Mouse P.I. For Hire

“Gabagoo!”

In 2017, gamers were introduced to Cuphead, a complex and challenging platform shooter that benefitted from a gorgeous cartoon style known as Rubber-Hose Animation. This was a popular cartoon style in the 1920s and 30s that started with Felix the Cat and would later go on to be the foundation for Steamboat Willie and countless others. Since Cuphead, some games have looked to follow with such a style, and Mouse P.I. For Hire is the latest and frankly, one of the best examples of how to not only use this style correctly, but place it in an era where it truly fits the setting. 

Mouse P.I. For Hire is a cartoonified detective noir story set in the 1930s with Jack Pepper, voiced by Troy Baker, as a hard-boiled detective out to solve a big case. Jack was once a police officer and shares in also being a war hero with Cornelius Stilton, a mayoral candidate who comes to Jack for some assistance and guidance on a case. However, Mouse P.I. For Hire largely starts off with the disappearance of a magician, before a running theme starts to develop, indicating a much bigger threat to the city than just one simple hocus pocus kidnapping. 

When it comes to the noir setting of detective stories, especially those of the era, they largely revolve around police corruption, political affairs, both business and marital, as well as trafficking, drugs and alcohol, and often a famous person who has up and vanished. Mouse P.I. For Hire tackles all these and more, running the gauntlet through a series of main quests and several side ventures that have you collecting clues, tracking down upgrades to Jack’s arsenal, and a bevy of interesting characters to chew the scenery with. 

What I find charming about the world here is that instead of drug addiction or more realistic mature themes, much of this is replaced with cheese and cheese related verbage, leading to a lot of hilarious conversations with affected characters. I also adore all the cheese puns, especially that of Jack Pepper’s name being a flip of names for Pepperjack. It’s such a noticeable and obvious play on words, but it is highly effective. 

Mouseburg also details a class system via various types of mice, including that of shrews, who are the bottom of this cheesey totem pole. The story dives into this significantly, as it is the backbone of the narrative. This also lays the foundation for the aforementioned abundance of cheese.

What helps these topics not feel heavy is the use of its animation and cartoon bounciness. Characters are wonderfully voiced, and that helps a lot. Hearing enemies constantly shooting “Gabagoo” is hysterical. However, I will say that Baker often loses much of the old’timey accent here and there during longer conversations and it is certainly noticeable. Still, the voice cast has a lot to work with as some conversations are pretty lengthy and provide some solid jokes, genuine moments of humor, and some great characterizations. 

Like any good detective story, the detective will narrate the piece. He’s as descriptive as you can imagine, often spouting off cheese-based one-liners and contributes to the tone and feel of the game in big ways. I do wish Baker’s accent was a bit more consistent, as previously mentioned, but he does a good job regardless. It checks the boxes for a good Noir aesthetic and never felt annoying or drawn out.

While this is a detective story, much of the case-work is pushed onto Jack himself and not the player. Yes, you’ll find clues and place them on his clue board back at the office, but Jack solves the connections himself. This means you, the player, are not the detective, but merely moving Jack around and leading him to clues, characters, and the outcomes of the stories. It is slightly disappointing that you don’t have a say in those connections, but I can see why they handhold this particular aspect of the game to keep you soaking up the action and world building, putting you right back into the thick of it.

This story takes place in Mouseburg, a corrupt city like many before it. You’ll explore much of the city and its outskirts, driving around on a world map once locations are available. What is interesting is that once you have completed an area, you cannot go back, meaning any collectibles and clues must be found during that playthrough of that level. 

Mouseburg is full of interesting folk. You have Wanda, a reporter who often gives Jack just enough to chew on to find where he needs to go, and they have a good working relationship of sharing information. She also keeps Jack in check, and keeps him focused. If anything, she is his most trusted ally. There is also Tammy Tumbler, a young mechanic who can upgrade your weapons, which really gives them a solid bang for your buck. Stilton, as mentioned above, is that typical pull up the suspenders politician who hasn’t stooped to the level of corruption, but mostly due to the fact they are so blind to it. 

Jack himself is a solid character in his own right and has an appropriate moral compass to balance out the endless violence he triggers. Seriously, he must kill a thousand mice during this game. He also took Tammy in when she was just a young girl, after he had her father arrested, and simply couldn’t leave her alone. It gives Jack this sense of justice and doing the right thing in the face of money making people flip sides, something we see across most of Mouseburg’s police force. 

Jack, Tammy, his weapons, Mouseburg, and everything this game has to offer is presented in classic noir black and white. It really gives this game a solid vibe, and while I won’t spoil one particular scene later, this predominant color palette does wonders for the story and aesthetic it is trying to convey. If this game had been in full-color, I don’t think it would have hit the same way, losing a bit of its identity in the process. 

