Mouse: P.I. For Hire

Gaming is a lot like a cheese board (yes, there will be cheese puns in this review), with all sorts of variety, tastes, and combinations to be had. There’s the fancy Brie, the tangy blue cheese, and even that special kind with cranberry in it. But honestly, at the end of the day, you can’t beat a great classic: a mature cheddar sandwich with butter, and a nice can of cola to wash it down. Simple, reliable, and satisfying.

And this humble, simple, yet wholesome cheese is very much like the subject of today’s review.

Mouse PI For Hire doesn’t break the mould, reshape the DNA of first-person shooters, or go all out with complex, tactical action. It’s a run-and-gun joyride that delivers the goods and gives you a fantastic art style to admire. And this is what I loved so much about Mouse PI.

Little Mouse, Big Trap

Mouse PI For Hire is a game that feels from a completely different era, and not entirely due to the art style. This is a first-person shooter, stylised entirely as old “rubber hose animation”, and it plays like a proper boomer shooter that came out 20-odd years ago.

It fondly reminded me of classic shooters such as XIII and TimeSplitters, for their simple yet highly engaging framework, and action gameplay centred on guns and over-the-top chaos.

We play as private investigator Jack Pepper, who’s got himself involved in a high-stakes mystery that would make some of the best noir films blush. While on a simple missing persons case, Pepper manages to find a trail that leads him into a massive conspiracy involving mad scientists, corrupt politicians, missing shrews, and the rise of a very troubling party of mice looking for domination and eradication of others… wow.

Jack will use all of his investigative skills, smarts, and sleuthing to solve the case, and bringing a bunch of guns to deal with the onslaught of bad guys also helps massively. Mouse PI is an old-school, jazz-fuelled boomer shooter that wears its heart on its sleeve, and while not as complex or hardcore as shooters such as DOOM Eternal or Dusk, I love it for just that. I deeply admire the hand-drawn rubber hose animation and explosive first-person action that doesn’t demand you memorise tactics and weak points, but instead leans into the freedom and creativity on offer.

Pure Cheese, and I Love It

The most standout thing for Mouse PI is, of course, that art style, and it’s phenomenal to say the least. Everything I saw was pitch-perfect, from the weird, shaky limbs where everyone looks like they’re made from wet noodles, to designs that feel straight out of a classic cartoon of the era. Even the gore fits the style, with enemies being burned alive but turning into piles of ash with sad eyes looking back at you. It’s just pure class, I tell you.

The world itself is in 3D, while characters and certain elements are 2D sprites, a bit like old DOOM. But even the world looks the part, and the attention to detail is insanely good. I will admit, it took me a little bit of time to get used to the 100 per cent black, white, and grey palette, along with some of the presentation options that make Mouse PI feel even more like it’s from the 1920s. You can switch off the film grain filters and low fidelity sound to make that old-time charm feel shiny and new, which is great. But once my brain grasped the lack of colour, everything clicked, and the art direction, character designs, and weapon designs all blew me away.

I love how there is no yellow paint or blaring indicators pointing you where to go. Granted, there are some subtle markers and a tracker to help out, but much of the environmental guidance comes from clever visual cues, such as health items and ammo having a “breathing” effect that catches your eye.

As for the story, Mouse PI is what I would consider an epic noir that captures many of the themes and beats of classic black and white mystery tales, and blends them. It pulls in everything from missing persons cases and political corruption to more zany elements from science fiction and horror of that era, including killer robots and more.

It could have been very easy to get this wrong, or to make everything feel dated in the worst way. And while Mouse PI is not a noir masterpiece, it does well in giving you an interesting mystery, likeable characters, and plenty of lore and cheese to feast on. Jack Pepper is a great leading mouse, made even better through the excellent voice work of Troy Baker, who nails that old-time noir tone. The supporting cast is also excellent, each with their own quirks and oddities that make them memorable.

And for a game about talking mice throwing out cheese based one liners, there is some bite. There are touches on political movements and the treatment of lower classes, which help keep a thread of social commentary running through the story. It’s nowhere near as layered as something like Maus, and it is fairly straightforward in its messaging, but that works in its favour. It adds weight without dragging the tone down.

