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When considering leads in scary games, Barbie hardly is the initial thought that comes to mind. But anyone who delved into the charmingly eerie 1998 PC game Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper recognizes that Barbie absolutely has heroine capabilities.

The Unusual Storyline

The premise is appropriately absurd: Barbie and her pal Becky have recently completed from their local detective academy, as obviously that's an actual institution. A "fall charity carnival" is happening nearby, and Ken is inexplicably the event organizer, even though he and Barbie are implied to be teenagers. But the night before the carnival starts, tragedy strikes: Ken goes missing via a magic act accident, and the donation funds vanishes with him! As expected, it's the responsibility of Detective Barbie, her friend Becky (who serves as her "mission control"), and the player to crack the case of his vanishing.

Sleuth Barbie was saying gamer names verbally long before Fallout 4 and Starfield attempted the trick — and she could articulate virtually all names.

The Creepiness Starts

The oddity starts almost right away. Upon starting up the game, users are asked to choose their name from a list, and Barbie will verbally refer to the player by name during the entire adventure. I cannot emphasize how comprehensive and complete this name list is. If you're someone who has historically had trouble locating souvenirs with your name on them at gift shops, you might believe you're unlucky here, but you're mistaken. There are thousands of names on the list, which appears to catalogue nearly every variation of every feminine forename in existence, from very usual to surprisingly rare. Although Barbie says the player's name with a honestly alarming amount of bubbly enthusiasm, it doesn't seem like text-to-speech, which has me pondering how long Barbie performer Chris Anthony Lansdowne stayed in the sound room listing virtually each girl's name under the sun.

Exploring the Carnival

After users input their name, they assume control over Barbie as she examines the area of the crime. It's late at night, and she's completely by herself (except for Becky, who periodically contacts via the Crime Computer). In retrospect, I can't overcome how much roaming about the game's spooky festival site feels like playing Silent Hill 3. Admittedly, this carnival lacks blood and rust, or infested with horrifying beings like Lakeside Amusement Park, but the atmosphere is distinctly spooky. The situation becomes more anxiety-provoking when Barbie begins observing a mysterious silhouette prowling the park. Turns out she's not alone after all.

It's hard to beat a tense chase down a absurdly lengthy chute to raise your heart rate.

Unsettling Rides and Chases

While piloting Barbie through increasingly unsettling games and exhibits (the spooky decoration closet still terrifies me), the player will come across clues, which she sends to Becky to examine. The clues eventually point Barbie to the enigmatic character's location, and it's her duty to track them down, following Ken's captor through a selection of carnival/theme park staples including collision vehicles, an enormous slide with branching paths, and a poorly illuminated love tunnel. These chases were authentically exciting — the music turns suspenseful, and a single misstep could lead to the suspect escaping.

Surprising Depth

Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper had a surprising level of depth, especially for a late '90s point-and-click game aimed at female children. Rather than outfitting Barbie, or playing with her horses, Detective Barbie centered on actual gameplay, had a compelling story, and was extremely spooky. It even had certain replayability — every game session switched up the types of clues players would stumble across, and when it came to Ken's kidnapper, there were various potential culprits — the culprit's name varied every playthrough you played. When the puzzle was unraveled, players could even generate a apprentice investigator insignia to exhibit for maximum girl-world street cred.

The earliest scare! The clues in this room groan audibly or emerge unexpectedly as players investigate them.

Influence and Successors

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. Mattel is still releasing Barbie video games nowadays — the forthcoming game is Barbie Horse Tails (yes, another equestrian/customizing adventure), which launches soon. Even though the images are a clear enhancement over Detective Barbie, I am skeptical Barbie Horse Tails features the same degree of interactive complexity, replayability, or general spookiness as its late-nineties predecessors, which is somewhat disappointing.

An Entry to Fear

Regardless of Mattel's original intentions for the game, Detective Barbie in the Mystery of the Carnival Caper finally evolved into my gateway to the horror genre, and I'd love to see Detective Barbie feature in another fun-but-spooky game that goes beyond dress-up and horse-riding. The world has numerous pony lovers, but it could absolutely employ more tough young sleuths solving high-stakes charity carnival crimes.