Mouse: PI for Hire preview — retro cartoon FPS blends cute and gruesome

Mouse: PI for Hire is an upcoming first-person shooter rendered in a black-and-white, retro animation style. In the demo, the game's cute presentation clashes with ugly, sometimes gurgling deaths—rats choke on their own blood (or is it ink?), have heads shot off, or get burned to death.

Gameplay here is familiar: hordes of mostly unremarkable enemies, basic environmental puzzles, and secrets hidden just enough to encourage a brief search. Fumi Games' recreation of early 20th-century cartoons — from textures and line art to expressive character animation — makes moving through the lab feel like walking through a 1930s Disney cartoon.

Even the guns behave like cartoon props, with a shotgun that bends from blasts and a pistol that sways to the music; an acid gun melts foes down to bones and then a pair of resentful eyes. Boss encounters with the girlfriend robots demanded more timing, movement, and thoughtful weapon choices, while routine fights could become repetitive—toss an explosive into a mob of rats, finish with a rifle.

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