Sounds like you better strike... Looking for something different? The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has delivered with this crafting game developed by the newly-minted Bontemps Games and published by the prolific Humble Games. While it looks like a side-scrolling adventure game from yester-year, this title is surprisingly free of any combat. …

The fifth in the franchise! Who knew? The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has put Tom and Chris behind the wheel once again, this time in Codemaster's 2022 racer. For the first time in franchise history, this model comes loaded with a story-focused career mode! Will suiting up as the curiously named Driver 22 complete the package, or will our h…

A fairly fishy mystery is afoot. For this episode, Tom and Chris take on the narrative adventure game developed and published by Slow Bros. The titular protagonist lives aboard a spaceship that fled Earth centuries ago seeking an idyllic new planet, but that dream died when the ship crashed on a decidedly subpar aquatic world. The chief scientist h…

Are they still leading the way? Well, this one is certainly a mouthful! Mattel's little toy cars and their iconic orange tracks are back, but this time in digital form in the arcade racer developed by Milestone. Dating back to the 90's themselves, this Italian game studio has put out countless SBK and MotoGP titles, so they are certainly no strange…

What's the 411, home skillet? In this special episode of 1 Hour 1 Decision, Tom and Chris interview Dave Proctor, Game Director and Studio Founder of Mighty Yell. If you are keeping up with the podcast, you should recognize Mighty Yell as the developer that crafted the 90's oozing road trip adventure game The Big Con, recently featured on episode #…

Legend of the little lizard man? For this episode, our dynamic duo investigate the cutesy platformer developed by MegaWobble and published by Playtonic Games. The developer is a tiny team, but they had big ideas... not unlike the diminutive reptilian protagonist of this colorful title. Will the trio's aspirations of making a zelda-esk experience th…

Summer camp ended and then the murders began. Tom and Chris arrived at Hackett's Quarry and were tasked with spending an hour with the interactive drama turned survival horror title developed by Supermassive Games. Dubbed the spiritual successor to Until Dawn, this game enlists the talents of many horror film veterans to portray the cast of counsel…

Pickpocketing is a crime, even if your motives are pure. In a fortunate appeal to variety, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has selected the pickpocketing adventure game developed by Mighty Yell for this episode. Set back in the 1990s, the protagonist works at her mother’s video rental store until she learns about her mom’s hefty debt to loa…

Is this guy's name seriously Travis Touchdown? The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button sure seems to enjoy having our hosts jump into the middle of a franchise. This time the selection is the third numbered, but fourth chronologically in the hack and slash adventure series developed by Grasshopper Manufacture. For those unaware, the franchise began…

War, what is it good for? Tales, apparently. It feels like the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button may have confused "random" with "next alphabetically" when it selected this tactical role-playing game developed by Shiro Games as its choice for this episode. In either case, Tom and Chris are honor bound to comply, so they have embarked on a mercena…

A retro shooter featuring a space marine, sound familiar? Thanks to the whims of the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button, Tom and Chris travel back in time to their earliest days of PC gaming and experience something that aims to blend seamlessly with games of that era. The folks over at Auroch Digital set out to create a first-person shooter that …

Climbing is the name of this game, just not literally. The title of this game is actually the French word for a receding tide. We know this because Don't Nod (the game's developer) was kind enough to inform us at the very start of this puzzle platformer. With little more than that nugget of knowledge in hand, the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button…

These messes aren't gonna tidy themselves. Kids are messy. One clever strategy employed by parents worldwide to counter this problem is to transform cleaning up into a game and then trick their children into playing it. The developer duo that is Max Inferno have leveraged this time-tested tactic and created a puzzle game in which the objective is s…

The protagonist's surname might be Belmont. We put it to a vote and our listeners have spoken. For this episode, Tom and Chris investigate the new-to-gamepass metroidvania developed by ArtPlay and published by 505 Games. Spearheaded by Kogi Igarashi and assisted by a number of other Castlevania alumni, this title sits squarely in the realm of spiri…

Tom Hanks is familiar with this scenario. What happens when your plane crashes on an uninhabited island in the Pacific? The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button must want to know because it chose the survival game developed and published by Beam Team Games as the subject of this episode. Our hosts have just one hour to investigate their randomly gen…

Search for family in the wake of an invasion. After getting a break for a couple of episodes, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button is back at the helm and has steered us right smack into an alien invasion! As the first title developed by Jumpship (a collaboration between Chris Olsen and Playdead's Dino Patti), this dialogue-free adventure game c…

