A case worth waiting for? The handcrafted noir comedy Mouse PI For Hire brings 1930s cartoon magic to life. The game looks promising but the devs need a little more time to make it shine

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The release of Mouse: P.I. For Hire has been delayed to March 2026, but the developers at Fumi Games are keeping fans updated. This first-person shooter is visually striking with its unique 1930s cartoon style. Creating the game’s world entirely through hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation is a challenging process, which explains the extra development time.

Drawn to perfection

The game Mouse: P.I. For Hire is a funny, old-fashioned detective story set in the city of Mouseberg. You play as Jack Pepper (voiced by Troy Baker), a private investigator and former soldier, who investigates three different mysteries. The game’s creators recently explained that a big challenge was maintaining the game’s black-and-white look while still making sure players knew what they could interact with. To solve this, they used light and shadows to highlight important objects.

The game’s unique look is created by painstakingly hand-drawing every character, weapon, and visual detail, mimicking the classic, bouncy animation style of the 1930s. To blend these 2D characters into a 3D environment, the developers have to create six separate drawings for each one, which is a time-consuming process and explains the game’s development timeline.

The game combines exciting action with detective work. You’ll gather clues and organize them on a corkboard in Jack’s office to progress the story. The central area, or Hub Zone, includes Jack’s office, a pub, and a workshop where you can improve your weapons. There are also fun extras, like a baseball card mini-game that provides helpful hints and parts for upgrades.

Battles feature a fun mix of traditional and wacky weapons, such as freeze rays and even guns with their own personalities! Enemies show up in waves, and they get tougher with each wave, sometimes with shields or other defenses to keep things interesting.

Players can also tweak the audio with effects that recreate the sound of classic recordings, like old wax cylinders or vinyl records from the 1930s and 40s. Hopefully, Mouse P.I. For Hire will launch on schedule on March 19, 2026, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

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2025-11-10 20:32