Mousebusters [REVIEW] – A Rodent’s Guide to Exorcisms 

Moving into a new apartment is always a bit of a nightmare. Usually, the worst you have to deal with is a dodgy boiler, a weird smell in the corridor, or maybe noisy upstairs neighbours, but in Mousebusters, things take a slightly more… unusual turn. Thankfully, it makes for an endearing adventure that’s never particularly deep, but offers plenty of charm to ensure its three hour adventure is an enjoyable one. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

In Mousebusters, you take on the role of a young man moving into a new apartment. But, of course, almost immediately after unpacking your boxes and settling down for the night, a mysterious curse transforms you into a tiny mouse. I hate it when that happens. But hey, it’s a brilliant little setup that perfectly frames a short, casual adventure designed to easily fill up a lazy weekend afternoon (which is exactly how I played it). 

Thankfully, you aren’t alone in your newfound rodent state. You quickly bump into Chief, another mouse who recruits you into his two-mouse ghost-hunting squad. It turns out the whole building is infested with spirits that feed off the negative emotions and worst traits of the human residents, and it’s up to you to sort it out. The writing is genuinely charming, bringing a light-hearted energy to the whole ordeal, whilst Chief is an absolute delight to chat with, mostly because his little asides are highly relatable – yes, I also absolutely despise trying to play the F chord on a guitar too. However, don’t let the cute, colourful pixel art fool you, because the narrative takes some rather dark and emotional turns as you dig into the messy lives of the tenants. 

“Despite the lack of challenge, the charming storytelling, cute world, and varied gameplay ensure that Mousebusters is well worth checking out.” 

The story does suffer from a bit of a pacing wobble early on, and because the overall experience is so brief, the personal struggles of the residents can feel a bit surface-level in the first half. Stick with it, though, because the final hour really brings the emotional threads together in a highly satisfying way that’ll genuinely make you care for the characters, and, in some instances, find them very, very relatable. 

The gameplay of Mousebusters is a relaxed mix of simple exploration, varied mini-games, and light combat. You navigate between the apartments through the air vents, with the screen cleverly shifting between a human-sized view with your tiny mouse sprite scurrying around, to a mouse-eye perspective where everything in the room is massively oversized. When paired with the cute old-school visuals, it makes the aesthetic of the game feel especially delightful. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

The core of the game revolves around figuring out what’s bothering a tenant and drawing out the ghost, with the variety keeping things engaging, even when the mechanics aren’t particularly deep. One minute you’re trying to stealthily evade a grumpy pet cat, the next you’re whipping up an improvised bowl of ramen for a homesick guy, or even trying to set a high score on a rhythm game. That being said, the actual puzzle-solving built around these moments is incredibly basic. It mostly boils down to linear exploration and interacting with whatever happens to be highlighted on the screen – it works fine for a breezy playthrough, but I couldn’t help wishing there was a bit more traditional point-and-click depth involved, if only to add to the challenge. You’re never really left scratching your head or combining bizarre items in your inventory, but just following the clearly laid breadcrumbs until the ghost reveals itself. 

Once a spirit finally shows its face, the game shifts gears into a very light shoot-’em-up minigame. You have to aim a reticule to blast the ghost’s weak spots while avoiding their incoming fire, with players managing a simple system where you can only take three hits and need to reload after every three shots. On paper, it’s a neat change of pace, and each ghost has its own additional mechanics and attack patterns to try and keep these encounters fresh. The problem is that it is just far too easy. No matter what difficulty setting you choose, these fights are an absolute breeze. They’re fun in their own little way, but much like the puzzling, the lack of challenge prevents Mousebusters from elevating into a deeper (and in turn more entertaining) gameplay experience. 

Developer: Odencat 
Publisher: Odencat 
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2823200/Mousebusters/