This Upcoming Switch 2 Party Game Featuring Mice Centers Entirely on, As You Might Expect, Mouse-Based Controls

Nitrome, the developer behind Shovel Knight Dig, has announced a new game called Mouse Work. It is exclusively built around the use of the Nintendo Switch 2’s mouse controls.

Mouse Work really embraces the “mouse” idea. It’s a party game in which players use Joy-Con 2s in mouse mode to control mice and complete minigames. We see a few of these minigames in action in its debut trailer, such as ones where players pick up and stack boxes, paint the lines that appear on a canvas, close annoying pop-up ads on a PC desktop, shoot asteroids in space, guide rock climbers up a wall, and more.

In Mouse Work, each of these minigames is billed as a job that players must complete to earn Cheddar, the game’s in-game currency. Players can then use Cheddar to buy new cosmetics for the mouse cursors that players control. The official description reveals that the whole game can be played in either solo or co-op. Part-Time UFO is the title that most immediately comes to mind as a comparable game.

Mouse Work is notable for being the first built-for-Switch-2 indie game announced in the wake of the system’s reveal last week. It fills the same niche as a game like Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together! as a kid-friendly, cooperative launch window game where players can get a grip on one of the Nintendo system’s core hardware concepts. Where Snipperclips emphasized easy cooperative play, Mouse Work takes advantage of the mouse capabilities of the Joy-Con 2 controllers.

Nitrome has yet to confirm a release date for Mouse Work, simply saying that it “will release hot on the tail of the Nintendo Switch 2.” The new system will come out on June 5 with a launch lineup that includes Mario Kart World and more.