Maybe you’ve spent years soaking up Fleischer Studios’ signature animations from the 1930s; or maybe your knowledge begins and ends with Studio MDHR’s gorgeous 2017 game homage, Cuphead. Either way, Mouse P.I. for Hire should ring an immediate bell, and Fumi Games captures that unmistakable “rubber hose” feel with confidence. It blends the black-and-white Fleischer vibe with 1940s detective noir, and there’s even a trace of old-school Disney—because the dim stretch of Mouse P.I.’s world, Mouseberg, appears to be home to worn-out relatives of early Mickey, faded and struggling like they’ve been left behind by better times.
It absolutely oozes character. From its sultry, jazzy soundtrack to its battered mouse protagonist, Jack Pepper (voiced by Troy Baker), Fumi Games also includes plenty of toggles that let you undermine the visuals and audio—adding grain, film damage, and audio distortion. Even with those settings, the developer works hard to sell the mix of noir mood and classic cartoon energy. And Mouse P.I. keeps looking sharp throughout: whether you’re sprinting through the creepy moonlit gorge that kicks off my demo, exploring the larger underground laboratory that comes next, or—later—the grimy city streets that serve as Mouse P.I.’s main hub, packed with crowds of rat deadbeats, a speakeasy, shadowy side corridors, and Pepper’s own cluttered office.
The animation is excellent. As an FPS, it lets your weapons bounce and swing in a playful way while you run around—reloads are especially entertaining, too, since you’re clearly yanking heavy handfuls of ammunition out of thin air and shoving it into whatever space you can reach. The game is also packed with gleefully exaggerated violence: enemies erupt when hit by shotgun blasts or crumble into shocked skeletons after taking a shot from your turpentine gun. Just as crucially, the design avoids turning its broad monochrome world into visual soup. Even though it leans hard into noir-like light and shadow, every gameplay element—foes, ammo stacks, levers, and collectibles—uses shifting 2D shapes that stay easy to identify inside the 3D setting.
Of course, much of that can be seen just by watching the trailer. The real surprise—at least for me—comes from how Mouse P.I. actually plays. Sure, (in the demo) it mostly behaves like a linear first-person shooter with light puzzle elements, but it’s built on a surprisingly flexible sense of momentum. Take the double jump: it hits a great compromise between weight and a cartoonish refusal to obey gravity. You first use it for simple platforming as you climb your way up from the gorge toward a spooky old mansion, hunting for a missing magician—someone who may be working with a Nazi-esque mouse cult.
That double jump pairs with a sprint that slides smoothly into the ground, plus a quick sidestep. There’s also a rapid melee kick on hand (handy for widening the distance if an enemy crowds you), and—if you’re feeling especially aggressive—you can even take the fight to your fists. Together, these tools create a combat setup that initially feels like it might be too much. Many foes, from cultists to dangerous robots, aren’t especially complex; they tend to arrive in groups, wandering around each small arena while firing off a few shots here and there. That can make the early encounters feel underwhelming. Then I met Robot-Betty, a recurring mini-boss in the demo, and once I started to understand the combat pacing Fumi Games is aiming for, the impression changed.
At heart, this is a shooter that leans into chaos and constant motion. Robo-Betty’s moves get more elaborate every time she shows up, and the tempo ramps up as each new encounter begins. For example, she can unleash a four-directional laser pattern that spirals around her, forcing you to jump and slide under her beams while trying to keep your shots on target. After that, the mines—later followed by homing mines—push the momentum even harder as you leap and dodge, trying to time your shots so Betty is caught in their blast. You’ll use your kick to knock away her punishing close-range swings, then scramble away at full speed when she releases a huge, devastating attack. It’s quick, it’s frantic, and the more I fought Betty, the more I realized I was naturally syncing with the game’s relentless rhythm elsewhere. By the end, I was tearing through levels without hesitation—zip-dashing and sliding, double jumping and firing mid-air to clear out well-placed threats as bullets poured in from every direction. Utterly entertaining!
While it wasn’t quite the pace I expected from a noir-inspired cartoon shooter, once the demo wrapped up, I still wanted more. I also enjoyed a few additional touches, like a brain-teasing lock-picking mini-game. You have to guide Jack’s tail through a maze-like space and steer the pins with a limited number of moves—short, satisfying, and genuinely engaging. I found myself looking forward to doing it again. That kind of careful design and polish shows up repeatedly; even the brief top-down driving section used to move between levels feels rewarding. The only thing that occasionally bothered me was the game’s attempts at humor, which can miss the mark. When the art and sound teams are clearly working to establish a specific mood, it’s a little distracting when modern pop-culture references pop up—such as a Love, Sex & Robots joke, or a weapon labeled the “James Gun”—pulling you out of the atmosphere. Still, the overall writing holds up pretty well, so I’m hoping these moments won’t become a pattern.
I’m also wondering whether there’s more going on in Mouse P.I.’s investigative structure than just theme dressing. The rough little sidestreet hub that appeared briefly near the end of my demo hints at a bigger framework: there’s a mechanic for improving your weapons using schematics you gather in the field, a journalist who chases down leads between missions, and a pinboard where you can compile all the clues you’ve uncovered. However, how all of that connects to the central shooting gameplay is still a bit unclear. Even so, this short look at Mouse P.I. for Hire points to an energetic shooter with standout presentation. So I’m definitely keeping my interest locked in ahead of its 16th April release.