8 Exact Moments You Knew You'd Bought The Wrong Game

By now Ecco The Dolphin is sort of infamous for having this effect, getting us all to pick it up as kids thinking we were in for a delightful deep-sea adventure only to then be absolutely traumatised by the game’s sudden change in tone.

Within minutes of enjoying the water with your fishy friends, it all comes to an abrupt stop as a tornado violently sucks them all from the ocean, leaving your dolphin player character completely alone. From there it only gets more bleak, with a range of surprisingly challenging sections set against a haunting score and backed up by occasionally horrifying enemies.

Absolutely nothing about the cover art for this Sega classic gives away its darker tone, meaning I’m sure that plenty of parents out there picked it up for their kids, assuming it was a simple seafaring romp, only to accidentally scar them for life.

Overall it’s a good game and is enjoyed and praised by many, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t absolutely confound you on the first play.