Almost every Saturday morning for the past five or six years, my wife and I have had a tradition. We wake up, make a hearty breakfast with way too much salt, sugar and fat, and, being a couple of nerdy cinephiles, sit down to watch a classic movie—usually something out of the Criterion Channel. 

We eat while laughing at the antics of Jack Lemmon, or swoon over the endless charms of Cary Grant, or be moved by Katherine Hepburn’s enigmatic on-screen presence, or get transported to a simple town in post-war Tokyo crafted by the hands of the legendary Yasujiro Ozu. One genre amongst these classics, however, is a regular pick in our Rolodex: Film Noir, a genre with a storied history and an instantly identifiable aesthetic and tone. Noir goes beyond just the aesthetic, though. It’s a genre whose history is significant because its movies often reflected the dreary, grounded, and anxious emotions of the post-Depression-Era American public. A genre that wasn’t afraid to have moral ambiguity and unhappy endings. It’s because of these aspects that I am so keen on the genre. 

I also have an affinity for classic Looney Tunes cartoons, having grown up with the likes of Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote. So, when I saw a teaser trailer for a game in 2023 whose art style was effectively Cuphead-but-film-noir, you can imagine my excitement. 

We’ve had film noir-inspired games in the past: Grim Fandango, The Wolf Among Us, and, of course, L.A. Noire. However, to my knowledge, no game has ever adopted the genre while also being reminiscent of a 40s-era Disney animation. I was eager to see how developers Fumi Games were going to mesh the two together and if they would be able to pull off a proper noir story with engaging gameplay. Well, after spending fifteen hours in the shoes of private detective Jack Pepper, I can tell you whether or not I think they’ve succeeded.

The Heart

Mouse P.I. For Hire takes place in the fictional city of Mouseburg, wherein all of its residents are, you guessed it, anthropomorphic rodents. The story is set sometime around 1930, and after a war during what the game calls “The Quite Big Affair,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to, I’m assuming, World War I. You play as Jack Pepper, a veteran of the war and former police officer who now works as a private eye. When the game begins, a journalist named Wanda Fuller gets in touch with you about the disappearance of one Steve Bandel, a war vet-turned magician whom you were once friends with. Steve’s assistant, Betty, also recently died, and a former actress, Vivian McCarthy, believes some foul play was afoot despite the police saying otherwise. While investigating, Jack saves his and Steve’s former commander, Cornelius Stilton, from an assassination attempt. Cornelius is running for mayor and tells Jack that there’s some seedy goings-on within the police force, as there have been rumoured kidnappings of Shrews, the minority populace in Mouseburg, and that the force may be involved.   

A missing magician, his assistant possibly murdered; compromised politicians and corrupt cops entangled in an awful scheme that exploits minorities, and some weird cultists to boot? Yeah, Fumi Games definitely understood the assignment and ticked off all of the noir boxes when writing this game’s story and establishing this world. However, even though all of these elements exist, there was something about the game’s narrative that didn’t quite grab me, especially in the beginning. 

Despite being about anthropomorphized mice, looking like a classic cartoon from the 40s, and having cheese references aplenty, the game takes itself somewhat seriously, at least as far as the main story is concerned. Which is apt, considering it is an ode to classic noir films. However, to do that, you need to emphasize that flair, that sinister tone, and that smoky, eerie contrast the genre is known for. I needed some more stylized cinematography, more cigarette-riddled conversations to help build out these character relationships and this oppressive world, and more ominous moments that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. 

All of that could have been done while still fitting within this cartoon aesthetic. We’ve had cartoons from different eras do this while still retaining their comedic identity. Here, I didn’t get much of that needed tonal pizazz. As such, it at times felt as though the “noir-ness” was more of a backdrop. Which would have been perfectly fine if this were merely a whimsical love letter to the genre, acting as a simple veneer atop a boomer-shooter. But clearly, Fumi Games wanted to be more than just that, given the effort they put into this story. They simply didn’t go far enough to embody the genre fully.

Additionally, character writing is so crucial for noir. It needs captivating and personable characters to make the dramatic moments all the more memorable. Mouse P.I. For Hire has some decent comedic writing, but its character writing falls a little short. Many of the characters, including Jack himself, lack depth. Though some of their characterizations got better as the game progressed, and I started to see these relationships get more fleshed out, I shouldn’t have to wait eight hours in a twelve to fifteen-hour game to feel something, anything, for these characters. Again, much of this could’ve been resolved with more heartfelt, purposefully directed cutscenes and meatier dialogue between the characters.

