MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Review | A Cheesy Cartoon Caper

Handing a 1930s cartoon detective a drum-magazine shotgun is a brilliant visual trick. Our MOUSE: P.I. For Hire review details how Fumi Games pairs this uncompromising rubber-hose aesthetic with the high-tension combat of classic shooters, delivering a mechanically tight and unapologetically cheesy pulp adventure.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire At a Glance

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Background

MOUSE: P.I For Hire began with a single piece of BioShock fan art. Art Director Michał saw the artwork drawn in a classic rubber hose style and pitched the concept of a 1930s animated shooter to Fumi Games CEO Mateusz. A small team put together an early prototype that quickly gained traction on social media.

The development relies entirely on hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation without modern interpolation techniques. Blending these traditional 2D elements into a 3D environment requires strict synchronization between the design and animation departments.

If a movement needs adjusting, the team cannot simply re-rig a model. Because 2D frames cannot be drastically sped up or slowed down without ruining the visual flow, the developers have to lock in exact gameplay parameters, like precise weapon reload times, before the final animations are drawn. Rough sketches are implemented directly into the game engine to test the mechanics before any detailed coloring takes place, as noted in a 2025 development breakdown by Shacknews.

The development team for MOUSE: P.I For Hire includes:

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Experience

I wasn’t familiar with Fumi Games at all before seeing the announcement of MOUSE: P.I. For Hire. I’ve followed it from its initial reveal through the rest of the news cycle, including a small delay and the recent physical version announcements for the Switch 2. I am familiar with Troy Baker from his earlier roles, like Yuri Lowell from Tales of Vesperia and November 11 in Darker than Black, alongside his extensive catalog across other media. My background with this specific art style stems from Steamboat Willie and playing Cuphead back when it launched. The pulpy aesthetic, classic animation, and mechanical shift away from Cuphead‘s boss-rush formula made me eager to finally get my hands on it.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Impressions

MOUSE P.I. For Hire Introduction

Pressing start on MOUSE: P.I. For Hire drops you straight into the ink-stained, monochromatic reality of Mouseberg. The opening moments establish the mood right away as so smoky you could not only feel it but also write your initials in it. A scratchy jazz track plays over heavy film grain, making the initial screens feel like a forgotten 1930s cinema reel.

The second you take control of Jack Pepper, the visual identity fully clicks. The bouncy, frame-by-frame charm of classic rubber hose animation operates right alongside the grim grit of a mob-controlled city. You are stepping into a playable, hardboiled comic strip. The game immediately hands you your detective tools and a firearm, setting expectations for the messy, action-heavy police work ahead.

MOUSE P.I. For Hire Gameplay & Mechanics

Stamina
Stamina is your utility gauge, you use it for all of your abilities including hovering, quick dashing and more.

Weapon Upgrades
Jack can visit Tammy Tumbler’s mechanic shop to upgrade his firearms. Spending resources here boosts damage, reduces recoil, and unlocks powerful secondary alt-fires like a charged shotgun blast for the Boomstick.

Tailpicking
A mini-game throughout the course of the game, tailpicking is a lockpicking puzzle requiring Jack to use his tail to push up all the tumblers and make it to the end. Later tailpicks will have a timer, traps, or a limited amount of moves you can make to complete it. Failing results in a locked door.

Weapon Wheel & Cycling
Jack can quick swap between the current and last used weapon with a push of a button, while holding it pops up the mouse wheel with all of your currently obtained weapons. Time slows to a halt when opening the weapon wheel, allowing careful planning of the right tool for the right job.

World Map
Used for traversing the world of Mouseberg, the world map presents itself similarly to classic Shin Megami Tensei’s overhead view and interacting with buildings with the hand pointed down starts the level. This allows for a greater sense of scope of the world.

Level-Based Design
MOUSE: P.I. for Hire features linear but open level design for its maps, giving a sense of progression and backtracking to proceed with each.

Abilities
Throughout the game Jack will find upgrades that give him new abilities from double jumping to wall-running. These aren’t restricted to platforming, they can be used to throw off your enemies accuracy and get the drop on them.

MOUSE P.I. For Hire Story & Writing

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire‘s plot focuses on Mouseberg’s private detective Jack Pepper, who is caught in the middle of a conspiracy that takes him through every nook and cranny of the world Fumi Games has crafted. The game loves its heavy homages, ranging from a “Welcome Leon” nod to Resident Evil 2, to visiting a film set with an actor named Rocky Ford where you must recreate the iconic opening idol setpiece from Raiders of the Lost Ark to progress.

These are fun and act more as lightbulb moments that do not detract from the overall experience if you happen to miss the reference. There are tons of cheese puns and monologuing throughout the game, matching the pulp-style delivery they were aiming for, and it fits the theme like a missing puzzle piece.

MOUSE P.I. For Hire Art & Audio

The visual identity of MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is its strongest asset. The dedication to authentic 1930s rubber hose animation carries through every enemy reaction, weapon reload, and environmental detail. The developers filter the entire experience through heavy film grain and authentic screen tearing effects to make it feel like a playable cinematic relic.

