Growing up, I was much more of a Bratz and Moxie Girls kid than a Barbie kid. I liked my dolls to come with a bit of an edge, whether that was from bold makeup and piercings like my beloved Yasmin Bratz doll, or from clothes that you can literally color on and design. That’s why I’m a little sad that I didn’t get to grow up with Monster High, as their colorful, alternative style and out-there personalities represent exactly the kinds of characters that I gravitate toward today.
If you’re somehow unaware of Monster High, Mattel’s first line of dolls in the series launched back in 2010, offering a spooky alternative to the other fashion dolls on the market. Since then, the core cast of characters has remained the same but their designs and personalities have evolved throughout three distinct generations, leading to the ‘gen three’ lineup that we have today. These are the characters and stories that have drawn me back to the dolls of my childhood, and the same has happened to many others.
Alongside the commercial success of the dolls themselves, Mattel also created an animated TV show and two live-action movies featuring the diverse and memorable ghouls of Monster High, and now thanks to Outright Games, the series has made its debut on the Nintendo Switch in Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets. We got the chance to chat to Destinee Cleveland, Skulltimate Secrets’ narrative designer, about her experience bringing the ghouls to life on console for the first time since 2015.
While of course here at Pocket Tactics we believe that anyone can play and enjoy any game or genre, Monster High’s dolls and other media are typically marketed towards pre-teen girls, and so the same goes for Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets. This demographic is notoriously hard to get invested in gaming, so we asked Cleveland how she and the team went about navigating this when making the game.
She told us, “While Monster High is a femme-facing IP and historically caters to the pre-teen girl demographic, I feel that it’s presented in a format that appeals to all genders. You don’t need to identify as a girl to enjoy the dolls or the Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets game and its characters.” Instead, the franchise’s “little dash of horror and dark mystery” opens up interest to a whole range of people, especially if you’re into spooky aesthetics. Plus, the game’s mechanics are easily accessible, too, like many of Outright Games’ other Switch games for kids.
Part of the appeal of Monster High has always been the style of the dolls. Their fashion draws from alternative subcultures like goth, punk, and even Japanese street fashion, and practically every character has an unnatural skin color. Figuring out what you like and who you want to be as a pre-teen can be difficult, so we wanted to know how Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets leans into embracing this challenging time in a child’s life.
Cleveland said, “Representation is very important, especially in today’s world. Showcasing a wide array of characters allows young children to connect in ways that help them feel seen. For example, Frankie is non-binary, and for a young child struggling with their identity, seeing a character who identifies the same as they do while being loved and accepted by friends and family can be an extremely powerful experience.” I can personally relate to this, as finding out that the gen three reboot made Frankie non-binary is what encouraged me to go back and engage with the franchise again as an adult, and I’m so glad that I did. I can only imagine how this kind of representation would have helped me as a child or even a teenager.
Cleveland continued, “I’m in my early 40s, so seeing Mattel grow as we move into the future has been incredible. They have always strived to make women and feminine-identifying individuals feel seen and heard, but the continued support and respect they show their community is incredible.”
While Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets doesn’t carry over any story beats from the animated TV show or the movies and instead focuses on its own self-contained plot, Cleveland made sure to keep the personalities of the Boo Crew consistent in the game’s writing. “We wanted to ensure it was a seamless transition so that the Frankie Stein you watch in the series and movies is the same character you interact with in the game.”
Instead of taking on the role of Clawdeen Wolf or one of the other Boo Crew members, in Skulltimate Secrets you get to create your own monstrously stylish character. Cleveland commented on how this is often one of her favorite parts of playing videogames. “It’s a bit magical, isn’t it? That experience helps carry you into a world the developers have created. Creating your own monsters, styling them, and dressing them up makes sense for this type of game.
“In 2012, Mattel released the Create-A-Monster kit that allowed you to create your very own doll. I loved that idea, and although it was long after when I played with dolls myself, it just seems like the next step in empowering young girls to have creative freedom in a different form.”
The target audience for Skulltimate Secrets is without a doubt children and pre-teens, but thanks to the series’ iconic character designs and IP collabs with other horror series like Netflix’s Wednesday, a decent amount of Monster High fans are adult collectors. We asked Cleveland how her team balanced the wants and needs of the two potential audiences, and she told us, “I think Monster High is already creating that balance, which was probably something they thought of in the early stages of conception. Although the changes may seem extremely different from Generation 1, it shows how the team behind this IP has matured along with the characters.
“Their personalities have grown so much, and their backstories have more depth, which makes sense because, over time, the needs and wants of society have a part to play in any creation, whether it be a toy or a video game like Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets. Monster High is popular with many age groups, from little girls fascinated by the different fashion choices to adult collectors embracing the positive changes shown in the wide array of representations.”
Finally, we asked Cleveland what, in her view, makes a ‘girl game’? “To me, there’s no such thing as a “girl game””, she said. “People enjoy what they enjoy, and that’s the way it should be. Much like the entire Monster High brand, it doesn’t cater to old stereotypes of what a girl likes vs what a boy likes. I mean, they’re monsters, and historically, that’s not been an angle that was considered something young girls were into, but surprise, surprise! They love it! I’m honored I was given the chance to be part of the journey that brought Monster High back into the gaming space.”
Monster High: Skulltimate Secrets is available now on the Nintendo Switch. If you’re looking for more ways to express yourself in videogame form, check out our guides to the best dress-up games and Barbie games. Alternatively, prepare for a fright with our list of the best horror games on Switch and mobile.