Lastly, though all the branching plotlines are interestingly interwoven, I think Fumi Games would have been better off writing a more focused narrative that dealt with a single linear case and its thematic relevance. Going from the missing magician during one mission, then jumping into the case of the missing Shrews the next, and then all of a sudden dealing with weird cultists, all felt a little disjointed. It made for a haphazard narrative experience that, though I understand can be more compelling when it all comes together, didn’t keep my attention or heart in the story as I was getting through it. It also leads to an underwhelming amount of thematic substance because you’re trying to focus on so many different socio-political issues. I’ll commend Fumi Games for managing to bring everything together somewhat cohesively, but would love to see a more refined, character-first narrative in a potential sequel. 

The Eyes & Ears

I’ll keep this part short because there’s not much that needs to be said here. Mouse P.I. For Hire looks and sounds incredible. Yes, as mentioned, I do wish there were some more deliberate cinematography and storyboarding to highlight its narrative, but in terms of its actual visuals, from animations to art assets, this game is a shoo-in for Best Art Direction at this year’s Game Awards. Fumi Games uses the classic “rubber-hose” animation style to great effect, utilizing  “squash and stretch” techniques to bring forth that wonderfully whimsical look, which perfectly exaggerates movement, physics, and facial features to bring the world to life. Everything from the guns to the enemy designs to the smaller details like the text boxes all look unique and feel like a time capsule to those early years of Disney (minus the racism and overt military propaganda). 

That said, for as impressive as the character and gun models look, I can’t say the same for the environments. None of it looks bad, just a tad bland. There were only a couple of levels where I thought the stage designs were genuinely impressive or unique. Most of it, frankly, kind of blends together. To the point where the characters, who are again wonderfully designed, at times feel out of place with their environment. Some of this is helped when you turn on a few of the visual effects, like film grain and diffusion. Doing so makes the game adopt that classic grainy, harshly contrasted and slightly distorted look of old black-and-white films. It’s a neat effect, and though it does indeed make the characters mesh with the environments better and bring forth that nostalgic feel, I’m not sure if I prefer it over the standard, clean look. 

On the audio side of things, there’s very little to find issues with. Guns sound punchy and aptly bombastic, the sounds while kicking baddies in the schnoz or breaking barrels are satisfying, and moody jazz strings with fast-past horns perfectly capture the essence of noir. Though there’s not one particular track that stands out (aside from that little opening scat Troy Baker does upon booting up the game), the OST acts as a great backdrop, which works in harmonious tandem with the art design to elicit all the right emotions at the right times. Speaking of Troy Baker, the man’s performance as Jack Pepper is great. He goes into a deeper register to bring forth that war-hardened veteran voice, which, coupled with a slight tinge of an East Coast 1920s accent, makes for a memorable performance. All of the performances, for that matter, are very good. From the stuttering Stilton to the enigmatic Femme Fatale, Vivian McCarthy (who, by the way, was tremendously underused in the story), every actor deserves applause for how much life they brought to their performances. 

The Controller

Even though Mouse P.I. For Hire is about being a detective, there’s very little detective-ing when it comes to its gameplay. Most of your playtime will consist of driving from mission to mission across a top-down (and quite visually appealing) map, wherein you’ll hop from shooting arena to shooting arena as you blast through hordes of cultists, cops, mobsters, and…robots? Yeah, the story definitely gets a little nutty. So, seeing that this is a first-person “boomer shooter,” how does the gunplay actually feel? Pretty great, honestly. Now, admittedly, I am no connoisseur of the “boomer shooter” genre; I’ve only played the recent Doom games and have vague memories of Quake Arena from back in the day. As such, veteran fans of the genre may find more issues with the core gunplay than I did. 

For me, I had a blast unloading on corrupt cops with my “James Gun” (Get it? Instead of “Tommy Gun” it’s…yeah, you get it), melting away weird cultists with the “Devarnisher,” and blowing away evil crocodiles with my double-barrelled shotgun (I don’t know if they were evil, but hey, they were in the way). You expect to have a solid array of quirky guns when it comes to any first-person shooter, and particularly within this sub-genre. Happy to report that Mouse P.I. For Hire doesn’t disappoint on that end. 

