Mouse: PI for Hire Brings Hand-Drawn Noir to Gaming

In 2017, Cuphead redefined video game visuals with its fully hand-drawn, 1930s cartoon-inspired art. Since then, no game has matched its ambitious, labor-intensive style—until now. Mouse: P.I. for Hire is a new hand-crafted project set to hit PCs and consoles, boasting a unique aesthetic. While it shares Cuphead's commitment to hand-drawn art, Mouse carves its own path as a visually stunning first-person shooter. After watching a hands-off demo, I’m as captivated by it as I was by Cuphead’s debut.

Mouse embraces a striking black-and-white palette, evoking the Steamboat Willie era. Even its weapons, like wobbly rubber guns, reflect early animation’s charm. (More on those guns later.) The game casts you as Jack Pepper, a 1930s private eye voiced by Troy Baker with a deliberately clichéd New York accent, perfectly suiting the hardboiled gumshoe vibe.

Mouse screenshots

The demo I saw impressed me with its depth. Mouse isn’t just a fast-paced shooter; it weaves in detective work. The mission unfolded at an opera house, where Jack needed to track down Roland, the stage designer. Starting at the back entrance, we questioned a waiter about Roland’s whereabouts. With no leads, we ventured inside to investigate.

The kitchen showcased Mouse’s unique visual style, blending 2D characters in a 3D world, reminiscent of classic Doom enemies. Peering through a porthole window, Jack used a reconnaissance feature to snap a photo, spotting members of the Big Mouse Party—definitely not friendly faces.

At the kitchen’s rear, a slick waiter offered to sneak us upstairs for $30. We passed on the bribe, opting for a vent instead. A hidden cash stash was a nice find, but the vent’s floor gave way, sending us crashing back outside.

Attempt two led us through the same vent, this time avoiding the hole. We reached a dressing room, grabbing a Thompson machine gun and ammo. The Big Mouse Party wasn’t thrilled about our presence, sparking our first taste of the game’s fluid, visually dazzling combat, complete with a stunning reload animation.

A muffled voice hinted at Roland’s location, but first, a safe revealed a lockpicking minigame—and an unexpected cup of coffee inside. Things escalated when a wall exploded, forcing us to take down an enemy before using TNT to blast a hole in the floor, descending into the opera house’s depths.

We finally found Roland, roughed up by “extras” who were anything but. Jack uncovered the Big Mouse Party’s plot: assassinate mayoral candidate Stilton during the opera’s intermission, using a loaded stage cannon aimed right at him.

Combat ramped up with a shotgun that hit hard and boasted a slick reload animation. Explosive barrels set enemies ablaze cartoonishly, while an ice barrel—possibly liquid nitrogen—froze foes, letting us shatter them with a kick, echoing Terminator 2. The turpentine gun, melting paint-based enemies like the Dip from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, was a standout.

After some platforming and facing a helicopter-tailed enemy, a trapdoor sent us back to the basement. There, the Old Rat Stuntman taught Jack a double-jump move. Testing it uncovered a “Brie” Ruth baseball card—a cheesy nod to the game’s mouse theme. Back on stage, we sabotaged the cannon to save Stilton, triggering a boss fight with a furious opera performer, dispatched with the turpentine gun’s slick reload animation.

With the opera house ablaze, we fought our way out, using every weapon in Jack’s arsenal. Escaping, we met Roland again, who revealed the performer’s ties to a secret lab under his mansion—a suspicious lead for sure. The demo ended there.

Though I haven’t played Mouse myself, the demo left me eager to dive in. Its lighthearted, self-aware tone pairs perfectly with its polished first-person shooter mechanics. The hand-drawn art is breathtaking, but the gameplay’s depth and variety are what truly sell it. I’m optimistic Mouse will deliver a campaign as engaging as its visuals.