MOUSE: P.I. For Hire has had us standing to attention since it was first revealed, with its unique rubber hose animation grabbing us almost instantly. Well, the Fumi Games shooter is out on Xbox later this week, and a host of reviews are now out in the wild.
So, we've gathered a bunch of these up for you to take a look at down below. Here's what the critics are saying about Mouse: P.I. For Hire:
DualShockers (9.5/10)
"MOUSE: P.I. For Hire embodies a magnificent triple-threat of retro stylings, managing a careful balancing act between noir theming, cartoony visuals, and vintage FPS gameplay. The gameplay is fast, responsive, and above all else, fun as all get out, while the story and characters manage to be intriguing in that classic pulp novel fashion while also being entertaining to watch and talk to."
Gaming Boulevard (9.5/10)
"Mouse: P.I. For Hire is one of those rare games that feels fully formed, not just in its individual parts, but in how those parts come together. It’s a shooter, yes, but it’s also a character study, a stylistic experiment, and a love letter to a form of animation that rarely gets this kind of attention in games. It feels tailored for me, as a person, and it’s well worth the wait. By combining a strong narrative structure with expressive gameplay and a truly unique visual identity, it stands out in an increasingly crowded genre."
GamingTrend (9/10)
"MOUSE: P.I. For Hire is un-brie-lievable. Somehow, the lofty ambition they presented in 2023 has been surpassed by an excellent release. This spunky noir shooter is exactly the kind of game I wanted, and it's so much fun to play I might just start it again. Don't sleep on MOUSE; this is a premium and ingenious game in an indie package."
PC Gamer (8.6/10)
"The slimy politicians, jaded film stars and bizarro cultists of Mouseburg are sharply drawn in every sense. In the end it’s the gunplay, the detective downtime and the world-building that elevate this choice cut of detective noir, not the whodunnit aspect, and I’m absolutely fine with that."
Shacknews (8/10)
"Set in a gritty noire story told through rubberhose animated-characters, Mouse: P.I. takes players into the seedy underbelly of Mouseberg, and while I often felt like more of a “Mouse Mercenary” than a P.I., the look and feel of the game had me hooked throughout the twisting and turning adventure."
GameSpot (8/10)
"There aren't many other games that pull off the same distinct art style as Mouse: P.I. For Hire. Cuphead is the only one that comes to mind, which makes it easy to fall for the game's presentational charms. There's rarely a frame that isn't bursting with style and creativity, and it's none too shabby as a retro-style shooter either. Mouse: P.I. might not reinvent the wheel, but its arsenal of weapons is punchy and delightfully varied, while the fluidity of movement makes for some thrilling, high-speed shootouts. In this instance, you should have no qualms about handing over money to the mouse."
Forbes (7.5/10)
"Mouse: P.I. For Hire is a bombastic shooter with a charming cast and a gripping story. Sure, its gameplay is basically a carbon copy of Doom’s but with a 1930s rubber hose aesthetic. However, the execution is well done and it still has plenty of other aspects that differentiate itself. Jack isn’t going through Hell on Earth, but he’s determined to go to Hell and back to uncover the corrupt underbelly of Mouseburg."
TheGamer (7/10)
"Mouse is an enjoyable and visually stunning shooter with just enough uncapitalized potential to make me mourn what could have been. It looks amazing, the music is spectacular, the voice acting is top-notch, and it feels great to play in the moment, but its unwillingness to put up even a semblance of challenge is its biggest downfall. I’d still very easily recommend it, but sticking it on the hardest difficulty is almost a requirement."
IGN (6/10)
"Mouse: P.I. for Hire nails the aesthetics of both the 1930s cartoons and the detective stories that inspired it, and it’s also an amusing boomer shooter that largely feels good as you’re playing it. But its haphazard marriage of noir storytelling tropes and shooter gameplay are often at odds with each other in uncomfortable ways that weaken both aspects, and the writing is so busy making references to other things that it’s actually painful to sit through at times."
At the time of writing, we're looking at a Metacritic rating of 80 and an OpenCritic score of 83 with Mouse; pretty good going for a debut title! We're definitely looking forward to trying this one out when it hits Xbox on April 16th, 2026.