Using rubber hose animation as part of your hook is a pretty bold take for any game. Rubber hose was the first animated style used over a century ago, in which it was drawn with simple, flowing movements, with no articulation or joints shown. It meant that any drawings used would snap back or stretch, making it look playful. As most animators at the time were artists focused on newspaper comics, their interest in moving pictures led to the distinctive style of the time. It’s not a style you see often anymore, lest we forget Cuphead, but it’s timeless for a reason. The latest to use the artistic style is Mouse: P.I. For Hire from Fumi Games.
It’s a game I’ve been aware of since it was revealed, but not something I kept an eye on in the months that followed. That is, until I spent an hour playing through a demo last week that immediately put this game on my radar. It was like a portal to the past when my parents would buy these obscure VHS tapes of old cartoons with tons of funny physical comedy and violence that later found their way into Bugs Bunny skits and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
In Mouse: P.I. For Hire, I had nearly an hour to play a slice of the upcoming game that plays like DOOM’s arena-based levels mixed with some exploration.
Private Dick
You play as Jack Pepper, a former soldier turned private investigator. He’s a bit rough around the edges but has a heart of gold. Voiced by Troy Baker, Pepper feels like a caricature of detectives from the 1930s, but it feels abundantly clear that this is the right decision for a game like this. He feels like part Booker DeWitt from BioShock Infinite, mixed with Dick Tracy, and the result speaks for itself once you hear Baker’s character speaking with some of the locals in Mouseberg or while on a case, looking for clues.
The story is split into cases you need to investigate, and it often has you heading out, fighting enemies, gathering clues, maybe a boss or two, then coming back to your office in Mouseberg to piece them together. You can head to the dive bar to talk to locals or take in the area’s detailed locale.
Finding Bandel’s Lab In Mouse: P.I. For Hire
The demo kicks off with Pepper on the hunt for clues. He’s headed to Bandel’s Laboratory, currently filled with enemies and clues needed for his case. As I head in, I’m greeted with gunfire from comical mobsters as I search for the whereabouts of Steve Bandel, a magician and friend of Pepper’s who’s gone missing. Rumours led me to this location, and it appears that I’m not the only one searching for something.
You’re often taking on enemies with a shotgun and a Tommy gun. Seeing how enemies react to your character is impressive and feels like something you’d see in those classic cartoons – from your character blasting at an enemy’s head to how another enemy is set on fire and burns into a pile of ash, even dropping a piano on an enemy seems comical!
All weapons you use have B.A.N.G upgrades available from Tammy’s workshop. The Micer, for example, is a pistol (based on the Mauser pistol, get it?) and features three tiers of upgrades. The first level increases damage, clip size, and max ammo while reducing spread and recoil, and adds an alt-fire mode, for example. Another, the Devarnisher, fires acidic blobs at enemies and turns them into mush; it also increases projectile count, clip size, and max ammo, and its alt-mode fires a sticky blob that explodes, leaving area damage.
My favourite, though, is the Boomstick, a high burst shotgun “that goes Boom and cleans the room.” The weapon’s ability to clean a room of enemies is unmatched, and as you increase its level, it adds extra damage, pushback, and more ammo, and its alt-fire mode lets you charge up for a more powerful shot.
Back in Bandel’s Laboratory, I spent most of my time exploring, fighting and searching for clues. Each stage of the lab not only includes enemies but also environmental hazards such as electrified water, poison clouds, and explosions, as well as three miniboss fights against a series of Whatchamacallit robots. Encounters are fast-paced, and enemies fire from all over, so you are constantly fighting for your life by moving around and ensuring damage is minimal. Health potions and armour are found throughout the level, but come in limited doses. That means you do have to be a wise guy and shouldn’t go in full guns blazing to make sure you’ve got some health available.
The core of Mouse: P.I. For Hire is Mouseberg. It’s a hub area you get to via a beautifully detailed overworld, where you drive around in a classy Thunderbird. It’s easily one of the biggest surprises: how detailed and stunning the map was. The Hub, though, is where you meet the locals and find Jack’s office, the local pub, and Tammy’s workshop. NPCs are fun to talk to when visiting the local waterhole, and talking to Tammy is fun since she’s kind of zany and loves to zing Jack when he pops in for upgrades.
Comedy is a huge component, from how Jack talks to how he monologues to how he speaks to others in Mouseberg. My favourite moments, though, are when fighting enemies, like when brawling with mobsters, you’ll hear them react by saying things like “Oh, oh, gabagool!” before slinking to the floor
My demo was around 45 minutes long, but it was just enough to whet my appetite. Since its initial reveal, Mouse: P.I. For Hire looked incredible, but I was unsure how it played, and my interest was limited. Spending an hour playing through the limited demo has renewed my interest tenfold and cemented Mouse: P.I. For Hire as one of my most anticipated games this year. Between Baker’s excellent Jack Pepper, the impressive use of rubber-hose animations, and DOOM-inspired encounters, coalesce brilliantly.
Between the charm in its locations, characters, and music, Mouse: P.I. For Hire honours the rubberhose style animation in a way that’s made me interested in watching classic cartoons again. It also means the wait to launch is a bit harder, as my excitement is through the roof now. Whether it’s a rewatch of Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, and Popeye, I’m counting down the days until PlaySide Studios’ Mouse: P.I. For Hire launches on April 16, 2026.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