A world filled with monster pals that skirt copyrights and trademarks. With thanks to a coworker, Pocket Pair’s monster-collecting survival game has been on Tom’s radar for quite some time now. So, when a close friend learned it was coming to Xbox Game Pass and immediately requested that he and Chris cover it in an episode, Tom was ready to give th…

Turn on lights to survive the night. It’s been a minute since the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button made Chris play a horror game, so Michael from Bits of Time stepped up to course-correct by requesting this Indie Psychological Horror developed by Camel 101. With a narrative told from a first-person perspective and sinister environments shrouded …

Return to greeting an adjacent homeowner. Mr. Peterson has drawn the suspicions of another of his neighbors in this sequel to a game that our hosts have actually played! It’s hard to believe, but over a hundred episodes have transpired since Tom and Chris took a stab at the first game, so when the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button selected the se…

It’s the Spanish word for grey. Created by the Barcelona-based Nomada Studio, this platform adventure title has been described as a combination of other games-as-art staples (namely Journey and Ori). Created by a small team, this randomly chosen game has both a minimalist design and a distinctive visual style that is sure to secure a place for it a…

Alice takes her trauma back to Wonderland. The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has indeed surprised us with its selection of this 2011 third-person adventure game developed by Spicy Horse and published by Electronic Arts. Originally released on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, this sequel to American McGee’s Alice is definitely among the oldest …

Travel to a land down under. The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has selected yet another sequel for our hosts. This time it has chosen the first-person Metroidvania developed and published by Supra Games. Originally conceived as DLC for the original Supraland, this expansion exploded in scope and became a full game all its own. With an adverti…

Executing exorcisms of evil eastern enemies. Our hosts had no idea what they were going to be playing when the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button picked this title at the end of the previous episode. A cursory search of the internet revealed that it is a side-scrolling action RPG developed by a Chinese company called Wildfire Game. Screenshots sho…

The spin-off to the series that is itself a spin-off! We move away from a tactical shooter with RPG elements and on to a tactical RPG with shooting elements for this episode of 1H1D. Selected by our special guest Slade from The Game Club Podcast, this episode focuses on the latest spin-off of the beloved series developed by Atlus. With a plot that …

It is a sequel, but not to Darude’s dancefloor hit. For this episode, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has selected the multiplayer tactical first-person shooter developed by New World Interactive. The bad news is that our hosts are unfamiliar with the game, but the good news is that the developer is apparently no stranger to the tactical FP…

Presumably referencing people and not dobermanns. In a surprising twist, neither of our hosts have yet to play Ubisoft Montreal's 2016 action-adventure, making it fair game as the subject for this episode of 1H1D. Set in a fictionalized version San Francisco, the game puts you in the shoes of a hacker looking to take down the city's big brotheresqu…

Not related to the mobile payment service. Developed and published by Visai Games, this narrative cooking game is certainly a departure from the standard picks of the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" Button. The game takes its name from an Indian woman who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s and the bulk of the gameplay revolves around re…

Neither the villain nor the paper destroyer. This one is all about snowboarding and we have the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button to thank for its selection. Developed by FoamPunch, a joint venture between I-Illusions and Let It Roll, this sports title puts you in the boots of snowboarders looking to carve out a place for themselves on the slopes…

It features a world-hopping, puzzle-solving beetle. It’s likely that you have never heard of Geometric Interactive, they are a small independent game studio in Copenhagen, Denmark. You may, however, have heard of its two founders: Jeppe Carlsen and Jakob Schmid, formerly of Playdead. Credited as creators of Limbo and Inside, it is unsurprising that…

Wouldn't a day market be more profitable? As the first title from indie studio Meowza Games, how do we predict where this business simulation title will land in the hearts and minds of our hosts? Historically, neither Tom nor Chris has been overly drawn to the genre, but there have been some entries that managed to snag their attention. Fortunately…

Another stab at horror, but this time in the future! Did Frictional Games bribe the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button, or has our game selection system achieved a state of consciousness mirroring the theme of this sci-fi survival horror title? Once again our hosts are tasked with spending an hour with a spooky game and trying not to end up with n…

A spooky collection that’s seasonally appropriate. The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button feels rigged with its pick for this episode about the survival horror compilation created by Frictional Games. Tom is excited to play something spooky and seasonally appropriate, but it won’t surprise you that Chris is much less enthusiastic. This collection …

At a minimum, it’s an admirable array of alliteration. Chris already had this turn-based strategy game that was developed by Harebrained Schemes and published by Paradox Interactive on his radar. This made it easy for him to agree to check it out for this episode featuring Kevin from Save the Game Media as our special guest. Set in an alternate ver…