At the core of Mouse P.I. For Hire, it is very much a boomer shooter, one that feels as if it is borrowing the pacing of a certain shooter that starts with D and ends with OOM. This is a game that wants you to partake in the violence and fire your guns as often as you can. Ammo is plentiful, guns can be upgraded for a secondary fire, and you’ll build an arsenal in no time, giving you anything from shotguns to tommy guns, to even a varnish gun that melts the cartoon skin off anything it comes into contact with, reminding me a lot of Who Framed Roger Rabbit's infamous scene. It’s a great selection of guns that have just as much bounce to them as the characters wielding them. Also, the finger guns once Jack downs a cup of coffee or the spinach that launches a punching-fest offer fun distractions when made available.

Like in Doom, you’ll often be locked in combat with waves of enemies, spilling blood across the black and white floorboards of a cruise ship, to the backstage set of a big time movie studio. Enemies will appear out of doors marked with a skull above them, and a sound plays once the battle has concluded. Arenas are filled with ammo, health pickups, and in some cases, trampolines to bounce you around. You’ll eventually learn to double jump, swing across hooks, and wall-running, albeit the latter isn’t used as often as I would have liked. Still, combat shines as the chaotic nature of what this animation style can produce just makes for a wild and hilarious setting of black-inked bloodshed and melted away skeletons crumpled on the ground. It’s violent, yet goofy, and all matters silly, but it works. 

Throughout the roughly 10-12 hour campaign, you’ll have plenty of bosses to take on. From shooting down a plane aboard a cruise ship, tackling an alligator in the sewer wielding a mini-gun, to some sort of vampire as they fly around the lobby of a mansion, each encounter has something to offer. Even the fight against a robotic vixen has mechanics in place to provide some great moments to really make these encounters shine. If I had to complain about anything, it would be that some fights can go on a bit too long, as some foes can soak up the hits and feel a tad too strong. Still, there isn't a single weak battle here and it makes me excited for the future of this franchise.

Each area is filled with collectibles to track down. There are newspapers that flesh out the world, comic strips that detail Jack’s backstory, to tiny action figures that are actually hard to find, as I only found two during my entire playthrough. While some items can be bought in shops, as you have some money to spend as coins are pretty much everywhere, you’ll also want to be on the lookout for schematics as these help upgrade your arsenal to bump up their stats and they even attach new bits and bobs to your guns, complete with new animations, it’s wild. There is even a baseball card game that I found somewhat enjoyable, but never really put time into as card games are rarely my jam. 

However, most of the big collectibles are found in safes. These range from easy to hard variations, some that have actual fail states if you move too much or take too long to solve. Where Mouse P.I. For Hire digs into its source material in creative ways is that you use your tail to pick the lock. You’ll move your tail up, down, left, or right to maneuver your tail to the endzone, navigating around spikes. It’s clever and really fits with the motif of the whole experience. 

While the Switch 2 has some hiccups during a few boss battles, and some very busy and detailed locations, it overall ran remarkably well. Regardless of handheld or docked, the action was largely smooth, and the portable nature of the console really helped in my enjoyment, as it feels like the perfect handheld experience. 

Due to the black and white nature of the game, you surprisingly won't miss out on anything you need to pick up or what doors are accessible. This is due to the brighter colors and bouncy animations of what you can interact with. It allows the visual language of the game to really shine. Even walls that are breakable have “not a real wall” written on them, indicating for you to toss an explosive barrel or TNT stick at them. 

However, the real star of the game's visuals is the rubber hose animation, and it is masterfully done here. There are several enemy types that benefit from this, with even your guns having that same energy. Even with the muted color palette, Mouse P.I. For Hire is one of the best looking games this year as it truly leans into this style in the same way that made Cuphead such a standout nearly a decade ago.

While a major outlet clearly had no idea this was meant to be a fun and engaging cartoon boomer shooter draped in a detective noir aesthetic, Mouse P.I. For Hire excels in its genre and has not only a well-executed story, but a fantastic cast of characters to boot, brought to life with some often superb vocal performances. The gunplay and action is damn fun, and accompanied by a great soundtrack, it gives this game not only a fun and unique vibe, but an experience that is oozing with character. 

Developer - Fumi Games.
Publisher - PlaySide Studios.
Released - April 16th, 2026
Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, PC.
Rated - (T) - Blood, Mild Language, Violence.
Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch 2.
Review Access - A review code for Mouse P.I. For Hire was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.