Remember Cuphead? Well, forget that G-rated wussfest — it’s time to get GRITTY with Mouse: PI For Hire, a first-person shooter crafted to look visully like a black and white 1930s cartoon. Culturally, though, it feels a decade behind that, with gangsters, private detectives, flappers and tommy guns. Developer PlaySide Studios first announced the game in 2023 and believes it can get it out the door this year.

Today a new trailer for Mouse: PI For Hire was revealed during Summer Game Fest, with a new nugget of information: the game’s lead character, investigator Jack Pepper, will be voiced by prolific game voice actor Troy Baker. You’ve heard him before as Joel Miller in The Last OF Us as well as a major part in Death Stranding, among other roles.

“I have been following the development of MOUSE: P.I. for Hire since it was first teased,” says Baker. “Its art style, gameplay and 1930s film-noir aesthetic continue to win me over. I cannot wait to keep working with the team to bring Jack Pepper to life and hope to have some exciting things to share as we get closer to launch!”

Though there are more “cheats” visible than in Cuphead, PlaySide says they used the same techniques to animate the characters that early animation studios used back in the 1930s. “As Private Investigator Jack Pepper, you will discover that a corrupt city full of crooks and danger is just a taste of things to come,” they tease. “Explore the noir-inspired city teeming with heavily armed gangs, mobs and characters from the dark side to uncover the secrets within Mouseburg.”

There is still no specific date of release set for Mouse: PI For Hire, but it’s coming before the end of 2025 on Playstations 4 and 5, XBoxes One and X|S, PC via Steam, and Switches One and…they haven’t said Two, but backwards compatibility should make that moot anyway.

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