MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Media
Mouse: P.I. For Hire - Release Date Trailer | PS5 Games
Mouse: P.I. For Hire - Official June 2025 Trailer | Summer Game Fest 2025
Mouse: P.I. For Hire Official Gameplay Trailer
Critic Reviews for MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
Part-chaotic retro shooter, part-stylish cartoon noir, Fumi Games' Mouse P.I. for Hire goes beyond its stellar artistry to land an invigorating, imaginative hard-boiled romp.
A slick, accomplished shooter that's more than just an eye-grabbing art style.
Mouse: P.I. for Hire is an amusing enough FPS if you just want to blast some cartoon mice and not think about it too hard, but its haphazard marriage of noir storytelling and boomer shooter action are at odds in uncomfortable ways that weaken both aspects.
Mouse is an enjoyable and visually stunning shooter with just enough uncapitalized potential to make me mourn what could have been. It looks amazing, the music is spectacular, the voice acting is top-notch, and it feels great to play in the moment, but its unwillingness to put up even a semblance of challenge is its biggest downfall. I’d still very easily recommend it, but sticking it on the hardest difficulty is almost a requirement.
Sure, I'd have liked more meaningful investigative mechanics and fewer reskinned baddies, but I was often too busy tapping my toes to jazz tunes and laughing at the riotous cartoon antics to be too bummed about it.
There's rarely a frame that isn't bursting with style and creativity, and it's none too shabby as a retro-style shooter either. Mouse: P.I. might not reinvent the wheel, but its arsenal of weapons is punchy and delightfully varied, while the fluidity of movement makes for some thrilling, high-speed shootouts. In this instance, you should have no qualms about handing over money to the mouse.
Mouse: P.I. For Hire shows a deep love for animation of the era, but the gameplay and script lack the same level of care. A Gouda attempt, but nothing bleu me away. Cheesy in all the wrong ways.
It draws you in like a detective magazine, getting you invested in the state of the city, while keeping you merrily chugging along with good ol’ cartoony violence. It’s not a revolutionary game as far as the FPS genre goes, but considering its adherence to multiple kinds of retro aesthetics, I don’t think being revolutionary was the mission statement here.
