Play Barney’s Hide & Seek Online

Barney’s Hide & Seek on the Sega Genesis is one of those weirdly comforting games from the '90s—like digging up an old VHS tape of your favorite childhood show. You play as one of Barney’s little friends, wandering through bright, simple levels trying to find hidden items like cookies and balloons while the big purple guy cheers you on. It’s not exactly tough—more of a relaxed, cheerful scavenger hunt—but that’s kind of the charm.

The music’s pure Barney, too: all peppy and familiar if you grew up with the show. And yeah, it’s definitely aimed at younger kids, but there’s something oddly soothing about how low-stakes it is. No timers, no enemies, just you and a bunch of happy dinosaurs. Fun little trivia: this was one of the only Barney games to ever make it to consoles, so it’s got that nostalgic collector’s vibe now. Not every Genesis game needs to be about speed and explosions—sometimes you just want to hear that theme song again.