MOUSE: P.I. for Hire Preview
Ok, right off the bat, I’m going to give MOUSE: P.I. for Hire kudos for a cool concept. It’s a first-person shooter, but with the aesthetic of black-and-white cartoons from the 1930s. You know, like Disney’s Steamboat Willie, but with guns blazing. Of course, lots of games have interesting hooks, but from the short slice of game I previewed, MOUSE: P.I. for Hire might just follow through with more than a gimmick.
Rodent Noire
I don’t know how the full narrative plays out, but in the preview, you play as Jack Pepper (get it? like the reverse of Pepper Jack cheese, because you know, mice like cheese), who is searching for his friend and magician Steve Bandel. Steve may or may not be more mad scientist than magician, and your task is to find his secret lab and do your private investigator thing.
The environments in the preview were very noire, places like sewers and tunnels and hidden passages, finally ending in Steve’s lab. There are lots of notes and other narrative clues to read and not infrequent rodent enemies to fight. A few NPCs pop up to add a bit to the story and world-building.
As a first-person shooter, MOUSE: P.I. for Hire sticks to tradition, with pistols, shotguns, and throwables like TNT. There’s also a weapon or two based on old cartoon tropes, like the gun that shoots acid or the boss shooting zappy crackling electricity. Like in shooters of old, there are ammo crates and health packs to pick up, typewriters as save-game points, and the kinds of technology that folks in the 1930s imagined the future to be full of.
Picture Perfect
At least in the preview, MOUSE: P.I. for Hire nails the art direction and teases what might have happened if Walt Disney were more into Raymond Chandler than Snow White. Like the art, the game’s music mimics the jazz and cabaret feel from pre-WW2.
The shooting mechanics feel pretty good, if not entirely dialed in quite yet. The camera, movement, and aiming are a bit loose, and weapons don’t have much punch or provide a lot of feedback. I’m hoping that as the game progresses, the selection of weapons ends up being a little more creative than Tommy Guns and pistols. But really, take any criticism with a huge mountain of salt. The game doesn’t release until April 16.
Overall, though, I was intrigued by MOUSE: P.I. for Hire and excited that the developers appear to be making a shooter that is more than just a wacky premise. What I’ve played so far definitely feels like an encouraging start, and I’m looking forward to the full game.
***PC code provided by the publisher for preview***
