Mattel has announced a new partnership with developer Outright Games to produce a series of video games based on the toy company’s most popular franchises. The first three exciting games of the partnership are Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets, Barbie: Project Friendship, and Matchbox: Driving Adventures.
Monster High getting a new video game is huge news, for so many reasons. There are already a handful of Monster High video games – Ghoul Spirit, 13 Wishes, New Ghoul in School – but the last console release arrived nearly a decade ago, in 2015. That’s despite Monster High gaining renewed popular in the years since, with its “G3” doll relaunch in 2022 inspiring renewed interest in the franchise.
Cynically, the video games for the series have usually been a marketing tool to sell dolls – and given the newly-announced game carries the “Skulltimate Secrets” brand, this will continue to be the case. But they also function as a bridge for young kids who like the dolls, and may be interested in video games.
Read: Expanding the ‘girl game’ genre with Rainbow High: Runway Rush
Self-expression and acceptance in Monster High
As GamesHub contributor Emily Shiel wrote in her analysis of the Rainbow High game from Outright, games that expand beloved “girl-focused” franchises typically explore themes like self-expression, friendship, and goal-kicking that can inspire their young audiences.
In video games, young players can engage with deep subject matter, learning more about themselves, and test their skills, all in a world they know and love. In the case of Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets, it should be an opportunity to explore themes of acceptance, love, and family.
Monster High has always been an appealing brand because it focuses on that complexity. Each of the main characters is a “monster” and must learn to accept themselves, and to understand their differences in a scary world. In the age of social media, the series carries an important message – and one that young kids, and particularly young girls, should internalise. Everyone is different, and everyone is extraordinary.
Monster High may be a series of dolls, but to say they’re only dolls is reductive.
When Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets launches, we’ll certainly be keeping an eye on this game. It occupies an importance space as a bridging game for young kids, and should provide ample opportunity to explore the world of Monster High further.
Outright Games has been a solid run lately, with a range of family-focused releases including Bluey: The Videogame, Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion, Rainbow High: Runway Rush, and Peppa Pig: World Adventures. While the studio’s games aren’t strictly groundbreaking, for the young players they inspire, their work remains very, very important. Everyone deserves a chance to game, at all skill levels, and Outright is fulfilling a much-needed niche in its approach to kid-friendly titles.
We look forward to seeing more from the studio’s upcoming Monster High game.
