If MOUSE: P.I. can end up being as clever as it is cartoonish (in a good way), then the sky’s the limit for Fumi Games and its eagerly awaited first-person shooter. I’ve had this game on my radar pretty much since it was announced: The art style, the grounded FPS gameplay, the jazzy overtures that make every fight seem like a 1920s comic caper—it’s all here.
You play as a mouse detective called Jack Pepper—Pepper Jack Cheese? You’ll pick up on the theme as we go—lookin’ to solve crimes, bust crooks and throw them in the slammer, and you’ll do whatever it takes with your Tommy..sorry, James Gun by your side.
MOUSE: P.I. and classic FPS tropes are tied to the waist like two birds looking to tango, but its exuberance and playfulness make it a creamy affair, looking to milk everything it can from its setting and style.
You Feta Get Your Head On A Swivel
My hands-on demo wasted no time in explaining anything; it was straight to the point. I was thrown into the action quicker than a stickful of dynamite into a crowded room of gangsters with guns.
A few basic weapon types awaited me: Pistol, Machine, Shotgun; I quickly worked out the controls and kinks to the movement. Within minutes, I was enamored by the rubberhose animation I was so looking forward to finally witnessing in person, and which is what drew me to MOUSE: P.I. in the first place.
For some background: Cuphead is one of my favorite games of all time. Even if its gameplay wasn’t the best (which it assuredly is), the frantic crashing of cymbals, excessive xylophone tapping, and all-around stellar orchestral maneuvers make everything better, as do its beautifully hand-drawn characters and levels. MOUSE taps into this often-forgotten well, and it hits the exact notes that Cuphead thrives on.
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Doing a double jump triggers a childish ‘boing’ sound effect, Jack glugs drinks with enough throat bass to reverberate around a room, and the dialogue is quick and wittier than a Saturday Night Live sketch. Troy Baker predictably kills it as Jack, with a tongue so razor-sharp you’d get cut if you got too close.
2D enemies comically charge me before I quickly lay waste to them with my popping pump-action shotgun. It’s not long until I stumble into a ‘Secret Laboratory,’ where the enemy numbers quickly add up. Many fights turn into modern-DOOM arenas, where you can’t progress until you’ve cleared everyone out. I wasn’t blown away by the gunplay, to be honest, with some guns lacking a real punch to them, but the animations and movements are hypnotic.
Health pickups litter the vicinity, as do ammo drops, explosive barrels, and environmental dangers for both you and the villains to contend with. I sometimes had trouble differentiating between items due to the game’s commendable insistence on a black-and-white filter. They do usually bob up and down like a buoy in water, but it was sometimes a bit jarring when I was in the middle of a boss battle. But MOUSE, at its core, is a tight first-person shooter.
Attention To Detail Is So Good It’s Almost Cheesy
I encountered three bosses in the demo, and they were all a blast, with Jack throwing in some fourth-wall breaking about how these things normally arrive in threes—and they did.
MOUSE is completely self-aware, and that’s a good thing. It doesn’t look like a serious game; it does look like a cartoon after all. Which is why you’ll find many of the characters have names based on cheeses or puns, and enemy death animations are both hilarious and distracting. If you melt an enemy with the Turpentine gun, you can sit back with a snack and observe their body as it dissolves comically—think Itchy & Scratchy.
I was impressed with how much there was to do in the level, with various collectibles and secret areas to find. You also need to locate Blueprints, which can be used to upgrade your Guns. Where do you do this? Back at Mouseburg, which is where Jack heads after wrapping up the Secret Laboratory level.
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This might have been me missing the memo, but a home hub area was news to me, and I really liked it!
There’s a noticeable sense of the town being a seedy underbelly. Like a Manhattan block during prohibition, where calamity awaits on every corner. Not everywhere was open to explore, with Fumi Games sensibly saving content for the full release. I did manage to find a collectible doll that had me in hysterics, and a case board in Jack’s office to piece together the clues I’d found to push the narrative forward.
It reminded me of Saga Anderon’s deduction time in Alan Wake 2; it’s a fun little way to add context and exposition to the overarching story while keeping you involved. Mouseburg is genuinely interesting, and I’m already eager to see the full thing: What other characters await, what other secrets is Mouseburg hiding? MOUSE: P.I. For Hire has done the crucial thing with this 45-minute demo—it has me hooked, interested, and wanting more.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Preview Round-Up
If Mouse P.I. For Hire can assimilate its ideas and potential, then keeping up its aesthetic and charm for the full duration shouldn’t be an issue. Here’s hoping the late delay has allowed Fumi Games to apply polish (liberally) and make final squeaks.
Until launch, that’s all, folks!
If you’ve been just as keen on MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, let the team know why. The perfect place to do is the Insider Gaming Discord.
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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