MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Reviews
With a simple yet effective progression system, a power fantasy combat loop, and passionate attention to detail, Mouse P.I. For Hire is easily one of the best titles of 2026. It reminds me of just how much joy a single-player first-person shooter can bring when it fires on all cylinders.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire offers a genuinely long, linear shooter set in the past—in both the real world and a cartoon universe. Although the game features mice, it’s not hard to imagine them as humans. The brutal action isn’t for kids, and adults will certainly appreciate its parodic tone. The game doesn’t take itself seriously and pokes fun at the ubiquitous clichés. Exactly as it should be. The original and fresh take on an otherwise serious theme turns it into an entertaining game that doesn’t try to trip players up. I’m completely satisfied. A great debut from the Polish developers at Fumi Games.
Review in Czech | Read full review
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire isn’t a perfect game. The detective portion is shallower than it should be. The combat is fast-paced and fun, but it gets easier over time and becomes a bit repetitive. The difficulty isn’t very high, and some abilities or weapons could be put to better use. The post-release technical glitches also can’t be completely ignored. But on the other hand, this is an original game with a huge personality. It has great visuals, lively animations, a fantastic soundtrack, and—most of the time—very entertaining action. It doesn’t rely on just one visual gimmick. It has a world, a pace, humor, voice acting, a soundtrack, and enough content to stand on its own as a full-fledged shooter with adventure elements. It’s not just “Cuphead as an FPS.” It’s MOUSE. That’s exactly what sets it apart from the rest of the run-of-the-mill titles. And at a time when so many shooters look, play, and shoot almost identically, that’s quite a lot.
Review in Czech | Read full review
All things considered, Mouse P.I. For Hire is a game I’ve loved ever since the first trailer and continue to love even after the credits roll, albeit with a few significant reservations. It’s a solid, entertaining shooter, underpinned by outstanding art direction and a top-notch soundtrack, with personality to spare. At the same time, however, it displays some naivety in its writing and a few structural limitations that prevent the title from making the final leap towards the excellence that the 2024 previews had led us to hope for. As a debut, it remains a bold and highly distinctive achievement, and Fumi Games proves it has clear ideas and talent to spare for the future. I recommend it without hesitation to anyone looking for a boomer shooter with an unmistakable style and to those who love old-school cartoons.
Review in Italian | Read full review
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a stylish and competent boomer shooter wrapped in hand-drawn rubber hose animation inspired by 1930s cartoons. Jack Pepper's noir adventure through Mouseton delivers tight, fast-paced FPS gameplay backed by an outstanding original jazz big band soundtrack. On Steam Deck, the game runs smoothly at a locked 40fps with minimal visual trade-offs, earning its Verified status honestly. Some structural repetition across levels and a lightweight Metroidvania layer are minor complaints against an experience that stands out for its remarkable visual identity, satisfying gunplay, and evident care in optimization for both handheld and PC platforms.
Review in Italian | Read full review
There is no denying it: Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a game that knows how to have style. The idea of combining the look of 1930s animation with a noir story starring an anthropomorphic mouse worked incredibly well. While handling a detective story that gathers everything expected from works in that genre, the game addresses the problems within the city of Mouseburg, drawing direct parallels with the situations we face in our own reality. These aspects are complemented by fast-paced and extremely fun gameplay, resulting in an arcade shooter title that can easily hook you.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Mouse: P.I. For Hire is a very beautiful game whose gameplay unfortunately doesn't live up to that visual design. Gamers who are already a fan of this type of game or can overlook the repetition of its level design may enjoy this title, but it offers very little beyond that.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a stunning noir FPS that turns 1930s rubber hose animation into a brutal, stylish, and surprisingly atmospheric shooter. Its Doom-inspired gunplay, fantastic jazz soundtrack, Troy Baker’s strong voice performance, and BioShock-like sense of decay make Mouseburg unforgettable, even if the lower difficulty and mostly automated detective work keep it from being flawless.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Not the game of the year, and it doesn't try to be. A handcrafted indie FPS with a bold artistic vision that stays fun throughout without ever betraying its identity. The imperfections are there, but they don't overshadow what Fumi Games built: an original, visually memorable experience worth opening.
Review in Italian | Read full review
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is, indeed, a fantastic game. The world is well-imagined and the aesthetics are perfection, but the fact they’re all built around an absurdly fun first-person shooter makes this a game you absolutely need to play.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a game with an extraordinary sense of identity and a combat engine that feels great in your hands, slightly undercut by a reluctance to challenge the player holding the controller. It’s a remarkable debut that earns its place through sheer creative ambition, even when its systems don’t push back hard enough to match it.
Through all its flaws, Mouse: P.I. for Hire is an incredibly charming, well-paced and engaging shooter that rarely overstays its welcome.
Mouse: P.I. For Hire should’ve been shorter, but I still really enjoyed my time with it.
Fun, adrenaline-filled, and just the right amount of challenging. Fumi Games' shooter stands out for its style and is convincing, despite not inventing anything new.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a damn good first-person shooter disguised as an investigative noir. The P.I. elements of gritty puzzle solving and clue searching give way to the levels of violence we’d see in a DOOM game, but despite this juxtaposition, it somehow works. It's vital to set assumptions with how the game plays out, as the two genres don't gel entirely - those thinking this would be a quaint Dick Tracy-style case with a few gunfights thrown in for good measure will be sorely disappointed. But if you’re in the mood for a stunning run-and-gun game with oodles of big band Jazz music, a sarcastic detective and a competent story, then Fumi Games certainly delivers. The combat controls are tight and intuitive, the violence is comically over-the-top, and the experience is rip-roaringly fun.
There are a lot of ways I could take my thoughts when it comes to Mouse: P.I. For Hire. There were some issues I noticed, and I will note them. The thing is, though, it’s fun! It’s old school, unadulterated fun! It’s booting up your PlayStation 2 after rushing home from school, new game fever levels of fun!
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a stunning hand-drawn noir shooter with a jazz-soaked soul — visually unlike anything else this year.
Review in German | Read full review
MOUSE: P.I. for Hire is a title with a strong identity that has very high highs in terms of gameplay and audiovisual presentation, but also unignorable lows in terms of narration and coherence.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While a multiplayer mode and co-op would be great, those looking for a fun and at times challenging game will likely find lots to enjoy with the final product.
I don’t know whether this is good or bad, but as someone who usually isn’t a fan of shooters, Mouse: P.I. for Hire is one of the best shooters I’ve played so far—maybe even the best. It’s actually a bit of a shame that going for 100% completion isn’t very appealing, and that resources spawn far too excessively on normal difficulty. I’d also say the game feels a little too long. But aside from that, almost everything about it feels close to perfect for me. The cartoony black-and-white art style, which still doesn’t try to be child-friendly, adds a tremendous amount to the experience. The fact that I even enjoy the gunplay here is still surprising. The great story and small side activities also round things off nicely.
Review in German | Read full review