Can grizzled detective Jack Pepper blast his way to the truth?
What Is It? Mouse P.I. For Hire is a 2026 first person shooter developed by Fumi Games. The game places you in the role of Jack Pepper, a grizzled war veteran turned private investigator, as you try to solve the case of a missing magician. The game notably features a rubber hose art style reminiscent of early Mickey Mouse cartoons, and the game is presented in grayscale, adding to the effect.
The game comfortably fits in the genre known as “boomer shooters.” This term refers to the early ‘90s FPS games which, generally, emphasize fast movement, constant action, and hip firing. The most recent Doom game, The Dark Ages, is another example of a boomer shooter.
The game lives up to the genre with a heavy emphasis on frequently mowing down waves of enemies while using Pepper’s quick movement skills to get around the confined battle areas quickly. The majority of the game is spent traversing through linear levels until you reach a slightly more open area which will spill a few waves of enemies at you. Some will fire guns, others will need to melee, others will fly, others will be gigantic and take a ton of shots to take down.
Pepper gets a handful of core weapons early on. The standard pistol, shotgun, machine gun, a strong goo-shooter that mostly acts like a rifle, and some dynamite. Others are added in later, but these core weapons are the ones I mostly used throughout. They all feel good to control and each brings something a little different to the table. The pistol is valuable in picking off the smaller flying shrews heading towards you while the shotgun and rifle are what you’d expect. A special shout-out to the machine gun here, a weapon that often gets overlooked in FPS games because the weak shots require entire clips to kill enemies. Mouse P.I. For Hire strikes the right balance here where the machine gun is powerful but not overly so, it was my favorite weapon to use simply because it is so often useless in other games of the genre.
You will also get a small array of platforming moves to compliment the heavy firearms. A double jump, selective wallrun and grapple hook, and a few other small tricks give the game a good amount of platforming range. The game mostly uses this to its advantage, many of the pure platforming segments are quite fun and a nice break from the action.
The story plays out as an investigation that Pepper, the private detective, takes on for an old war friend who is running for office. As you might expect, this leads to a wider conspiracy and a sprawling tale of corruption at the highest levels. Between each mission you return to Pepper’s office and place your clues on the investigation board. This advances the stories without much input from the player, you simply press a button to place a clue on the board and every handful of these leads to a “resolve clues” button which will unveil your next location. This works well as a storytelling device, but it’s so close to an actual detective-like mechanic that it’s hard not to wish they let you actually play detective a little bit.
The streets around Pepper’s office serve as the main hub for the game. Here you will talk to familiar faces, purchase ammo refills, upgrade weapons, add clues to your investigation board, and so on. Once you have advanced the story, or side quests, enough to provide a new lead, you can hop in your car and drive around the city via a map to head to the next destination, or revisit an old one.
I spent about twelve hours with the game until I hit the credits. This is probably right at the limit for the length I like out of a game like this, but it never felt like it was dragging out to me. Apart from some minor gripes about the late level setup, I had a consistently great time playing through Jack Pepper’s adventure.
The Best Part: The atmosphere. The game leans into the early-Mickey era aesthetic throughout and creates a really great world that you’ll enjoy spending time in. Basically everything in this world of mice and shrews can be accurately described as “old timey” and it makes for some fun sights to see and areas to explore. Hop in Jack’s 1930’s car, complete with exhaust-spewing details, drive down to the docks, talking like a classic detective movie the entire time. It’s a complete vibe that elevates beyond superficial decoration to become an integral part of the game and experience. This game would not have been on my radar without the art style and I was extremely happy to see that it wasn’t just a gimmick, but the basis of the entire game.
The Worst Part: There were a few parts near the very end of the game where the game tried to do too much by way of platforming. It resulted in some frustrating sections when the focus should be on pure fun as you are barrelling towards the thrilling conclusion. The game seems to know this as these parts were absolutely packed with healing items which made them not-particularly-difficult, simply annoying. This didn’t ruin the ending experience totally, but it did end things on a mildly sour note.
The Verdict: Mouse P.I. For Hire is a very competent boomer shooter that is drastically elevated by its visual style and theme. If this were set in the future where you were blasting away nondescript aliens with modern graphics, the game wouldn’t have gotten nearly the attention it has. There is nothing terribly special about the weapons, level design, enemies, bosses, or platforming this game provides. It is all well made, but not outstanding. The most recent Doom game, for example, offers a significantly more interesting experience strictly from an FPS perspective.
I’m not calling this out to knock the game, because the fact is the game doesn’t exist without the wonderful aesthetic it’s wrapped in, just wanted to set expectations about what this game is. Don’t come in expecting a groundbreaking FPS experience. Do come in expecting a very good FPS experience with a unique, memorable visual style, setting, and general atmosphere. Also, I can’t wrap this review without mentioning that this game launched for $30 and is available physically (note: the Switch 2 physical price is $40).
I had a very good time with Mouse P.I. For Hire. It may fall short of being an all-timer for me, and I may be more likely to reach for one of the Doom games next time I get the urge to boomer shoot hordes of enemies, but I am glad I took the time to play this one. Not every game needs to be the best thing you’ve ever played. A twelve hour, fast-paced, fun time with style is often exactly what I’m looking for and that is exactly what Mouse P.I. For Hire delivers.
How to Play: PlayStation 5*, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PC
*console played on for this review
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