to fix them. So serious praise goes to the developers for being so actively committed to patching their game on short notice, as well as being very communicative with players when resolving issues.
This game truly is a massive contender for Game Of The Year for me as it managed to live up to all expectations while simultaneously exceeding them. In an era where big studios deliver triple-A titles with false promises and multiplayer-focused games that are both costly and repetitive, it’s the indie developers of Fumi Games and PlaySide Studios who rise up to kick ass with their ambitious single-player flagship title that was masterfully crafted by very passionate hands. So if you wish to play a game that is extremely investing and addictive to play then put on your detective hat and trench coat and play this game yourself. I’m going to give MOUSE: P.I. For Hire an A+ = 99.
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