It’s easy to say there could have been more done with these themes, but again, this is a game about a mouse PI solving a wild mystery with plenty of charm and cheese puns. It works.

Let It Brie, You Schmuck!

Aside from the PI antics of a gruff, cheese-chucking mouse, we get plenty of action and comedic violence galore. Yay.

Mouse PI is straightforward in its FPS approach. Jack is dropped into a variety of locations, where he follows clues, pushes the case forward, and shoots his way through waves of enemies, all while making the occasional wisecrack.

It’s just you, a mouse, a bunch of guns, and a lot of chaos, with some added gameplay twists such as using your tail as a hook to swing, and eating red hot peppers to cause fiery mayhem.

There’s so much about Mouse PI’s core gameplay loop that feels warm and familiar, especially if you grew up during the rise of boomer shooters. It can feel a little simplistic compared to today’s standards, but there’s a solid, endearing structure to the gunplay, level design, and pacing.

Mouse PI gives you a wide range of weapons, each with its own impact and use. You have your pistol, Tommy gun, and shotgun (the Boomstick, nice), which cover most situations. Then there’s the more exotic weaponry, which is where things really shine. The Devanisher uses vanishing ink to melt enemies, acting similarly to the acid gun from Prey. There’s also a freeze ray, and even a small, satanic-looking chainsaw that deals massive damage up close.

This all leads to gunplay that feels varied and creative. While it doesn’t have the layered complexity of DOOM Eternal’s “violent chess”, it still does the job well. It’s more about strafing, shooting, switching weapons, and keeping momentum, which feels refreshingly old school.

The complexity instead comes from enemy variety, weapon creativity, and how you approach each encounter. The arenas offer a good sense of freedom, with plenty of room for experimentation, alongside strong set pieces and abilities that keep things feeling fresh and fun.

Level design mixes combat with puzzles and platforming, which can be a little hit or miss, but mostly lands well. One standout moment has Jack performing a stunt routine on an Indiana Jones-style film set, where you’re platforming while outrunning a rolling boulder. Moments like that really stick, and the mix of dashing, gliding, and tail swinging adds a nice variety to these sections.

The secrets are also a highlight. Some are easy to find, while others feel more in line with classic shooters like Serious Sam, giving you that satisfying rush when you discover them.

Puzzles tend to be fairly light, usually involving environmental interaction or traversal. Lockpicking is the main recurring mechanic, where Jack uses his tail to navigate a small maze representing the lock. It’s a great idea and looks fantastic, but the lack of variety and challenge means it becomes repetitive over time. There are some variations, like timed locks or hazards, but not quite enough to keep it consistently engaging.

Platforming is generally enjoyable, offering short, varied segments that act as a break between combat encounters. They’re not especially deep, but they’re fun, and often dressed up with strong set-piece moments.

Overall

I absolutely adore Mouse PI For Hire. Plain and simple.

As a game, it is that mature cheddar you can rely on to deliver a wholehearted, satisfying experience whenever you pick it up. While the art style is the main draw, Mouse PI also says a lot about the current gaming landscape. It’s a simple boomer shooter in many respects, and some may undervalue that. But that simplicity never takes away from the confidence, creativity, and heart on display.

The art style is wonderful, the aesthetics are perfectly realised, and the voice work, character design, and world building all come together beautifully. The gunplay is solid and satisfying, and the overall gameplay loop results in a safe, but memorable and highly engaging adventure that kept me hooked like a mouse chasing the biggest wedge of cheese imaginable.

Mouse PI For Hire is a game I can’t recommend enough, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most memorable shooters of the 2020s.

+++ Fantastic art style, animation, and character design
++ Solid gunplay and action
+ Great level design, secrets, and fun variety

- Core gameplay loop can feel repetitive at times
- Lockpicking and some side mechanics become tedious
- The story could have pushed its themes further

A PS5 review code of Mouse PI For Hire was kindly provided by the publisher.