What do you get when you mix the rubber hose animation style of Cuphead with the fast-paced gunplay of TimeSplitters and the investigative tone of L.A. Noire? After playing Mouse: P.I. For Hire for about 20 hours, it’s clear that it’s a bold, creative shooter that almost reaches greatness but falls short in some important areas.
Mouse: P.I. For Hire is a big mix of genres made by Fumi Games. It’s a boomer shooter at its core, but it has more than just running and shooting. It has investigative elements, collectibles, and a world that looks like cartoons from the 1930s. The end result is a game that is often new and exciting, even though its design sometimes gets in the way.
A Noir Story with Bigger Stakes
The game is all black and white, and you play as Jack Pepper, a war veteran turned private investigator who is trying to stay alive in the crime-ridden streets of Mouseberg. Troy Baker gives Jack a personality and some toughness that make the story more interesting.
What starts out as a simple missing persons case quickly becomes much more complicated. There are four main cases in the story, and each one has several levels. You can drive between places on a world map, which gives the game a sense of unity that many shooters in this genre don’t have.
You go back to your P.I. Office, which is the main hub, between missions. You can look at evidence on your Clue Board, open new areas, and get ready for missions that are coming up. There is also a bar, a store, and Tammy’s workshop for upgrading weapons in the hub. Even though it doesn’t change the way the game is played, a surprisingly fun baseball card minigame adds to the charm.
Exploration Meets Design That Limits
In the field, the game takes on a more classic shape. Most levels are linear, which means they lead you through fights, but they also have a lot of secrets, hidden paths, and collectibles that make you want to explore.
But this is where the game starts to have problems. Mouse: P.I. For Hire tells players to explore, but it often makes it hard for them to do so. Invisible walls and forced boundaries often stop you from moving, and in some cases, if you step into the wrong area, you will be teleported back. This is especially annoying in parts with a lot of platforming, where it feels like you can’t experiment.
Even though there are abilities like double jump and a glide mechanic later in the game, the level design doesn’t always support creative movement. As the game goes on, the conflict between encouraging exploration and limiting it becomes more clear.
Problems with collectibles and progress
Baseball cards, comic books, figurines, and newspapers are just some of the things you can collect at each level. This makes the game more fun to play again, but the rigid design can make collecting them feel more like trial and error than real discovery.
There is also no good way to keep track of things in the game. You might not realize it until much later if you miss a collectible or a key clue. Even worse, you usually can’t go back to get missed items after a mission is over unless you start the whole level over. This design choice can be very annoying for people who want to finish everything.
Combat: Quick, Fun, and Easy to Forgive
The game is best when it comes to combat. At first, the enemies you fight are mostly the same, which makes the fights feel repetitive. But later on, the enemies get more varied and dangerous, like heavy gunners, flying enemies, and explosive attackers.
Even so, the level of difficulty is on the easier side. There are a lot of health items, enemies often drop supplies, and the game doesn’t feel punishing very often, even on harder levels. This accessibility isn’t bad in and of itself, but it does make things less tense for players who want a harder game.
This also makes the gameplay systems less connected. Exploration makes things go more slowly, while combat is all about speed and momentum, which makes the flow uneven.
Balance and Weapons
There are a lot of different weapons to choose from, such as a regular pistol, a powerful shotgun, a Tommy Gun-style gun, and even a Freeze Ray. Upgrades make things more effective and give you new ways to fire.
But the balance isn’t right. Some weapons don’t seem strong enough, while others, like the Tommy Gun-inspired option, are so good that they stand out from the rest. This makes people less likely to try new things, even though a lot of work went into making the arsenal.
There are special abilities, like temporary power boosts, but they are only available at certain times and not as part of the whole system. Making these more dynamic could have made the gameplay more interesting.
Fighting the Boss and the Presentation
Boss fights are one of the best parts of the game. They are creative, different, and often need a mix of strategy, movement, and being aware of your surroundings. These are the best parts of the game, with intense and memorable battles.
Another big strength is the presentation. The rubber hose animation style is very well done. The characters move in exaggerated ways and express themselves in ways that make the world come to life. The game clearly pays tribute to classic animation, and its look is always impressive.
The jazz-inspired music fits the setting perfectly and captures the spirit of the 1930s. Not every track is perfect, but the overall sound design makes the mood much better.
The Final Decision
Mouse: P.I. For Hire isn’t the best shooter, but it’s one of the most unique. It has a lot of creative ideas, some of which are fully developed and others that need more work.
It can’t reach its full potential because of the limited level design, uneven balance, and incomplete systems. Even so, its unique style, fun combat, and creative boss fights make it worth playing.
It’s messy, creative, and sometimes frustrating, but when everything works out, it gives you something really special.
