🔗 Share this article I Remain Unsettled by the Creepy Barbie Game That Used My Name. Upon reflecting on characters in horror games, Barbie isn't the primary idea that comes to mind. But anyone who experienced the charmingly eerie 1998 PC game Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper knows that Barbie absolutely has survivor qualities. The Absurd Premise The setup is appropriately absurd: Barbie and her companion Becky have just graduated from their area sleuthing college, as obviously that's an actual institution. A "seasonal fundraising festival" is happening nearby, and Ken is somehow the festival head, even though he and Barbie are implied to be teens. Yet the nighttime before the carnival starts, disaster occurs: Ken goes missing via a magic show mishap, and the charity money disappears with him! Naturally, it's up to Detective Barbie, her friend Becky (who serves as her "mission control"), and the player to solve the mystery of his absence. Investigator Barbie was speaking player names out loud long before Fallout 4 and Starfield used the feature — and she could pronounce nearly any name. Things Get Weird The peculiarity emerges pretty much immediately. Upon starting up the game, users are invited to pick their name from a list, and Barbie will verbally refer to the player by name all through the experience. I must underline how comprehensive and complete this list of names is. If you're someone who has historically had trouble locating souvenirs with your name on them at gift shops, you might think you're out of luck here, but you're wrong. There are thousands of names on the list, which looks to include nearly every variation of every feminine forename in existence, from very usual to astonishingly scarce. While Barbie speaks the player's name with a frankly terrifying amount of bubbly enthusiasm, it doesn't seem like text-to-speech, which has me questioning how long Barbie actress Chris Anthony Lansdowne stayed in the sound room listing almost all female name under the sun. Exploring the Carnival After users input their name, they gain control of Barbie as she examines the area of the crime. It's late at night, and she's totally solitary (except for Becky, who periodically contacts via the Crime Computer). Reflecting now, I can't move past how much exploring the game's eerie fair location resembles playing Silent Hill 3. Certainly, this carnival isn't covered in blood and rust, or overrun by frightening monsters like Lakeside Amusement Park, but the atmosphere is distinctly spooky. The situation becomes more suspicion-raising when Barbie starts detecting a dark figure lurking in the fair. Turns out she's not by herself after all. There's nothing like a nerve-wracking pursuit down a absurdly lengthy chute to boost your adrenaline. Unsettling Rides and Chases As you guide Barbie through increasingly unsettling games and exhibits (the Halloween prop storage room still haunts my dreams), the player will come across clues, which she forwards to Becky to scrutinize. The clues eventually point Barbie to the unknown person's location, and it's up to her to find them, following Ken's captor through a assortment of amusement park standards including bumper 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 result in the suspect getting away. Unexpected Complexity Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper had a unexpected amount of detail, especially for a end-of-the-century interactive title aimed at young girls. Rather than costuming Barbie, or playing with her horses, Detective Barbie concentrated on genuine interactive elements, had a compelling story, and was incredibly eerie. It even had certain replayability — each playthrough changed the types of clues players would stumble across, and regarding Ken's kidnapper, there were several persons of interest — the identity of the guilty party varied every playthrough you played. Once the mystery was solved, players could even print out a Junior Detective badge to show off for ultimate peer respect. A child's initial fright! The clues in this room groan audibly or pop up suddenly as players investigate them. Heritage and Follow-ups Of course, after a few replays, you'd finally encounter everything the game had to offer, but it was incredible for its time, and even produced two follow-ups: 1999's Detective Barbie 2: The Vacation Mystery, and 2000's Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise. Mattel is still cranking out Barbie video games to this day — the next one is Barbie Horse Tails (yes, another equestrian/customizing adventure), which releases soon. Although the visuals are a certain upgrade over Detective Barbie, I am skeptical Barbie Horse Tails features the same level of gameplay depth, replay value, or overall eeriness as its late-nineties predecessors, which is a bit unfortunate. An Introduction to Scares Regardless of the company's initial goals for the game, Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper ultimately turned into my introduction to scary media, and I'd enjoy witnessing Detective Barbie feature in another playful-yet-eerie game that extends past outfitting and pony play. The globe contains plenty of horse girls, but it could absolutely employ more resilient kid investigators solving high-stakes charity carnival crimes.