Ecco Jr. is basically the chill, kid-friendly version of Ecco the Dolphin—no drowning in deep ocean trenches or fighting alien jellyfish here. You play as a tiny dolphin just vibing through coral reefs, doing little tasks like rescuing trapped fish or playing hide-and-seek with other sea creatures. The controls are way simpler than the main series, so you mostly just swim around, jump, and occasionally use sonar to solve puzzles.

The whole thing feels like a lazy afternoon at the aquarium. The colors are bright, the music’s dreamy, and there’s zero pressure—just you, some friendly octopuses, and the occasional whale song. I remember getting stuck for way too long on one puzzle where you had to nudge a starfish into place, but even that was kinda relaxing in a "well, guess I’ll swim in circles for a while" way.

If you’ve ever wanted to pretend to be a dolphin without the stress of time limits or drowning mechanics, this is the game for you. It’s basically aquatic ASMR with a Sega Genesis controller.