In Mouse: P.I. for Hire, you play private investigator Jack Pepper, who investigates corruption in Mouseburg after he serves as a soldier in the 1930s. As you tackle dirty cops, shady swindlers, and compromised actors, Jack learns of a much bigger conspiracy that could have major ramifications for the city of Mouseburg.

Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a 2026 first-person shooter, developed by Fumi Games and published by PlaySide Studios.

Editor’s Note: Some spoilers for Mouse: P.I. for Hire may be present in this review. PlaySide Studios provided a Playstation 5 review code in support of this review.

Inspired by rubberhose animation, Mouse brings a new look to the FPS genre.

The 1930s in Mouseburg are going through a bit of a rough patch in time. A war just ended, and former soldier turned P.I., Jack Pepper, has taken it upon himself to investigate cases of corruption and mystery. While he goes deeper and deeper down Mouseburg’s well of darkness, a grand conspiracy rears its ugly head, forcing Jack to get involved. He goes all over Mouseburg looking for clues and connections to a case referred to as the Quite Big Affair.

A comedic array of weapons and enemy animations keeps Mouse’s gameplay fresh.

THE GOOD: Having completed his enlistment in a war from the Old World, Jack Pepper has become a private investigator for hire. Through Jack’s journalist friend, Wanda Fuller, he gains intel on potential crims to solve throughout the city of Mouseburg, which has become extremely corrupt. When Jack’s war buddy Steve Bandel goes missing after starting a new career as a magician, he’s informed of the situation by Fuller and investigates. While gathering clues, Jack stops an assassination attempt on a mayoral candidate named Cornelius, who gives him Steve’s address to his mansion.

Cornelius tells Jack about rumors of Steve having a lab under his mansion, which, while visiting Jack, he finds cultists. Confused by what his friend has gotten involved with, he digs deeper, learning about the death of Steve’s assistant, Betty. Betty got caught up in a conspiracy after accidentally acquiring sensitive information, and it cost her life. Jack’s investigation soon leads him to his friend being tied to something known as “The Unknown”,  a dream-like dimension which opens the case up to supernatural forces taking a whole new turn on the Mouseburg corruption.

Outside of some creative bosses, enemy variety is a bit limited.

Mouse: P.I. for Hire, while not unique in its presentation, does bring some new flair to the first-person shooter genre, which is sorely missing it. For everyone trying to be a Call of Duty or Battlefield, it’s nice seeing more devs being comfortable standing out in a genre flooded with a lack of innovation in gameplay and art direction. Mouse isn’t the first to do this type of direction, of course, but it is at least, from memory, the first to do so in its genre. The game’s history is kind of funny, after Disney’s Mickey Mouse (or a version of it) returned to the public domain a sea of media taking inspiration from that era of the character came about and Mouse: P.I. for Hire became an instant standout, especially as more and more reveals came out.

The gunplay is more or less what you’d come to expect with shooters, there’s a nice variety from basic pistols, shotguns, and machineguns to more unique weaponry like the acid gun. You can upgrade your weapons by using schemactics from Tammy’s B.A.N.G. system which increases damage, ammo, etc. Some weapons even have alt fire shots to keep things less bland. There’s some platforming elements while in the world such as swinging from one area to the next or flying up with your tail which you unlock over the course of the campaign.

The story has a fun noir spin, which doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are only about three main cases from the campaign run, but you unlock side quests as you go, which can expand the run. There’s a mini game involving baseball cards, which you can play for downtime.

Explosive barrels, dynamite, and punching spread out the gameplay.

THE BAD: Enemy variety is a bit small; you’re kind of limited to facing off the same thug and corrupt cop designs with some small shrews carrying explosives throughout much of the game. There are some small variety increases with buff brutes and robots, but it rarely gets much greater than that. The story is fine, but very short. If you’re going for a straight campaign run, you can complete the game in about five hours. Side quests can expand the playtime to about twelve to fifteen hours.

Mouse’s story is a bit on the weaker side.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a neat game that rarely takes liberties with its direction, especially in the art department. With lead Jack Pepper voiced by the legendary Troy Baker, perhaps its biggest crime is the lack of time we get to really sink our teeth into the exploration of the world of Mouseburg. DLC is apparently being planned for the game, which will hopefully add a good deal of content to keep players coming back for more, as it’s more than earned multiple revisits and playthroughs as time goes on.