MOUSE: P.I. For Hire — What Real Players Actually Think

GameSpot gave it an 8/10.

I'll probably grab it. Its $30. These are the types of games I like to support, looks simple but fun and definitely cool to look at. Hope it sells well.

Seems like the majority of the complaints here are tied to ludonarrative dissonance, which personally I'm not bothered with in the least. I just want to shoot some cheese stealing mice scum and maybe solve a crime or two.

I really like the art style, not to mention Troy Baker's the main character!

Definitely seems like something I'd be interested in when it's on sale for 10–15 bucks.

You can convince me it's a 7 at most. This game has a really good first impression but it doesn't carry it forward at all. I'm guessing many people getting upset only had the first impression and haven't actually beaten the game yet.

I mean that seems fair? 6 isn't bad, and from what I've seen it doesn't have a ton going for it outside of its artstyle.

Yeah the artstyle is cool but once the novelty wears off its just another boomer shooter that you can play for 30 minutes and see everything it has to offer.

The game is fine but it's the most safe boomer shooter I've ever played, combat gets stale after you realise there's only 3 guns worth using (shotgun, tommy gun and devarnisher). Quite a few of the boss fights are not very good and the enemy variety is even worse, it feels like past the first 3 hours you don't encounter any new enemy types. The 6/10 is an astoundingly accurate rating for IGN but they pick the dumbest reasons to back it up.

Yes, it's fantastic. I knew it was great as soon as I found myself tossing TNT like Caleb from Blood, kicking everyone like Duke or the Postal Dude, and boomstick-ing my way through enemies like Doomguy, all in a classic cartoon with detective jazz music and my favorite Troy Baker voiceover. Can't wait to also get a physical copy on PS5.

It's cool. $30 is steep I feel like. You really can't backtrack and have to rely on good save reloads if you miss anything. The world doesn't feel very interactive. (Can't pop balloons, knock over bottles, no real alternate paths) I've gotten used to being able to jump around and use the environment to my advantage in boom shoots and that just isn't here. Trying to "parkour" about just doesn't work. Not to mention invisible walls galore.

I enjoy the art more than the game. It feels a bit too shallow and lacking in replayability for me, as the levels lack alternative paths and don't feel terribly fun to explore. Presentation is phenomenal, but the game itself feels kinda middling.

I'm like 2 hours in. I'd wait if I was you. It's perfectly fine, but if you regularly play these type of games it's not really doing anything amazing.

No one has yet mentioned, that the AI of the enemies sucks bad. They just chase you mindlessly. It's not even improved compared to enemies in old games like serious sam 1. Nice design and theme though.

It was not on my radar until I read a ton of Reddit hype. Then I bought it and found it to have amazing atmosphere but had below average game-feel. IGN's review does not surprise me.

I think it's ok. Art style and animation are great and the story is surprisingly amusing. I just think the boomer shooter side of it is very underwhelming.

I mean I absolutely agree with this review. The constant references and writing are just dreadful. It has nothing going for it beyond the artstyle and animation.

Good game, wait for sale.

You literally can't replay levels unless you start a completely new save, which is such a terrible idea.

I'm enjoying it, the shooting and mechanics themselves are solid, the artstyle, music, etc. is fantastic, but it's definitely no Selaco or Duke Nukem 3D when it comes to the interactivity and explorability of the world, which is a bit of a shame considering the possibility of lots of goofy cartoon physics stuff.

It's like Micky Mouse and Doom had a baby and it was raised by Alan Wake and Max Payne.

I love it, yes it's a boomer shooter but it's got just a bit of fluff and other gameplay loops to break up the booming. Not TOO much, just a pretty healthy change in pace between levels or big fights. It's got the core "mystery" that you are finding evidence for to ultimately solve, you physically drive your car between levels in a cute top-down map selection screen, there's a TCG with cards you can find and buy with the in game currency, and upgrade paths for your weapons.

Greatly enjoying it for the story and presentation, but the gunplay is a bit of a letdown, ngl. I could have waited for a sale, but now that I'm a few hours in I don't regret paying the full price.

I'm a millennial but I would describe this game as a boomer shooter but a very good one. I highly enjoyed this and you can tell this was a labor of love for the development team with the details they smeared all over this game. 8/10.

I primarily play single player shooters, "boomer shooters" specifically, and Mouse PI has been great! Incredible sound design, great mechanics, decent over the top noir style story with all the clichés cranked. To me the juxtaposition between cartoon mice and hardcore violence is so comical. It's easily an 8, not GOTY worthy or anything but much better than a lot of slop getting out these days.

