P.I. For Hire Has the Greatest Resident Evil 2 Easter Egg of All Time

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire features several Easter eggs for everything from classic 1930s animation to modern TV shows, popular culture, and video games, but its Resident Evil 2 Easter egg is so thorough and so present that nothing could even compete with it. Obviously, Easter eggs are an honored legacy in video games, and MOUSE: P.I. For Hire follows suit with years of Easter egg design. That said, not even Resident Evil itself can fully compete with this one.

Minor Spoilers Ahead for MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, Resident Evil 2 Remake, and Resident Evil Requiem

For example, Resident Evil Requiem is jam-packed with Easter eggs for the franchise. Some of these require an extra sharp eye, like the toy mansion and train in the Orphanage that reference the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero. Others require a free cam tool, like how Grace is researching the events of Resident Evil 7‘s Dulvey Incident in the Wrenwood Hotel room with her mother. Moreover, the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center’s lounge area has a liquor bottle labeled AVERNICO (which uses the same letters as Veronica, prompting many to believe it’s a Code: Veronica Easter Egg), and Emily is reading a braille translation of the book, Village of Shadows, from Resident Evil Village. All of this is to say, Resident Evil knows how to do Easter eggs, and Mouse P.I. For Hire is giving it a run for its money.

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From RCPD to That Alligator

It’s hard to see the white on white in this screenshot, but that says “Welcome Leon.”

Early on in MOUSE: P.I. For Hire‘s story, players will enter the Mouseburg police department. Of course, a game featuring a police department is not an Easter egg to Resident Evil 2‘s Raccoon City Police Department setting, but exploring it does bring RE Requiem vibes of the broken-down RCPD, like there’s a structural feeling of similarity there, even if the police department is active. However, what clinches it is the end of the level where players see the “Welcome Leon” signage. No doubt, then, a reference to RCPD and how Leon even encounters it again in RE Requiem.

That’s where a lot of Easter eggs would end, but that’s not what happened here. MOUSE: P.I. For Hire’s level structure then feels like exploring a 1930s take on Raccoon City. From the Mouseburg police department, players must travel through a subway—a more obvious nod to Resident Evil 3. The thing is, Raccoon City is pretty similar in layout across all games. Players know that the Subway is connected to the Sewers, which is explored in both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 (and their remakes).

However, only in Resident Evil 2 is the giant alligator chase sequence that Leon and Ada walk into. After exploring the subway and then the sewers, MOUSE players then find themselves…with a giant alligator boss battle…except this time the alligator has a gun. Giving that alligator, who is clearly a reference, a gun is the most hilarious thing someone could do in this situation.

Guess the games from the emojis.

Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)

Overall, from the moment Mouseburg PD begins to feel like RCPD to defeating the gator with a gun, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire feels like a new Resident Evil 2 remake. And that shows how expertly the game utilizes Easter eggs.