Ecco The Dolphin
At first glance, this game seems pretty tame, right? Guide a dolphin through the ocean. But it was a deceptive game. It was dark, mischievous and insanely difficult to beat. The water-based combat combined with puzzles and riddles made it so frustrating.
Then, there was the final boss. If (and when) you died, you didn’t start somewhere relatively close to the boss – you got sent back to the previous level and had to work your way back. That’s not something you’d see in today’s games.