MOUSE: P.I. FOR HIRE: A RUBBER HOSE NOIR WITH A TOMMY GUN

Name: MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
Item: MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
Rating: 7.5
Author: The Alpha

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire PlayStation 5 box art from the Amazon listing — Image credit: Fumi Games / PlaySide, PS5 box art from the Amazon listing the button points to, used for review.

7.5 of 10 bananas. A first person shooter drawn like a 1930s rubber hose cartoon, with a noir mystery and fast old school gunplay. Critics adore the look and sound. Several say the campaign runs longer than its ideas.

Shooter Action

By the Alpha. Full review. Updated Nov 12 2026.

Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from critic reviews, player reviews, the store listing, and the official game pages linked below. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam, with more versions listed on Metacritic. Released April 16 2026, developed by Fumi Games and published by PlaySide. The Amazon button is the PS5 disc. At my Nov 12 2026 check it was sold by Amazon.com at 29.99 dollars and listed In Stock.

Get MOUSE: P.I. For Hire for PS5 on Amazon

Store check, Nov 12 2026: new copies sold and shipped by Amazon.com at 29.99 dollars, In Stock. Prices and sellers change, so look before you pay.

Listen well. I have seen a thousand gritty shooters with brown walls and grim men. This one is black and white, it bounces, and the shotgun flops like it is made of rubber. The troop noticed. You will too, the second you see a cartoon mobster melt.

What It Wants To Be

You are Jack Pepper, a private eye mouse in a city drawn like a Steamboat Willie era cartoon. You take cases, collect clues, and shoot your way through gangsters, with a Tommy Gun, a shotgun, a freeze ray, and upgrades bought between levels. It wants to be a Cuphead style art piece wrapped around a Doom style shooter, with a big band soundtrack and hard boiled narration on top.

What Works

At my check it sat at 77 on Metacritic for PS5 from 25 critic reviews, and 93 percent of 9,425 English Steam reviews were positive. Kotaku called it one of the best first person shooters its reviewer had played in years, with gorgeous animation and fantastic level design, after a 13 hour run. Push Square gave it 8 of 10 for its art, animation, and enjoyable shootouts. IGN Italia praised the writing, the humor, and a voice cast led by Troy Baker.

What Breaks

Length is the knock. Push Square says it runs out of steam well before the credits. ComicBook gave it 3 of 5 and called the campaign far too long, with weak enemies and many health pickups that keep fights easy, and a desaturated palette that hides collectibles and the main path. Game Rant says the last couple of hours repeat what came before. Kotaku flags a few late difficulty spikes and some lackluster guns.

Who Should Play

Play it if you love cartoon art, old school shooters, or noir, and you are happy to play it in chunks. Skip it or wait if you want a hard shooter or a real detective game, because the clues are mostly flavor and the challenge stays mild.

STRENGTHS

Stunning rubber hose animation
Fast, snappy gunplay
Great music and voice cast
Sold by Amazon.com at 29.99 at my check

HONEST COSTS

Campaign runs long
Easy for shooter veterans
Detective work is light
Monochrome hides the path

ALPHA VERDICT: 7.5 of 10. The best looking shooter of the year by a mile, with a story and arsenal that run out of tricks before the end. Play it in short sessions. Get MOUSE: P.I. For Hire for PS5 on Amazon, then meet the troop on Twitch.

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