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Upon reflecting on leads in scary games, Barbie hardly is the first name that comes to mind. Yet individuals who delved into the delightfully dark 1998 PC game Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper understands that Barbie truly possesses survivor qualities.

The Bizarre Setup

The storyline is appropriately absurd: Barbie and her friend Becky have newly finished from their local detective academy, because of course that's an actual institution. A "seasonal fundraising festival" is happening nearby, and Ken is inexplicably the chairman of the event, although he and Barbie are indicated as teens. But the night before the carnival starts, misfortune hits: Ken goes missing via a sorcery performance error, and the donation funds goes missing with him! As expected, it's up to Detective Barbie, her friend Becky (who acts as her "mission control"), and the player to unravel the puzzle of his vanishing.

Investigator Barbie was speaking player names verbally far earlier than Fallout 4 and Starfield attempted the trick — and she could pronounce nearly any name.

The Creepiness Starts

Things get weird pretty much immediately. Upon starting up the game, users are invited to pick their name from a list, and Barbie will address the player by name during the entire adventure. It's hard to stress how extensive and detailed this name list is. For those who has historically had trouble finding keychains with your name on them at souvenir stores, you might think you're out of luck here, but you're incorrect. There are thousands of names on the list, which looks to include nearly every variation of every girl's given name in existence, from incredibly common to surprisingly rare. Even though Barbie utters the player's name with a frankly terrifying amount of lively energy, it isn't similar to text-to-speech, which has me pondering how long Barbie performer Chris Anthony Lansdowne stayed in the sound room rattling off damn near every female name under the sun.

Roaming the Festival

When gamers provide their name, they take command of Barbie as she investigates the location of the crime. It's late at night, and she's totally solitary (except for Becky, who occasionally checks in via the Crime Computer). Looking back, I can't overcome how much wandering around the game's spooky festival site feels like playing Silent Hill 3. Certainly, this carnival isn't covered in blood and rust, or plagued by terrifying creatures like Lakeside Amusement Park, but the feel is unquestionably eerie. Things only get more suspicion-raising when Barbie starts noticing a shadowy form lurking in the fair. It appears she's accompanied after all.

There's nothing like a anxious follow down a hilariously extended slide to boost your adrenaline.

Spooky Games and Hunts

While controlling Barbie through more and more creepy amusements and displays (the festive item stockroom still haunts my dreams), the player will come across clues, which she sends to Becky to scrutinize. The clues finally direct Barbie to the mysterious figure's location, and it's up to her to find them, pursuing Ken's abductor through a selection of amusement park standards including collision vehicles, an massive chute with branching paths, and a poorly illuminated love tunnel. These chases were truly thrilling — the music turns suspenseful, and one wrong move could result in the suspect escaping.

Surprising Depth

Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper had a astonishing degree of complexity, especially for a late '90s point-and-click game designed for young girls. Instead of outfitting Barbie, or playing with her horses, Detective Barbie centered on actual gameplay, had a captivating plot, and was incredibly eerie. It even had a degree of repeat play appeal — each playthrough changed the kinds of evidence players would stumble across, and regarding Ken's kidnapper, there were various potential culprits — the identity of the guilty party changed each time you played. Once the mystery was solved, players could even print out a young sleuth emblem to exhibit for top-tier social status.

The earliest scare! The clues in this room creak loudly or emerge unexpectedly as players examine them.

Heritage and Follow-ups

Naturally, after a few replays, you'd eventually see everything the game had to offer, but it was incredible for its time, and even generated two subsequent titles: 1999's Detective Barbie 2: The Vacation Mystery, and 2000's Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise. Mattel is still releasing Barbie video games to this day — the next one is Barbie Horse Tails (yes, another equestrian/customizing adventure), which comes out soon. While the graphics are a clear enhancement over Detective Barbie, I question Barbie Horse Tails includes the same level of gameplay depth, replayability, or overall eeriness as its late-nineties predecessors, which is somewhat disappointing.

A Gateway to Horror

Regardless of the brand's primary aims for the game, Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper finally evolved into my gateway to the horror genre, and I'd appreciate observing Detective Barbie star in another fun-but-spooky game that extends past outfitting and pony play. The globe contains many equestrian enthusiasts, but it could definitely use more hard-boiled Junior Detectives cracking important fundraising fair mysteries.