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When considering horror game protagonists, Barbie hardly is the primary idea that enters your head. Yet individuals who experienced the charmingly eerie 1998 PC game Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper recognizes that Barbie absolutely has survivor qualities.

The Absurd Premise

The setup is appropriately absurd: Barbie and her pal Becky have newly finished from their neighborhood investigator school, because of course that's a real concept. A "fall charity carnival" is taking place locally, and Ken is inexplicably the festival head, although he and Barbie are suggested to be teens. Yet the nighttime before the carnival begins, tragedy strikes: Ken disappears via a sorcery performance error, and the benefit cash disappears with him! Of course, it's up to Detective Barbie, her friend Becky (who functions as her "support operator"), and the player to solve the mystery of his disappearance.

Detective Barbie was speaking player names verbally well before Fallout 4 and Starfield used the feature — and she could say almost every name.

The Creepiness Starts

Things get weird pretty much immediately. When launching the game, users are invited to pick their name from a list, and Barbie will speak to the player by name during the entire adventure. I must underline how extensive and detailed this selection of names is. Should you be a person who has historically had trouble discovering trinkets with your name on them at present boutiques, you might believe you're unlucky here, but you're wrong. There are thousands of names on the list, which appears to catalogue practically each form of every feminine forename in existence, from very usual to unexpectedly uncommon. Even though Barbie utters the player's name with a frankly terrifying amount of cheerful excitement, it doesn't sound like text-to-speech, which has me wondering how long Barbie actress Chris Anthony Lansdowne stayed in the sound room rattling off damn near every feminine name under the sun.

Investigating the Fair

Once players have entered their name, they assume control over Barbie as she investigates the location of the crime. It's late at night, and she's completely by herself (except for Becky, who sometimes updates via the Crime Computer). Reflecting now, I can't overcome how much wandering around the game's eerie fair location resembles playing Silent Hill 3. Admittedly, this carnival isn't covered in blood and rust, or plagued by horrifying beings like Lakeside Amusement Park, but the feel is unquestionably eerie. The situation becomes more paranoia-inducing when Barbie begins observing a mysterious silhouette lurking in the fair. Turns out she's accompanied after all.

It's hard to beat a nerve-wracking pursuit down a hilariously extended slide to get your blood pumping.

Spooky Games and Hunts

While controlling Barbie through increasingly unsettling games and exhibits (the festive item stockroom still haunts my dreams), the player will discover hints, which she sends to Becky to examine. The clues eventually point Barbie to the unknown person's location, and it's up to her to hunt them down, following Ken's captor through a variety of carnival/theme park staples including dodgem cars, an enormous slide with diverging routes, and a faintly lit romance passage. These chases were authentically exciting — the music becomes intense, and a single misstep could cause the suspect escaping.

Surprising Depth

Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper had a astonishing degree of complexity, especially for a end-of-the-century interactive title designed for female children. Instead of outfitting Barbie, or interacting with her ponies, Detective Barbie concentrated on actual gameplay, had a engaging narrative, and was creepy as hell. It even had a degree of repeat play appeal — every game session switched up the types of clues players would stumble across, and regarding Ken's kidnapper, there were multiple suspects — the culprit's name varied every playthrough you played. Once the mystery was solved, players could even print out a apprentice investigator insignia to display for maximum girl-world street cred.

Baby's first jumpscare! The clues in this room creak loudly or emerge unexpectedly as players scrutinize them.

Legacy and Sequels

Certainly, after a few replays, you'd eventually see everything the game had to offer, but it was incredible for its time, and even spawned two sequels: 1999's Detective Barbie 2: The Vacation Mystery, and 2000's Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise. Mattel is still producing Barbie video games currently — the next one is Barbie Horse Tails (yes, another equestrian/customizing adventure), which launches later this month. While the graphics are a certain upgrade over Detective Barbie, I am skeptical Barbie Horse Tails includes the same degree of interactive complexity, replay value, or typical creepiness as its end-of-century ancestors, which is somewhat disappointing.

An Introduction to Scares

Regardless of Mattel's original intentions for the game, Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper ultimately turned into my introduction to scary media, and I'd love to see Detective Barbie feature in another fun-but-spooky game that extends past costuming and equestrian activities. The world has many equestrian enthusiasts, but it could definitely use more hard-boiled Junior Detectives unraveling critical benefit festival cases.