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Upon reflecting on leads in scary games, Barbie hardly is the first name that enters your head. However, those who experienced the pleasantly spooky 1998 PC game Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper recognizes that Barbie truly possesses survivor qualities.

The Absurd Premise

The setup is appropriately absurd: Barbie and her pal Becky have recently completed from their neighborhood investigator school, because of course that's a real concept. A "autumn benefit fair" is in town, and Ken is somehow the event organizer, although he and Barbie are suggested to be teens. Yet the nighttime before the carnival begins, misfortune hits: Ken goes missing via a magic show mishap, and the benefit cash disappears with him! As expected, it's the task for Detective Barbie, her friend Becky (who serves as her "guy in the chair"), and the player to solve the mystery of his absence.

Sleuth Barbie was saying gamer names verbally far earlier than Fallout 4 and Starfield tried the gimmick — and she could say almost every name.

The Creepiness Starts

The oddity starts almost right away. When launching the game, users are prompted to select their name from a list, and Barbie will verbally refer to the player by name during the entire adventure. I must underline how long and thorough this name list is. Should you be a person who has consistently found it difficult locating souvenirs with your name on them at souvenir stores, you might assume you're unfortunate here, but you're wrong. There are thousands of names on the list, which looks to include practically each form of every feminine forename in existence, from extremely popular to astonishingly scarce. Even though Barbie utters the player's name with a honestly alarming amount of bubbly enthusiasm, it doesn't sound like text-to-speech, which has me wondering how long Barbie voice actress Chris Anthony Lansdowne stayed in the sound room listing almost all feminine name under the sun.

Roaming the Festival

After users input their name, they gain control of Barbie as she explores the scene of the crime. It's late at night, and she's all alone (except for Becky, who occasionally checks in via the Crime Computer). Looking back, I can't get over how much exploring the game's spooky festival site is similar to playing Silent Hill 3. Admittedly, this carnival doesn't feature blood and rust, or plagued by frightening monsters like Lakeside Amusement Park, but the vibes are decidedly creepy. The situation becomes more paranoia-inducing when Barbie begins observing a shadowy form roaming the grounds. It appears she's not alone after all.

It's hard to beat a nerve-wracking pursuit down a absurdly lengthy chute to raise your heart rate.

Spooky Games and Hunts

While controlling Barbie through more and more creepy rides and attractions (the spooky decoration closet still terrifies me), the player will discover hints, which she forwards to Becky to analyze. The clues finally direct Barbie to the unknown person's location, and it's her duty to track them down, pursuing Ken's abductor through a selection of amusement park standards including bumper cars, an huge slider with branching paths, and a dimly lit tunnel of love. These chases were genuinely heart-pounding — the music becomes intense, and one wrong move could result in the suspect getting away.

Unexpected Complexity

Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper had a surprising level of depth, especially for a end-of-the-century interactive title aimed at female children. Rather than dressing up Barbie, or interacting with her ponies, Detective Barbie concentrated on real game mechanics, had a engaging narrative, and was creepy as hell. It even had certain replayability — each playthrough changed the varieties of hints players would stumble across, and regarding Ken's kidnapper, there were various potential culprits — the offender's persona varied every playthrough you played. Once the mystery was solved, players could even generate a young sleuth emblem to show off for ultimate peer respect.

A child's initial fright! The clues in this room groan audibly or appear abruptly as players examine them.

Legacy and Sequels

Certainly, after a handful of reruns, you'd eventually see everything the game had to offer, but it was amazing in its era, and even produced two follow-ups: 1999's Detective Barbie 2: The Vacation Mystery, and 2000's Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise. The brand remains cranking out Barbie video games currently — the next one is Barbie Horse Tails (yes, another equestrian/customizing adventure), which launches soon. Even though the images are a clear enhancement over Detective Barbie, I question Barbie Horse Tails features the same degree of interactive complexity, repeat appeal, or typical creepiness as its late-nineties predecessors, which is a bit unfortunate.

An Introduction to Scares

Irrespective of the brand's primary aims for the game, Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper ended up becoming my gateway to the horror genre, and I'd appreciate observing Detective Barbie feature in another playful-yet-eerie game that extends past costuming and equestrian activities. Society possesses many equestrian enthusiasts, but it could certainly benefit from more resilient kid investigators solving high-stakes charity carnival crimes.