Buitopia DVD: the haunted disc you were told never to put in the player

Buitopia DVD is a short, surreal horror game that really is a DVD. You click through classic DVD menus, complete with lo-fi video and interlaced visuals, making choices, solving light puzzles and digging up secrets while hunting for a birthday gift for Jess. Just don't forget about Jess. It comes from animator Ben Wheele, and the project dates all the way back to 2006: started, lost for years, rediscovered and finally finished.

The format is both the joke and the magic. Play it as a normal PC game, or burn the included DVD file to a real disc and enjoy a real player whirring and chugging through the menus (a physical collector's DVD is also sold separately). The tone swings between absurd dark humor and a dreamy, unsettling streak, with multiple endings and plenty of choose-your-own-adventure branches to poke at.

The catch: it's short, a few hours at most, and at least one puzzle is on the obscure side. It also touches on heavier themes like alcohol abuse and depression, alongside cartoon violence. There haven't been any patches since launch, either. It's $4.99, runs on Windows and Linux with full controller support, and hasn't been rated for Deck.