Mouse: P.I. for Hire devs share ambitions to make a game that's more than 'just a cool art project': A satirical metroidvania shooter with 'adult, deep, gripping storylines'

Artwork from MOUSE: P.I. for Hire, featuring a hard-boiled detective and mechanic.

I had the chance to sit down with the developers of Mouse: P.I. for Hire, a first-person shooter currently in development by Fumi Games. In a hands-off presentation shown to me by lead producer Maciej Krzemień and CEO/Game Director Mateusz Michalak at Gamescom, I was able to see quite a hefty chunk of gameplay, as well as get a little insight into the development process.

Fumi Games has a unique task put before them, after a video posted to TikTok by the game's lead programmer "went viral," as Krzemień explains. "It gained huge traction, like a huge amount of views, and back then, we already knew 'all right, people like this, we have something cool on our hands.'"