Cuphead achieved something remarkable in 2017 that arguably had no precedent in video games, at least not on the same scale: it constructed an entire game around meticulously hand-drawn art and animation, evoking the style of a 1930s cartoon. We haven't seen anything quite like it since, largely because such painstaking manual work is incredibly difficult, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. Now, a new project created entirely by hand—both drawn and animated—is preparing to make its debut on our PCs and consoles. It’s called Mouse: P.I. for Hire, and aside from its dedication to handcrafted visuals, it shares little in common with Cuphead. Mouse stands on its own as an equally stunning game, and after a hands-off demo, my interest is just as piqued as it was the first time I saw Cuphead. In short, I'm very intrigued.
As you can clearly see, Mouse is presented in black and white. Its aesthetic is reminiscent of the Steamboat Willy era of early animation, down to weapons that constantly wobble as if made of rubber—even when not in use. (More on the guns later.) It’s also unmistakably a first-person shooter. You play as Jack Pepper, voiced by in-demand video game actor Troy Baker, who delivers a deliberately stereotypical New York accent. After all, he's an early-20th-century gumshoe—so it’s only fitting he sounds the part.
Mouse screenshots
View 10 Images
What stood out to me during the demo was that Mouse isn’t simply a mindless run-and-gun FPS (not that there's anything wrong with that genre). Instead, the mission I observed was set in an opera house, where Pepper had to locate and question the stage designer. We began at the back entrance, speaking with a waiter to ask about Roland, the aforementioned designer. Since the waiter hadn't seen him, we headed inside to investigate on our own.
What I truly appreciated about the Mouse demo was that it went beyond being just another mindless run-and-gun first-person shooter.“
Inside, the kitchen offers a closer look at the game's visual style. Notice that characters are rendered in 2D within a 3D space—not unlike the monster sprites in the original Doom. Peering through the kitchen door’s porthole window reveals one of Mouse's detective mechanics: reconnaissance. Jack takes a photo and spots members of the Big Mouse Party—definitely not folks we want to cross paths with.
Moving toward the back of the kitchen, we encounter a slick waiter who’s willing to quietly escort us upstairs—for $30. We decline the bribe and find an air vent to sneak through instead. A hidden cash stash inside is a nice bonus, but the vent’s bottom giving way and sending us crashing back outside? Not so much.
On our second attempt, we navigate carefully past the newly formed hole in the vent floor, arriving in a dressing room where a Thompson machine gun and ammo await. Of course, we aren’t supposed to be there, and the Big Mouse Party members aren’t happy about our intrusion. This is where we get our first real taste of first-person combat, complete with a beautifully animated reload sequence.
We hear a muffled voice that could be Roland, but first, a nearby safe offers a chance to try out the lockpicking minigame. Inside, we find... a cup of coffee? Suddenly, all hell breaks loose as a wall explodes, forcing us to take out the thug emerging from the smoke. Then, we use TNT to blast a hole in the floor, descending further into the opera house’s depths.
Finally, we locate Roland. He’s been roughed up by what Jack deduces are not mere extras. We learn the Big Mouse Party’s true scheme: to assassinate mayoral candidate Stilton, who’s seated in the balcony during that evening’s performance, using a live cannon on stage aimed directly at him during intermission.
Soon afterward, we engage in more combat, this time with a shotgun that clearly packs a punch—and boasts another slick reload animation. We also see explosive barrels that set enemies ablaze in the most cartoonish way possible. There’s even an ice barrel—possibly liquid nitrogen?—that freezes nearby foes upon detonation, letting you shatter them into pieces à la Terminator 2. Later, we get to try the third weapon featured in the demo: the turpentine gun, which dissolves these paint-based cartoon characters much like the Dip from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
The turpentine gun literally melts these cartoon characters who are made of paint, evoking the Dip from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?“
After some platforming and battling a new enemy with a helicopter-like tail, we make it back upstairs—only to fall through a trapdoor into the basement again. There, we encounter the Old Rat Stuntman, who teaches Jack how to double-jump. After testing it out and uncovering a hidden collectible—a baseball card featuring “Brie” Ruth (yes, a cheesy pun for these mouse characters)—we return to the stage to sabotage the cannon and save Stilton. This sparks a boss fight against a furious opera performer, whom we dispatch with the turpentine gun. If you ask me, its reload animation might be the coolest of the bunch.
By now, the fire from the stage has spread throughout the opera house, and we need to escape—fighting our way out using every weapon available. No sweat for Jack Pepper. Let's watch some uninterrupted combat now.
After finally getting outside, we meet up with the stage designer, who divulges what he knows about the missing performer. Something about a secret laboratory underneath his mansion? Yeah, that doesn’t sound suspicious at all… With that, the level concludes and the demo ends.
So even though I haven’t had the chance to play it yet, from what I’ve seen—and you’ve just seen most of it—I’m genuinely excited to give Mouse a try. It appears to strike the right balance of lighthearted, comedic tone and self-awareness, all while promising solid FPS gameplay at its core. After all, as breathtaking as its hand-drawn art and animation are, if the gameplay can’t hold up and maintain interest throughout the campaign, then its visual beauty might not be enough. But right now, I’m feeling highly optimistic.
