What if Disney had made Doom 100 years ago? And what if, instead of a grizzled marine, it starred a noir-tinged hardboiled detective that also happens to be a mouse named Jack Pepper? That's the wavelength that Mouse: P.I. For Hire from developer Fumi Games and publisher PlaySide is working on. None of this should exactly be news to many people – the trailers for the game have previously gone some level of viral – but actually sitting down and playing Mouse: P.I. For Hire on the Nintendo Switch 2 during GDC 2026 is a bit like seeing the magic come to life for myself.
It's somewhat funny that the various trailers for Mouse: P.I. For Hire lean so heavily on the noir 1930s-style animation rather than the actual gunplay mechanics and movement. Having played for myself, I'm much more impressed by the latter than the former. Maybe this has to do more with the fact that I've seen this style of animation replicated to some degree in other genres more than anything, so nailing the visuals here doesn't feel shocking, but replicating the feeling of playing the likes of Doom within it does.
Hail to the squeak
Succeeding at both does clearly come from the same place of attention to detail. Boomer shooters are all about running, gunning, and fast-paced carnage. Even the slightest bit of bad friction can quickly cascade, making for a lesser, more stuttering experience. Mouse: P.I. For Hire gets that; basically my entire hands-on time with it is spent running pell-mell across a monochrome laboratory, juggling guns and ammo capacity while melting enemies as fast as I can. It's the kind of experience that makes a person of a certain age want to toss out a Duke Nukem quip.
My quibbles with the game are relatively minor, but could ultimately prove to be frustrating during the full experience. I only spent 20 minutes with the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Mouse: P.I. For Hire, so it's hard not to imagine what it all might look like extended into several hours of play. While running and gunning, the twisting and turning level design makes navigation somewhat difficult. Thankfully, a single button press highlights the path forward to the next objective, but combined with the limited color palette it can be a bit much to parse while moving and shaking.
Even so, I can't get over just how good it feels to play Mouse: P.I. For Hire. Maybe it's because I had expected it to be merely fine, or maybe it's because I've seen plenty of smaller games nail an aesthetic while failing to live up to their gameplay aspirations. In the end, I can't help myself; I start humming 'At Doom's Gate' while fighting the lab's robotic maid(?) boss. In fact, I'm humming so loudly that I then have to explain myself to the spokesperson overseeing my hands-on preview – they laugh when they understand what I'm doing.
There's a common trend in games at current, and really all of entertainment, to lean on nostalgia. The trick is feeling familiar without being too familiar; you have to recombine and mix and synthesize into something more than the sum of its parts. I've not spent long enough with Mouse: P.I. For Hire to know whether it successfully achieves this throughout, but I've spent long enough with it that I want to find out for myself.
Mouse: P.I. For Hire is set to release for the PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC on April 16, 2026. Best sure to check out our ranking of the best FPS games of all time while you wait.
