Bullets and Brushes: Is MOUSE: P.I. For Hire The Best Indie FPS Of 2026?

Jack Pepper isn’t your average rodent, and Mouseburg isn’t your average city. Walking into MOUSE: P.I. For Hire feels like stepping directly into a smoke-filled 1930s animation reel where the ink is replaced with gunpowder and grit. The stakes are high in this noir world, blending that rubber hose charm with a jazz-fueled adventure that doesn’t pull any punches.

Specs & HUD | Gameplay Review | Performance & Fidelity | Settings & Controls

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Steam Review: Specs & HUD

• Download Size: The game comes in at a 9.83GB download size.
• Steam Features: Full controller support is included, alongside Steam trading cards and 34 Steam achievements.
• Tutorial Signs: These are placed around the game world and are usually done in a way that they blend into the world.
• The Brush: This is a button you press to send out a brush to show you where to go, and it shows cartoon footprints to follow.
• Save System: Typewriters save your game, and you can create as many saves as you like.
• Health and Items: You can find health potions and ammo around the world, plus pick up armour so you can take more damage.
• Collectables: These range from newspaper cuttings to baseball cards, plus dedicated miniature figurine collectables with a running total.
• Economy: Money can drop from enemies and be found around the world to be exchanged in the shop for comic books, cards, newspapers, and ammunition.

Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown

First-person shooter gameplay is the core, but it’s not just a shooter game; you will always do clue searching, multiple choice encounters and puzzles. The game leans into the style by having points of interest move and be highly animated. The style and atmosphere are very unique and are done so that you want to spend time here and live every minute. Using the environment like exploding barrels or shooting heavy weights into enemies is huge; basically, it treats the world as a cartoon, which has a lot of over-the-top kills and experiences.

Tail picking is the game’s lock-picking mini-game. You guide your tail around and have to hit the lock pins, but you can never cross your tail, so it’s more of a puzzle than anything. Safes you tail pick can be harder and have like a set amount of turns, and failing it shuts it down altogether. A good part is that the locations are not small, and you follow a signpost, it’s open enough that you can explore, find secrets, and even find new routes. The movement and shooting do feel loose and aren’t tight and responsive, and it annoys me that brushes against money, especially, don’t always pick it up, and I have to do it several times for it to count.

In-game cutscenes and character interactions are great, and you can skip them if you hate great animation. The voice work is superb, your character loves to narrate himself just like in the cartoons and old trench coat detective shows. You have a kick to push back and stun enemies, but you do have a stamina bar to stop spamming. In your office, you have a shelf to put your miniatures collectable on and a crime wall where you put clues you find and garner leads from them. To go to a new place, you get in your car and drive around the 3D map. It’s so cool. Unlock many new weapons and throwables. You can press the button and cycle through them, or hold the button down and use the radial menu.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Steam Review: Performance & Fidelity

• Animation Style: Features amazing 1930s-style animation graphics throughout.
• Soundtrack: You get an excellent 1930s-inspired soundtrack that fits the vibe perfectly.
• Voice Work: The voice work is superb with a character who loves to narrate his own actions.
• Interactive World: Many breakable objects like barrels and crates, plus mini games like juke boxes and fruit machines.
• Open Sections: The game world is not just a few levels; you have almost an open world, with parts like the local town where you can freely go around and talk with locals.
• Secret System: I am not a fan of the game saying secret found as it says it before, or even if you don’t find the actual secret.

Settings, Customisation & Control Details

• Display Settings: Resolution, window mode, field of view slider, frame rate limit, v-sync, render scale, brightness slider, contrast, gamma correction, anti-aliasing, upscaling, and screen bounds.
• Graphics Settings: Preset, volumetric lights quality, HLOD, effects, texture, shadow quality, rim lights, anisotropic filtering, ambient occlusion, depth of field, film grain effects, and diffusion.
• Video & Audio degradation: Gameplay modes like studio cut or vintage cut, plus sound degradation for bass, vinyl, cellulose disc, cylinder black celluloid, and brown wax cylinder.
• Motion Sensitivity: Strafe tilt slider, lens distortion, toggle camera and ui shake, head bobbing, and dash effects.
• Controller Customisation: Invert axis and sensitivity sliders, remap controls, vibration toggle, Deadzone sliders, aim acceleration, aim assist, and controller aim type.
• Mouse and Keyboard: Full support with remappable controls, invert axis, and sensitivity slider for the mouse.
• Difficulty: Three game difficulties, including Rookie, Detective, and Super Sleuth.
• Music Options: Audio equalisation, toggle licensed music, and volume sliders for voice, SFX, music, ambient, and master volume.

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