Review – Mouse: P.I. For Hire on Switch 2

Disclaimer: This review discusses the Steam version of Mouse: P.I. For Hire, meaning the performance only covers that specific platform’s performance. Once we’ve received the Switch 2 version, the review will be updated to detail Nintendo’s system performance. As of this time of writing, the Nintendo Switch 2 version is stated to have a Performance Mode (900p 60 fps Handheld, 1080p 60 fps Docked) and a Quality Mode (1260p 30 fps Handheld, 1440p 40 fps Docked). 

 

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Today… was a day like any other. Or so I thought. Wireless controller in my hands, eyes fixated on a computer screen and I just couldn’t look away. I had a case to solve. Well, Private Investigator for the city of Mouseburg, Jack Pepper, the greatest mouse detective since Basil of Baker Street, had a case to solve. I was just taking a walk in his shoes. And boy, am I glad I did. 

I don’t play many first-person shooters. However, I am familiar with boomer shooters. I’ve played plenty of Doom, Quake, Heretic and the like. I was a huge fan of revival projects like Amid Evil and Dusk as well. If I ever felt like the genre was wearing thin, Fumi Games have given it a refreshing kick in the butt with Mouse: P.I. For Hire. You may look at the game and think it’s just a byproduct of Steamboat Willie reaching public domain and you would be wrong. The painstaking rubber-hose animation of its characters is a hand-drawn labor of love and full of life. Instead, Mouse is interested in honoring what came before while weaving its own tale (tail?). And it does a fantastic job on both accounts. 

Mouse: P.I. For Hire begins with a magician’s disappearing act and the murder of his assistant. What it becomes is so much more than that, tackling themes of corruption, oppression, political intrigue, trafficking, drug and alcohol addiction and more. Surprisingly, for a game about cartoon mice, the plot does not feel heavy-handed. Instead, the gritty noir that unfolds contrasts well with the bouncy, whimsical animation style. In keeping with the 1930s time period, the game is rendered in black and white which only adds to the Casablanca of it all. Even the blood is rendered in black and white! Given this is a detective story, you can expect to hear lots of saxophone and big band swing. It’s also a big adventure so some recognizable public domain Classical compositions are tastefully added in there too. At one point, I pointed out Dies Irae being used which was a fun detail. What’s more, the sound and visuals can be tweaked to sound muffled as if being played on a phonograph or appear grainy like film. Mouse is not interested in simply looking the part. It talks the talk and walks the walk when it comes to being a narrative boomer shooter based on classic film noirs while looking and sounding like a 1930s cartoon. 

 

 

The running and gunning in Mouse is honed in and definitely owes its existence to id Software’s fire and forget style of gameplay. It’s also quite reminiscent of New Blood Interactive’s Fallen Aces from 2021. Ammo tends to be plentiful with pure fun being the focus. As Jack Pepper is a former cop and war hero, he can use his fists to knock thugs out or his feet to kick them away. His limbs come in handy with handling various explosive barrels as well. Levels are designed and rendered in 3D with both Doom 1993 and Doom 2016 in mind. You get the claustrophobic corridors and gate-unlocking aspects of the OG Doom with the added verticality, platforming and enemy gauntlets of Doom 2016. Unexpectedly, you also get the narrative focus of Bioshock with the dark and twisted cartoon world of Epic Mickey. You even save at typewriters à la Resident Evil, encounter cultists like in Cultic, and fight nazis like in Wolfenstein. It all blends together succinctly in a way that feels effortless. All of these parts together could end up feeling contradictory but instead they’re masterfully woven into the final product. 

Mouse’s dedication to its numerous source materials is perhaps its most impressive attribute. I was delighted by this game because it’s just a great piece of media in general. The entertainment value is through the roof here. Jack Pepper narrates the game’s events in a brooding, moody tone with plenty of one-liners and doesn’t drop the act at any point. He’s the straight man in a world gone mad and that world is full of genre attributes that I adore. Be it retro futuristic sci-fi, Cajun folklore, dramatic theater, or glamorous cinema, there is so much to chew on and appreciate here. And it all ties together masterfully because of the case Jack is working on. Jack’s detective work means that each location you visit will have a number of clues that you’ll post onto an evidence board in your office between missions at the hub area. To get to each mission, you get in your car and drive on a fully animated, top-down map of Mouseburg that reminded me of Cuphead’s overworld. It all feels authentic.

Even though Mouse is in black and white, it’s one of the most colorful, personality-filled video games I’ve played this year. It’s also really freaking funny. Every character is fully voiced and the voice work is lively. Troy Baker suits Jack Pepper’s snarky, crumb-chasing gumshoe perfectly. His banter with the matter-of-fact Wanda Fuller, voiced superbly by Florian Clare, was always a highlight between missions. The missions are their own highlights too. Every location is detailed and has at least one huge set piece. At times, I felt like I was actually Nathan Drake instead of Jack Pepper, unlocking new moves to get around. Running from gigantic waves through a narrow sewer, using a grappling hook to jump over burning platforms and fist-fighting my way out of multiple mansions definitely gave me my action hero fix. But then I remembered with every piano-crushed enemy and boxing ring bell ding each time I sent a mouse mobster to his maker that no, I am definitely a cartoon character. Mouse gives you the best of both worlds. 

 

 

While paying its debts to old films and cartoons, Mouse also does a great job of honoring boomer shooter characteristics. For instance, collectibles. There’s so many: Comic books which detail Jack’s backstory, newspaper articles that fill you in on Mouseburg’s past, baseball cards for use in a deckbuilding minigame that earns you tokens for prizes at the bar, blueprints for gun upgrades, and Doom Guy-reminiscent dolls can all be found. Each time you find a secret area, you will be notified. Secret areas can hold unlockable safes. Safes hold money that can be spent on ammo upgrades, baseball cards, newspaper articles and comic books. Perhaps the biggest treat is the spread of weapons you get to wield. They aren’t all guns which caused me quite a bit of delight. They all do however feel great and have an almost elastic quality to their bouncy animation. One of the guns, the Devarnisher, fulfilled my inner Judge Doom by melting ‘toons skin right off their bones. Though one of the funniest gags in Mouse’s repertoire is that the Tommy Gun is instead dubbed James Gun, one of many Hollywood references. 

Despite some text hiccups and occasional stuttering amidst the fast action, Mouse: P.I. For Hire is what I’d consider a perfect video game. Its idea, much like its plot and wide-ranging adventure, is ambitious. If that ambition wasn’t backed up with substance and execution, Mouse would be nothing more than a cool gimmick on a mediocre first-person shooter. I’m happy to put it out there that this is definitely not the case. For all of its spectacle, there is quite a lot to chew on here. From incredibly fun boss fights against nazis, monsters, and robots to the exceptional buildup and framing of its detective noir, Mouse is a lengthy and thrilling experience. After 15 hours, the credits rolled and I realized that from the moment this game arrived in my inbox, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There are jaw-dropping moments in this game that I’ll leave a surprise. Similar to Epic Mickey and Cuphead before it, Mouse: P.I. For Hire splashes our relatable childhood Saturday morning cartoons with some adult menace to great effect. And yes, there is a steamboat. 

 

 

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