MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Reviews
The combat mechanics, movement, and narrative are dialed in. The pacing is a little slow, especially in the first few hours, but Mouse: P.I. for Hire doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the overall energy and clever, fun concept carry it along.
Mouse P.I. For Hire takes every noir trope and turns it into something new. A monochrome shooter with a delicious mystery at its core, the varied locales and wonderful voice cast make this one of the best games I've played all year.
Imitating cartoons from the early 20th century, even with all our current technology, is no easy feat. (Ask the makers of Cuphead about that struggle.) But Mouse: P.I.’s strengths as a piece of hyperreal noir are a breathtaking wallpaper over a fairly linear, basic FPS that still demands that we take everything about it seriously. It’s a game trying to have its cheese and eat it too.
If you have money in your wallet and you've been saving for a special occasion without quite knowing what it was, I assure you, this is it. Don't hesitate to get your hands on this game from the Polish studio Fumi Games ; you'll enjoy it for a very, very long time.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Besides its delightful art style, brilliantly blending inspirations from Cuphead, early Mickey Mouse cartoons, and 1930s film noir, Mouse PI For Hire is from a gameplay standpoint a classic boomer shooter, but very effective and enjoyable to play. Even if its "detective" aspect is largely inconsequential, we generally enjoyed following this frenetic adventure as Troy Baker... Jack Pepper, despite a somewhat tedious final section that leaves a slightly underripe aftertaste for an overall appetizing cheese. Perhaps the upcoming DLC ​​will be the final clue to wrap up the investigation in style ?
Review in French | Read full review
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Review in Italian | Read full review
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is un-brie-lievable. Somehow, the lofty ambition they presented in 2023 has been surpassed by an excellent release. This spunky noir shooter is exactly the kind of game I wanted, and it's so much fun to play I might just start it again. Don't sleep on MOUSE; this is a premium and ingenious game in an indie package.
Mouse: PI for hire is committed to the bit and executes its cartoonish vision spectacularly. It also has a surprisingly robust narrative, as well as competent, Doom Eternal-like gameplay, even if it's a bit on the easier side.
Mice like cheese. This is something you're frequently reminded of throughout Mouse: P.I. For Hire, a game laden with delicious cheese puns, and ...
Creating a video game like Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a bold undertaking. When you consider all the aspects involved, it becomes even clearer just how ambitious it is. Taking on the rubber hose animation style, the one we have come to love through Cuphead, is a significant risk. To take it even further and center it around an anthropomorphic mouse detective, set in a 30s raw, bleak noir world is wild. But I am so glad that Fumi Games stuck their neck out and created a truly unique experience. By no means is Mouse perfect, but it is a fantastic entry in what I hope is a long-running franchise.
Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a tremendous, modern take on the boomer shooter. It has wonderful level design and gives you the right tools to explore it without restriction, mostly. Despite serving up meaty cases that have enormous ramifications within Mouseburg’s social and political landscape, the player is given zero agency to work them and, as such, Mouse falls agonisingly short of being a true detective fantasy.
Cliches and homages abound in MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, and it gleefully embraces them while offering a compelling detective mystery wrought with over-the-top violence and a cast that's having the time of their lives.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire pulls together some of the most iconic systems and shooter mechanics and wraps them in a highly stylised, rubber-hose inspired art style
Mouse: P.I. For Hire is a love letter to 1930s rubber-hose animation wrapped around a tight, fast-paced shooter. The art style is stunning, the gameplay loop is satisfying, and the world Fumi Games has built is full of charm and personality. It ends too soon and can get repetitive in spots, but if Cuphead scratched an itch you didn’t know you had, Mouse: P.I. For Hire is absolutely worth your time.
Mouse: P.I. For Hire brings us a cohesive world with a unique, mouse-themed noir aesthetic, an engaging detective story, and straightforward but satisfying combat mechanics. Although the gameplay itself lacks a bit of depth, I had a blast playing it.
Review in Polish | Read full review
MOUSE: P.I. for Hire may be the most gorgeous game you play in 2026…but sadly not in execution. It's wonderful to look at and listen to, but an overly formulaic approach with gameplay shortcomings hamper its overall execution.
Generic boomer shooter gunplay and a stretched-out runtime could be make this a cold case for some, but the incredible rubber hose aesthetic and entertaining noir setting should help see most detectives through to the end.
The story itself is passable for a noir tale, but the game feels like it’s more about references to other games. If you like noir-style games and wacky boomer shooters, then you’ll enjoy MOUSE: P.I. For Hire. At the end of the day, I did have a lot of fun with the game, even with its cheesy one-liners.
Whilst you may well be drawn in to MOUSE: P.I. For Hire by the visuals and soundtrack, once in, you’ll discover a game that is so much more than just that - an investigative, story-focused, secret-hunting, first person shooting platformer that is an absolute joy to play.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a solid first-person shooter with a great twist that cannot carry the game all the way. I loved the black and white cartoon presentation initially and liked the classic mechanics. But after three or four locations, the presentation is no longer surprising, and the gun battles start to feel repetitive.