I'm really enjoying it, but I thought it was so-so at first. As the game moves on the levels get more complex and the enemies tougher, which helps, and I also changed my mindset from "this is mediocre as a shooter" to "this is cool as hell as a shooter/platformer/detective game."

The art and sound is the big driver, and that's okay as they acknowledge this in interviews. It's just a shame the scope was dialled so far in for the gameplay where the environments can feel static and lifeless despite rubberhose famously bringing scenes to life. I think it's closer to a £15 value purchase than £30 but maybe the next project will fix this.

I've found it quite boring as a shooter. The gunplay is unenjoyable, guns are peashooters, enemies are boring and unsatisfying to kill. I mean, I've played it for an hour or two, but so far it didn't pull me in at all, especially in comparison to good boomshoots, like Ion Fury or Blood. Gameplay loop itself is too repetitive. Art is good, sure, but that's it.

Its okay. I'd say 6/10 above average. The animations are great, the voice acting is decent and the overall vibe is there. I just dont like how the game is so linear, yet the enemies are not scattered around in the rooms, instead they all just appear out of the same door every single time.

Love the presentation, but I can't remember a game where the shooting felt worse.

I love the presentation of the game, but it feels like there are barely any enemies and it just feels really, really dry. I play for maybe 10-20 minutes and I feel "ok, I've played enough for today." It never draws me in.

I'm enjoying the gameplay & storyline so but I'm mostly happy about new noir boomer shooter style games coming out. I really enjoyed fallen aces and it's one of my faves so I'm happy about Mouse PI for hire being released. We need more noir themed boomer shooter games.

It's alright. Only special because of the artstyle but feels like it's lacking in gameplay and level design.

As a casual gamer that likes indie games and doesn't play many shooters: this did it for me. It's fast paced, easy to learn, not punishing, has cool maps, all guns feel impactful, unique aesthetic. 8.5/10. If you are a hardcore shooter fan, this might not be for you.

I like it but in the later part of the game it kinda gets "stale", there should be more enemy types or level gimmicks to kinda break the repetitiveness. Other than that solid great game.

Came across this game from an ad. Loving it so far as it keeps getting cooler the further I progress. A mix between Doom and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 with Cuphead art.

I was excited for a new boomer shooter game, I played it for one hour and was very disappointed. I think it's very overhyped. I liked the artstyle but that's kinda all. It just tries to be something that it isn't, they should've focused more on the gunplay, map design, enemies and movement.

Eh... Mouse is definitely being carried hard by the art style because I'm finding the rest of the game to be pretty middling. I know people like to dunk on IGN, but I think their 6/10 rating is pretty fair.

Honestly yes, if you like doom shooters you'll love this and it's surprisingly meaty, took me around 12 hours to beat. It got some big issues like no level replay, somewhat weak story and easily missable stuff but the pure shooting gameplay is just simple addictive.

The game is kinda mid. Amazing artstyle, but the shooting is as mid and repetitive as it gets for a Boomer Shooter. Maybe a solid buy at $10, but there is no way this is worth $30.

I don't think it's worth it. Once the novelty wears off the game does not have the foundations to make the rest of its runtime a good experience. Specifically, gameplay is not deep enough and narrative is weak.

Very simple: Do you want to play a Half Life + Doom hybrid with modern movement like a dash, double jump, and grapple, all executed extremely well? That's exactly what it is. It's really not a detective game though.

From what I've seen online, it kinda looks like a one trick pony. It's a very typical arena shooter with a great, hand drawn art style, and a narrative that's kind of weak. That's not to say it's not worth buying or playing. If you like the aesthetic, I think you'll really enjoy it. However, it's just not the sort of thing you'll get a ton of mileage out of.

Imo it is a game that's very unique because of its graphics and by no means is it a bad game. But the gameplay is quite basic, the story is rather weak and right now some basic quality of life features like being able to replay levels are missing. Maybe those will get patched in later, so if you are patient there are only upsides to wait for a discount down the line.

I like it a lot. The IGN review is insane and I disagree with almost all of it. It's fun, frantic and beautiful.

I fired up and played Mouse for about two hours last night, and when I woke up I decided that had been a waste of time. It's really cool style wise but generic apart from that.

I really enjoyed it at the start, the art style is great and the story seemed interesting, but it quickly got stale and the gunplay is pretty bad and there's loads of it, so it became boring fast.

Mouse P.I. from everything I've watched just looks like a Doom like clone with really cool graphics but gameplay that matches that same old school style which I think for a lot of people can get stale quickly. Not that it makes it a bad game, just a little more narrow in the type of person who will enjoy it from start to finish.