Back at the start of the year, the copyright for the original version of Mickey Mouse (known as "Steamboat Willie") finally expired, and a game called Infestation 88 was announced on the same day, utilising the character as part of its roster.
Now, we've spotted another one! A game called Rubber Hose Rampage quietly appeared on the Xbox Store just a few days ago, in which you play as Mickey Mouse (or "Steamboat Willie") against some evil AI chatbots. Yes, seriously.
"In the near future, Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots, become sentient and slowly take control of the world's nuclear weapons. Five billion lives ended on August 29th, 2027. The survivors of the nuclear fire lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines. The chatbots which control the machines, sent two cyborgs back through time to 1928 disguised as cartoon mice. Their mission: to destroy the leader of the resistance, the captain of the riverboat, Steamboat Willie.
Rubber Hose Rampage is a classic 2D action game filled with 21 boss battles. Inspired by classical music and rubber hose animation from the 1920s and 1930s."
As you can see from the trailer up above and screenshots below, the game seems to have a fair bit in common with Cuphead, although it certainly doesn't look as polished. That's reflected in the very low price though, with Rubber Hose Rampage being made available for just £4.19 / $4.99 on the Xbox Store at launch.
You won't actually find this in the "New Games" section of the Store, and we think that's because it's similar to what Xbox used to call a "Creators Collection" title, missing support for certain features such as achievements. Still, it's definitely playable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and even PC according to Microsoft!