MОUSE

TL;DR I just wanted it to end. Enjoyment peaks after a few hours. Ugh... So, I get that people defended this game against unwanted hate. I would too. And this is rare for a bad review, but I can tell they put a lot of time and effort into this game. But this is one of those games I just couldnt wait for it to end. I beat it solely to get my moneys worth and give it a fair shake. You would think growing up with Wolfenstien, Doom... going through the progress of Duke3D, Quake, Halflife.... and into the modern world of live service FPS games, I would be the target demographic for this. But probably by chapter 3 or 4 I started googling how many chapters I have left until its over. And it was a lot. PROS *Fun style world *Good music *Good ways to traverse levels and heights *Decent boss fights SO-SO *Not enough music variety *Writing was bleh... I didnt even bother to read half the story or clues because I stopped caring. Good aspects mirror actual 1930s like the end of WWI, the rise of nationalism, mobster control, rising technology. But they didnt capitalize enough on any of them other than mentioning they were a thing. *Never need to conserve ammo *Extremely limited back-tracking on big majority of levels CONS *VERY repetitive *Didnt really seem to matter what weapons I used, they really only came in maybe 3 types *Same with enemies, really only re-skins of other enemies. Only a handful of types. *Buggy. I got it almost 2 months ago and they are just now starting to fix bugs, but the most bothersome one (ammo not being picked up) is still there *Pointless over-world and rest-stops. I mean, if it profits you immensely to go back to HQ between each level, why put mini restock areas in between levels? *Enemy AI is super basic. They either melee you or shoot with floods of precision. Not much else *Secrets are rarely hard to find *Weapon upgrades are meh, probably because, again, they never figured out how to make truly unique weapons *Instead of enemies living in the world, they almost always only use a system of doors to come through and most fighting areas are 'arenas' *Easy and repetitive mini-game *It needed a long range rifle To be fair, a lot of this may not be 100% their fault. As an adult, I grew out of video games in favor of other activities. I pretty much stopped for like 15 years. Then, due to a tragic accident, I lost the use of my legs, forcing me back into hobbies I can only do while sitting. And since I'm no piano virtuoso, I went back to games reluctantly. LOTS of games leave me with this feeling of "just wanting it to be over" so I can move on to the next one. HOWEVER, there ARE games that make me wish I could keep going. Resident Evil games, the new Shinobi, rouge like deck builders, etc. So I know a masterpiece CAN be done. Unfortunately, Mouse PI is not that for me.

I really wish Steam allowed users to leave mixed reviews instead of forcing everything into either positive or negative. That's exactly how I feel about MOUSE: P.I. For Hire. I actually agree with IGN's 6/10 score, though for very different reasons. There's genuinely excellent work here, but there's just as much holding it back. The presentation is easily the game's strongest aspect. The art direction is phenomenal, with a distinct visual identity that's consistently realized from beginning to end. The soundtrack is equally impressive, blending original jazz themes that develop throughout the campaign with jazz standards—particularly pieces by Dizzy Gillespie—to create an atmosphere that's both stylish and memorable. Everything else is much more uneven. On paper, the gameplay loop is excellent: complete levels filled with combat and exploration, return to the hub for detective work, minigames, and upgrades, then head back out. All of these systems connect to one another in satisfying ways conceptually. The problem is that the execution rarely lives up to the design. Mechanically, the game isn't well balanced. Three weapons are so overwhelmingly powerful that they discourage experimenting with the rest of the arsenal—a major issue for a boomer shooter, where the weapon sandbox should constantly encourage variety. Even on the highest difficulty, the game offers little resistance. Ammo is abundant, enemies are predictable, they die almost instantly, and they deal very little damage in return. The level design suffers from a similar lack of development. Nearly every combat encounter boils down to one of three basic scenarios, all solved in essentially the same way. Those encounter types are enjoyable individually, but the game repeats them so often without introducing meaningful variations or new ideas that they eventually lose their impact. Exploration is another area where the game contradicts itself. It clearly wants to reward players for searching every corner, yet it repeatedly punishes completionists through static points of no return. There is no level replay or New Game+, and while the shop allows you to purchase some missed collectibles, it doesn't cover everything—most notably upgrade schematics. Missing even a single schematic can permanently lock you out of full completion unless you start an entirely new save. No matter how thoroughly you explore, you're likely to miss something, and the game provides no system for returning to finish what you started. Bugged achievements related to the main quest made this even more frustrating at launch, although those have thankfully been patched. The writing follows the same pattern. There are genuinely strong ideas, charming depictions of 1930s Americana, and several jokes and references that landed well enough to make me smile. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue simply moves the plot from one objective to the next without saying anything particularly meaningful or engaging, and many of the jokes miss just as often as they hit. Overall, this is a game I genuinely want to recommend and criticize in equal measure—which is exactly why it's frustrating that Steam doesn't offer a mixed recommendation. There is real talent behind MOUSE, especially in its presentation, but the mechanics, level design, and writing never evolve enough to justify the experience as a whole. In a genre where games like ULTRAKILL, DOOM, and many other modern boomer shooters continually refine and expand on these ideas, MOUSE struggles to justify its existence beyond its outstanding audiovisual style.