Bucket Detective

Bucket Detective is a video game released in 2018 by The Whale Husband, a collaboration between American independent developer Jesse Barksdale and Finnish developer Samu Kovanen. Described as a "dark comedy horror game", Bucket Detective is an adventure game in which an illiterate and perverse author endures personal and moral sacrifices made to a cult in order to receive the literary inspiration to publish a novel. Bucket Detective, in line with Barksdale's previous game, The Static Speaks My Name, was strongly influenced by personal themes of "depression, anxiety and obsession" and designed in ways to disorient and confuse the player. The game, which was the first commercial project from Barksdale, received a positive reception from critics, with particular attention directed at the game's unusual and grotesque premise and disturbing content.