// THE MANUAL // ISSUE 04.18.26

Should You Buy Mouse: P.I. For Hire?

Published April 18, 2026 · 7 min read · By The Manual

BUY

Easy BUY for FPS fans. 95% Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam. One of the most stylistically distinct games of the year. Available on every platform. Voice acted by Troy Baker. The detective elements are shallow, but the gunplay carries the whole experience.

Quick Specs

Release

APR 16

Platform

ALL

Price

$29.99

Length

11-13H

What It Is

Mouse: P.I. For Hire is a first-person boomer shooter — meaning fast movement, lots of guns, no regenerating health — wrapped in a black-and-white 1930s rubber hose animation aesthetic. Think Steamboat Willie meets Doom (2016). You play Jack Pepper (Troy Baker), a private detective in a city of anthropomorphic mice called Mouseburg, working a missing persons case that spirals into a corruption conspiracy.

Every frame is hand-drawn. The soundtrack is original big band jazz. The weapons are a mix of period-accurate firearms (Tommy Gun, revolver, dynamite) and absurd cartoon weapons (explosive barrels, oversized anvils). It plays like a love letter to both old animation and old shooters, executed with serious craft.

Why Critics Love It

The Steam page is sitting at 95% Overwhelmingly Positive across 1,500+ reviews within days of launch. Kotaku called it one of the best first-person shooters in years. Game Informer praised the visual style as a sincere tribute to century-old cartoons. GameSpot highlighted the absurd, fast-paced combat as "extremely satisfying."

The consistent critique: the detective angle is window dressing. You collect clues automatically and pin them to a board, but you don't actually deduce anything. If you came expecting a noir investigation game, you'll be disappointed. If you came expecting a beautiful boomer shooter with a great hook, you'll be ecstatic.

Mouse: P.I. for Hire's detective part is perfunctory at best, but it gets away with it thanks to joyous visuals and music. It's a competent and engaging shooter that doesn't really offer anything original — but the hand-drawn animation and big band soundtrack carry it the rest of the way.

The Case For and Against

BUY IF...

You love boomer shooters (Doom, Cultic, Prodeus, Boltgun)
Cuphead's art style appealed to you
You want a tight 12-hour campaign with no padding
$30 fits your budget easily
You appreciate hand-drawn animation as a craft

WAIT IF...

You hate cartoon violence presented as comedy
You wanted an actual detective game (this isn't one)
You bounce off arena-style shooter combat
Some heavy-handed late-game story beats might pull you out

Price & Value Math

At $29.99 for an 11–13 hour campaign, the value math is excellent — roughly $2.50/hour for a polished, distinctive game. There's also a Bundle edition with the soundtrack, comic book, and upcoming story DLC, which makes sense if you suspect you'll love it. For the average player, the standard edition is the right call.

The Bottom Line

Mouse: P.I. For Hire is the kind of indie game you buy partially to support the studio that made it. Fumi Games went viral with a 2023 tech demo, then spent three years actually building a full game out of the concept — and the result is one of the most visually distinct shooters in years. It's not perfect (the detective stuff is shallow, late-game pacing dips), but at $30 with this much craft on display, it's a no-brainer for any FPS fan. Buy it.

Ready to Decide?

If you're convinced, here's where to grab it:

CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON

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