Mouse: PI for Hire es mucho más de lo que parece
Combining the classic «rubber hose» animation style of the 1930s, retro shootouts, modern mechanics and exploration, and a deeply strange environment, Mouse: PI for Hire emerges as a truly unique pleasure, but there is more to this game than you might have imagined from previous previews.
After announcing the release date of March 19, 2026, during today’s ID@Xbox Showcase, we were able to explore the game, directly from the developers at Fumi Studios in Warsaw, Poland.
You can watch the full analysis above or continue reading to discover the new major details we learned along the way:
«More Than Just a Classic Shooter»
One thing to take from today’s showcase is that Mouse is much more than a retro shooter, even more retro attire. While your primary interaction is with the weapon game (more on this later), this is actually a much more modern game than you might think.
To start, your character, Jack Pepper, a war veteran turned private investigator, doesn’t have a single case to solve. From the beginning, Jack is presented with three distinct cases to solve, each of which will take him through the city of Mouseburg to uncover its secrets.
Each case can be approached in any order, asking you not only to eliminate enemies in your way but also to find clues, whether physical objects, information learned by talking to NPCs, or photographs you can take. Then, the clues can be brought to the classic bulletin board adorned with strings in his office and placed in their spot to unlock new revelations and destinations.
With 10 biomes to explore, each containing multiple levels, this is very different from a point-A-to-point-B shooter game.
The Hub
At the center of all that exploration is the game’s central world: located in the center of Mouseburg, the hub contains Jack’s office, his local pub, and a workshop where he can upgrade his weaponry before moving on to the next case. But here, there’s much more than a series of menus. NPCs can offer conversations, and a variety of mini-games provide different gameplay experiences and even rewards for new clues or updates.
The largest of these mini-games will take you through the entire game: a classic collectible card game with a baseball theme, where cards will be dropped throughout many of the levels you fight, allowing you to build a deck and face increasingly difficult matches.
And once you’re ready to go, you can hop into your car and embark on a journey across the beautiful world map to your next shootout.
Cartoon Combat
Mouse‘s combat is based on classic shooters like Condemned, but with added touches that modernize it. With a «challenging but fair» philosophy, you’ll face hordes of enemies, collecting weaponry ranging from the expected (machine guns, shotguns) to the joyfully crazy (a brain in a jar that fires psychic waves).
Each weapon comes with an alternative firing mode and can be upgraded throughout the game, helping to keep everything fresh. But be careful: the enemies themselves also see upgrades. As you progress, familiar enemy types will begin to receive their own modifications: an enemy that you’ve mastered may start arriving equipped with a force field, for example, forcing you to change your tried-and-true approach.
Bosses might also include entirely new mechanics: we saw a ghostly boss called The Third Wife, which seems to require that you weaken it with a flashlight before you can start pumping lead.
Making the Past the Future
Of course, we have to talk about how the game looks. While the environments are rendered in 3D, each character, enemy, and weapon has been meticulously hand-drawn and animated to resemble the classic «rubber hose» animation style of the 1930s. The way everything in the world bounces, stretches, and bends is a tribute to that distinctive style (even shotgun shells appear to dance in their chambers during a reload), and it required a massive amount of work from Fumi.
To increase the challenge, the game is completely black and white, which changed the way Fumi approached traditional level design. While most games use color to subtly guide the player, Fumi had to adopt that approach with light, giving the whole game a unique look from the player’s perspective. Even here, we’re seeing a tribute to classic cartoons: interactive objects dance in place, waiting to be found.
And to complete that tribute to the past, we also learned that Fumi has added customizable audio filters to the game: you can choose to play with crisp, modern music and sound effects, or add degradation to make everything sound like it’s playing on a vintage vinyl. The attention to detail, and how players might want to experience it, is clear in everything Fumi has touched.
Mouse: PI for Hire arrives on Xbox Series X|S on March 19, 2026.
Mouse: PI for Hire
game description
Mouse: PI for Hire is a fast-paced first-person shooter inspired by classic 1930s cartoons. Its hand-drawn black-and-white rubber hose animation provides an unexpected vintage aesthetic. Uncover layers of corruption with an exciting noir-inspired detective story, animated environments to explore, an original jazz big band soundtrack, and a fully stocked arsenal of cartoonish and devastating weapons. DEADLY INVESTIGATIONS Meet Jack Pepper, the war veteran turned private investigator in a world where danger lurks even in the smallest mouse hole. Discover the truth when a simple missing persons case quickly becomes a complex web of intrigue, with corruption, kidnapping, and murder on the agenda. Investigate the seediest parts of Mouseburg, fight heavily armed gangs and corrupt police, and find clues that reveal the conspiracy buried beneath the surface. LOAD, FIRE, AND LAUGH From crackling machine guns to explosive fire power, each weapon in Pepper’s arsenal is designed to unleash endless cartoon chaos. Arm yourself with a variety of classic, twisted, and experimental firearms, and consume powerful power-ups when you need that extra spinach-loaded boost! Deadly encounters and frenetic boss battles await in this retro shooter-inspired adventure, and the residents of Mouseburg never fall without a fight. A CITY OF SECRETS Explore a diverse urban park, from dark alleys to classic film studios, opulent opera buildings, toxic swamps, and underground sewers. With a lot of cases to solve and collectibles to find, Mouseburg is truly a treat for detectives! Use all the tools at your disposal to run up walls, grab hooks, and double jump through this relentless cartoon world. FEATURES – Hand-drawn black-and-white rubber hose animation inspired by 1930s cartoons – Fast-paced FPS combat where constant movement is key – An exciting single-player campaign unraveling a complex web of crime and corruption – Over 20 levels full of noir, filled with mice, rats, and moles – Fully stocked arsenal with over a dozen unique firearms and equipment with a cartoon twist – Devastating consumable power-ups capable of turning the tide of any battle – Unlockable movement skills and a level traversal inspired by Metroidvania – Original jazz soundtrack with a big band orchestra
Fuente
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/10/28/mouse-pi-for-hire-deep-dive/