With that said, however, the balancing definitely could’ve used some work. By the end, I was basically just sticking with the “James Gun” as it’s the most useful all-rounder, especially when fully upgraded. Conversely, there were a couple of guns that I never used, simply because of their limited use case or just because they weren’t very fun to shoot. A couple of them also felt flat-out gimmicky. I wish the game had a little more strategy in terms of the gunplay. Like having certain enemies only being affected by a certain gun to force me to switch. Anything to bring a bit more diversity to the action. But no, rather the only time I switched weapons was just to mix things up and give myself a little more challenge. Otherwise, I stuck to the “James Gun” and “Boomstick,” which is the pump-action shotgun. 

Each gun also has an “Alternate Fire” mode, most of which, I’ll be honest, I rarely used. A couple of them are genuinely useful in certain cases, but most of them felt somewhat like an afterthought. In terms of upgrades and the in-game economy, here’s where a big issue arises for me. Well, not an issue, per se, just an odd design choice. As you play, you’ll find coins, either dropped by enemies or hidden away in barrels. What can you purchase with these sweet golden dabloons? Ammunition. And that’s pretty much it. 

Okay, not really. You can buy a few collectibles like newspapers, comic strips, and baseball cards for the baseball mini-game (which is pretty fun, I might add). But that’s it. Baseball cards are the only ones that cost a good amount of money—often hundreds of coins—everything else is dirt cheap. Weapon upgrades don’t cost coins, only blueprints that you find within each stage. By the end of the game, I had more coins than I knew what to do with. Did Fumi Games really think we’d all be addicted to their baseball mini-game to the point where we’d be sniffing out every corner for coins just so we could buy that 1000-coin card like some crazy addicts? I guess so.

Aside from the guns, the gameplay consists of quite a few platforming sections. “Platforming” and “first-person” are never two things you’d ever want to hear in the same sentence. Surprisingly, Fumi Games has made it work. From double-jumping to wall-running to grapple-hooking, the platforming sections in Mouse P.I. For Hire feel very good. Or, at least as good as you can make it feel in an FPS game. One of the special abilities, however, isn’t as satisfying to use. It’s called the “tail-spin” and acts like a hover mechanic. Something about it looks and feels a little floaty and imprecise. It’s this very mechanic that was the key gameplay element of one of the final sequences in the game, and believe me when I tell you that this sequence was responsible for half of my total in-game deaths because of this dumbass mechanic. 

Now, remember when I said that there wasn’t much “detective-ing” in this game? Yeah, I wasn’t lying, there really isn’t. You’ll come across various “clues” in each stage. Clues that you will then take back to your office and “pin” to your evidence board. There really isn’t much else in terms of gameplay here. You’re simply clicking on the clues and watching them get sorted in the proper place as Troy Baker gives a satisfied grumble. There’s no figuring out which clues go where or drawing your own conclusions; it’s ostensibly a cutscene. Unfortunate, as I wish there was at least some detectiv-izing that was a part of the gameplay loop. 

Speaking of clicking, I should note that this is a game that needs to be played on a mouse and keyboard. I played this game in a variety of scenarios on my MSI Claw 8AI+. In handheld mode, docked in my living room TV with a controller, and docked at my desk with a mouse and keyboard. And, by far, the smoothest and most satisfying experience was with a mouse and keyboard. Which, I guess, shouldn’t be all that surprising considering the type of game this is. Also, in terms of performance, I ran this at a 20-Watt TDP at 1080p, high settings, and was getting anywhere from 60-80 FPS, consistently with rarely any dips. Everything ran, looked, and played like a dream. 

The Verdict

Mouse P.I. For Hire is one of the best games I’ve played this year. It’s an audiovisual treat that perfectly blends the classic “rubber-hose” animation style with the grit and edge of the film noir aesthetic. Although I wish its narrative were a more linear, focused one, and utilized more classic noir sensibilities in terms of its cinematic presentation and character writing, I commend Fumi Games for the world they’ve crafted—even if that world does at times ring a tad hollow. Being a “boomer shooter,” Mouse P.I. For Hire is a cheese-load of fun. Most of the guns are a hoot to shoot, even if a few of them are a tad imbalanced, and the platforming is surprisingly satisfying. All in all, this was a wonderful 15-hour romp in the shoes of a detective whose story is well worth your time, and one I hope gets a few more reels of tape in the future. Also, do a better job with your Femme Fatale character in the sequel, Fumi Games.

Shaz played Mouse P.I. For Hire on PC via Steam with his own purchased copy.