The game mostly sticks to a strict monochromatic palette, which makes the moments where color bleeds into the world hit that much harder. When Jack steps onto the “Fatal Repulsion” film set by Tinsel Bros, the sudden injection of early Technicolor hues against his black-and-white character model creates a surreal and highly memorable visual clash.

On the audio front, composer Patryk Scelina delivers a fantastic score that matches the era perfectly. Rather than relying on digital samples, the big band swing soundtrack was recorded live across sessions in Georgia and Poland.

The music is heavy on scratchy brass, frantic jazz, and moody upright bass lines structured to react to the player’s movements, swelling during combat and dialing back during investigation sequences. Scelina establishes a classic film feel with a catchy main theme for Jack Pepper, while Fumi Games also enlisted Parisian jazz group Caravan Palace for a brand-new original track to complete the authentic audio profile.

Standout tracks

Jack Pepper’s Theme
Setting the tone of the entire game right out of the gate, it leans heavily into high-energy brass and frantic saxophone lines that capture the hard-boiled pulpy atmosphere of Mouseberg and gives the initial screens an authentic 1930s big band feel.

Chasing Milford Soyer
A high-tempo pursuit track designed to match the frantic pacing of the game’s first-person movement. It ramps up the percussion and aggressive horns to keep the momentum high during combat and traversal.

Good Mouse
This song is the biggest highlight of the soundtrack created with the electro-swing band Caravan Palace. It takes the game’s classic 1930s jazz foundation and blends it with modern electronic beats, creating a stylized anthem that bridges the vintage cartoon aesthetic with the high-octane boomer-shooter gameplay. Madeon fans will feel right at home with this one.

MOUSE P.I. For Hire Unique Features & Mechanics

Working
Working is where the real core of the game happens. Jack Pepper takes your acquired clues, and with him you help him place them on the board and narrow down suspects and resolve leads. As you narrow down your suspects and locations, more of them appear on the world map.

Brush
A useful assist tool, the brush serves as a quest tracker highlighting the ground and giving you a visual cue to where the correct path is to progress the mission in-case you get lost. This can be activated by pressing down on the dpad.

Power-Ups
Embracing the 1930s animation logic, Jack can find consumable items like a can of spinach that temporarily grants him massive anchor arms to punch through crowds of enemies.

Environmental Kills
The world itself can be used as a weapon. By mastering the game’s movement, you can lure mobsters into traps, dropping massive anvils on them or crushing them beneath dangling grand pianos.

MOUSE P.I. For Hire Voice Acting

While our personal preference usually leans toward Japanese audio in most media, the English voice cast in MOUSE: P.I. For Hire does an impressive job selling the characters and setting. The most surprising aspect is seeing Troy Baker in a lower profile project like this in current day. Leading the charge as Jack Pepper, a former war hero turned detective, Baker chews up the scenery with monologues and puns. He balances Max Payne’s cynicism and wit with a more lighthearted edge, backed by a capable supporting cast that brings Mouseburg’s journalists, politicians, and weapon tinkerers to life.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Linux Performance

Our testing on Nobara Linux using Proton Experimental confirms a flawless experience. We encountered no freezing, crashing, or stuttering during the full playthrough.

At 1440p on High settings with lens distortion disabled, the frame rates stayed exceptionally high. The hub area averaged 228 FPS with 1% lows of 117 FPS. Even during intense combat waves in larger levels, the performance remained stable, averaging 195 FPS with 89 FPS as the 1% low. This qualifies as a great technical performance for Linux gamers.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Review Verdict

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is a triumph of aesthetic commitment and high-speed mechanical execution. The combat feels like playing the original Doom for the first time, delivering a frantic level of tension through a very clever presentation. By placing 2D hand-drawn assets into a 3D space, the developers create a unique sense of unease that works in the game’s favor. While the “Working” detective board feels mechanically isolated from the linear levels, it serves as the necessary glue that holds the 1930s pulp narrative together.

The writing is clearly led by fans of the genre rather than corporate mandates. While the sheer density of homages might irk some players, the variety of enemies and the solid writing keep the experience grounded. The pacing sees a noticeable dip after the initial six hours, but a high-stakes final level successfully brings the thrills back for a strong finish.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire TLDR

Tested On
CPU: Ryzen 7 5900X | GPU: AMD RX 9070XT 16GB | RAM: 64GB DDR4 | Storage: Crucial P5 Plus NVMe SSD
OS: Nobara Linux | Resolution: 1440p | Settings: High/Custom | Framerate: Unlimited

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Review References

Interviews

• Shacknews Interviews, Mouse: P.I. for Hire – Why Don’t We See More Games Like This?
  [Live | Archive]

Music

Jack Papper’s Theme – Patryk Scelina. [Live | Archived]

Chasing Milford Soyer – Patryk Scelina. [Live | Archived]

Good Mouse – Caravan Palace. [Live | Archived]