There are times when you find yourself coming across a familiar piece of a bygone memory in the form of sensory inputs. Or in this specific case, a video game.
At first glance, Mouse: P.I. For Hire felt reminiscent of old Mickey Mouse cartoons that I used to be obsessed with as a kid. Hell, even my fifth birthday cake was Mickey themed. So, obviously my first reaction to this game was immediate excitement. But now that I’ve played it, did it live up to the very excitement I felt? Of course it did. You could say that Mouse: P.I. For Hire is the kind of game that made me feel in touch with my yesteryears of childhood. Not many video games have done that.
Jack Pepper (Troy Baker) is described to have survived the cruelty of war and is now your average, everyday hustler private investigator. As a former cop, he finds purpose in helping mice who are in need of help, no more, no less. But as any detective mystery goes, our hero comes across a case that puts him to test in more ways than one. It starts with a missing magician and as Jack follows the cheese crumbs, he finds himself in the middle of a bigger conspiracy and discovers a growing rot right beneath the underbelly of Mouseberg.
The story of Mouse: P.I. For Hire is by no means as nail-biting as an Agatha Christie novel. Sure, Jack Pepper and Hercule Poirot have similarities in the sense that they are both detectives with a police background and in search of the truth, but it ends there. Jack’s determination to solve this particular case, however, also stems from a personal purview. Because of this, he feels all the more relatable. In fact, the setting of Mouseberg itself feels relevant to current reality.
The evils of classism, mouse trafficking, corruption, and police brutality are shown as if they are just “normal” occurrences in Mouseberg that makes one think there isn’t a lot of difference between these rodents and us humans. Such nuances deliver a kind of grounded storytelling where we see Jack fighting against a system which is so ingrained within the society that in the end, he tiredly explains how history will keep repeating itself in a never ending cycle and hopes that there are others like him out there to help those in need.
Booting up Mouse: P.I. For Hire, what struck me was the presentation of the game’s tutorials. I have played enough video games to know what to expect, that is, the classic way of text flashing on-screen telling me which button to press to do what. But in this case, the tutorials were creatively incorporated into vintage looking posters sparkling within the environments of the game. It might seem like a small detail, but it just further shows how much care was put into making such decisions during development.
Mouse: P.I. For Hire takes place in a full black-and-white color scale that is inspired by 1930s cartoons. Being a first-person shooter, I worried this feature would make me feel a tad uncomfortable during combat, but I am happy to say that didn’t happen.
Truth be told, combat has never felt better. You start off the game with Jack’s standard issue pistol, which as expected, isn’t great. But as the story progresses, Jack begins to acquire a lot more variety to his arsenal; each weapon with their own wacky animation and unique ammunition. It’s important to upgrade the guns that you commonly use by finding blueprints hidden in secret areas or safes as the enemies and bosses you’re up against are no joke.
As Jack deals with various factions in the story, the enemy types in Mouse: P.I. For Hire are solid. Though the only way to defeat them is pulling the trigger, sometimes you will come across rare power-ups in areas where enemies spawn in bigger numbers. These power-ups significantly boost Jack’s strength and offer different abilities for a limited duration. And I gotta say, these adrenaline-fueled fights were the most fun I had while playing the game.
Such sequences also offered me a brief respite from the usual struggle of taking down brutes as they were defeated much easier. When surrounded in a fight without power-ups, I found myself utilizing the environment by throwing an explosive barrel or two but when I ran out of bullets (which didn’t happen much) in my most used gun, I learned that Jack can throw a mean right hook and kick like nobody’s business.
Each boss fight in Mouse: P.I. For Hire can be described as their own event. They are flashy, cinematic and varied in difficulty which was something I found interesting. Some were easy to defeat, while others made me want to pull my hair out. But overall, they were dramatic, distinct and delightful to experience – especially the final boss fight, which was exceptionally satisfying and did not disappoint me in the least.
The combat did get tiresome and repetitive the more I played the game. I suspect the developers at Fumi Games also knew this and decided to add two incredibly addicting minigames — a baseball card battler and safe unlocking maze-like puzzles that I always went back to whenever I got the chance. Apart from this, before starting a mission, NPCs will ask Jack to do a favor for them in the form of side quests. Of course, these are optional but I ended up completing every single one of them only because I didn’t want to miss seeing Jack’s camaraderie with these side characters who he cares so much about even if he doesn’t show it often.
These side quests paved the way for more exploration and rewards. Even with its linear levels, traversal and exploration is such a big part of Mouse: P.I. For Hire. Jack unlocks special movement abilities like double jump, wall run, glide, and grappling tail through progression. This allows you to explore more hidden areas and discover secrets in the form of collectibles like case clues for Jack’s pin board, newspaper clippings from various issues of Mouseberg Herald that explain certain lore, baseball cards, and comic strips which are so wonderfully illustrated down to the detail. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring and collecting as much as I could even though I still didn’t manage to find them all in a single playthrough.
Playing Mouse: P.I. For Hire came packaged with a variety of emotions; mostly that of contemplation and different levels of contentment. There were moments where my jaw dropped during a certain sequence or times when I gleefully pointed at the screen after having caught a certain pop culture reference embedded smartly into the game or that time when I was frustrated but determined to beat a particular boss after failing for the third time.
I found that appreciating the smallest details in any form, let it be a particular dialogue, the goofy enemy death animation, or even cheese puns came easy while enjoying this game. From its voice acting to the music to the art style, every single aspect in Mouse: P.I. For Hire brilliantly pulls itself together to form an enjoyable ride I am glad to have experienced.
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