MOUSE: P.I. For Hire

I liked it for a while, but then it drug on and the lack of enemy variety, even though they had new skins, really made it feel like a slog at the end. Great concept and fun, it just needed to end 5-10 hours earlier.

As someone who loves rubber hose style art and grew up playing Toontown, this is awesome to see. From the moment I heard about this game, I was eagerly following the development process and anticipating the release. The art style is well done, and it’s beautifully integrated into the first person 3d world. The video and audio filters are charming. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Unfortunately, the gameplay is just shallow and unsatisfying. If you’ve seen those “AAA Mario” memes, that is basically this game. I wish the writing and gameplay were as charming, creative, and silly as the art style. You might say that the juxtaposition of this art style on a more serious game is what makes it silly and creative. I would counter that it’s just a skin over a boring and generic game. It doesn’t do much for my experience as a player by ignoring what makes it unique. There is nothing cartoonish about this outside of the appearance, the novelty of which is ephemeral. It works better as a demo than a game. Halo has unique physics, a variety of enemies, and fancy weapons and gadgets. Doom’s identity extends beyond its iconography by incorporating relentless violence and unique weaponry into the gameplay. Ratchet and Clank has a vast arsenal of wacky and interesting weapons. In Mouse, the enemies are boring; there is no variety. The weapons do not offer unique experiences. It makes me wonder what we could have had if this game went beyond skin deep. Outside of the rubber hose aesthetic, this game presents itself as a noir, but the investigation mechanics are facile. There is no thinking involved. The game really holds your hand; it’s always in your face obvious what to do next, even without the eagle eye. The main character says what he’s going to do out loud. There is white paint everywhere and it tells you exactly how to open a door. You pick up a clue and move on to the next objective; there is no puzzle for the player to unravel. Altogether, this game is an amalgamation of thematic tourism. It’s a generic FPS with rubber hose art that feigns noir themes. It is simply a veil on a B tier shooter game. I’d at least appreciate some goofy weapons. It just lacks the whimsy and gags that you might hope for. It bears the visage of 1930s animation but not the soul. A couple quips every once in a while don’t make up for the serious lack of energy throughout the rest of the game. Toontown and cuphead have the zany mechanics and heart to match the style. I wouldn’t recommend this beyond a demo. I definitely won’t be buying the DLC.