A Star Wars game that Tom hasn’t played? Blasphemous! When the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button landed on a Star Wars title, Chris naturally assumed that he would have to spin it again. In a surprising twist, this Lego action-adventure game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros Games happened to be among the very few that T…

A city-builder on the back of giant turtle… don’t tell Terry Pratchett. The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button is at the helm and has picked Stray Fawn Studio’s simulation title for this episode. Crowdfunded on Kickstarter, this game utilizes a blend of 3D and hand-drawn 2D art to create a look that stands out against other games in the same genre…

Beastkin children pilot a gigantic tank to free their families from fascists. Incoming alert! This episode features the tactical RPG developed and published by CyberConnect2. For this episode, our regular hosts are joined by Aaron from Super Pod Saga, who has specially requested that Tom and Chris give this game a shot. It is clear from the request…

The mice are attempting a coup, what do you do? The prince of Ding Dong Dell has just assumed the role of king after his father’s untimely demise, but the boy’s reign is cut short in the opening moments of this action role-playing game developed by Level-5 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. As an outsider transported from present day Eart…

Join us for a conversation that sits outside the usual format. If you didn’t already know, our hosts recorded a standard episode about Sea of Stars… you can find that as #139 in the numbered episodes of 1H1D. Once that episode was over, however, Chris was curious to talk more about why this game stood out when compared to the many other RPGs that o…

Just the composer’s name alone has Tom intrigued. If you want to request a game for our hosts to play, mentioning that it was “inspired by Chrono Trigger” is a strong place to start, but noting that Tom’s favorite composer contributed ten tracks to the soundtrack might be an even more powerful strategy. Amazingly, both are true in the case of this …

A game chosen by our hosts, so it doesn't count! Sometimes a game comes out that both our hosts are itching to try, but the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is far too random to cooperate. Of course, they could play the game and not make an episode about it, but why waste "premium" content? Behold, an unnumbered bonus episode of 1H1D centered on…

Was it a good time or more like doing time? Korean developer Pathea Games set out to combine elements of action role-playing games and cute casual sims when it released this title across all current consoles in 2019. Whether or not they were successful in the attempt is the subject of some debate. Fortunately for you, dear listener, the Xbox Game P…

Called to craft contraptions of chaos! When game selection is left to the whims of our favorite randomizer, it is safe to expect something unexpected. For this episode, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has selected the strategy sandbox developed by the small indie team at Spiderling Studios. The game was originally built for the PC but it wa…

All aboard this crazy train… to Hell! The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has made its decision and our hosts must now play an hour of the acclaimed roguelike deck-building game developed by Shiny Shoe. As you may already know, Chris is not a fan of roguelikes and Tom is not a fan of card games, so it’s not looking too hopeful for this hybrid o…

Fighting evil by moonlight, running a shop by daylight. With so many roguelikes in their rearview, our hosts had to make sure they had not already played this one when the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button selected it for this episode. By focusing gameplay on running a shop and having the player both figuratively and literally “moonlighting” as a…

Exosuits AND Dinosaurs? Sounds like something Tom wrote. Considering the subject matter, this title was on Tom’s radar long before it was requested by The Elder Trolls Gaming Podcast for this episode, which conveniently features them as our special guests. Developed and published by the gaming juggernaut known as Capcom, this title has our hosts st…

What happens when you cross Resident Evil with Stanley Kubrick? Sometimes the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button picks a title that one of our hosts was secretly hoping to play. Well, this third-person survival horror game developed by rose-engine and published by Humble Games is a prime example of that! Considering his track record with horror ga…

Be an astronaut and an engineer, simultaneously. The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has “spoken” and Tom and Chris have once again answered its call. In this sandbox adventure title developed and published by System Era Softworks, the player takes on the role of a space explorer that must dig into the planet to activate an alien gateway. Unlik…

If you give a dog a paintbrush… Art Class is on the menu for this episode of 1H1D! The “Surprise Me” button has chosen the indie adventure game developed by Greg Lobanov and published by Finji, and thus our hosts must spend an hour exploring the colorful title. This may not be the first game where Tom and Chris need to bring color back to a desatur…

The pun in the name is just the beginning. The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button proves it is aptly named with its selection for this episode. Neither Tom nor Chris had ever heard of this random physics-based action title developed and published by Flashbulb, but now they are honor-bound to give it a fair shake. A quick glance reveals that the ga…

The "Surprise Me" Button hears Tom’s prayer. Tom has been quite curious about this role-playing game developed by Bytten Studio and, to his delight, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” Button has seen fit to choose it as the subject of this episode. Unapologetically inspired by the Pokemon video game series, the gameplay focuses on monster collection …