1 Hour 1 Decision (1H1D)

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 takes place concurrently with the events of the ma...

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 FPS space. Will their founder’s real-world experienc...

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 brotheresque surveillance system. The astute will note that U...

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 restoring lost recipes in a damaged cookbook. To fur...

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. Will the game skate the perilous line between ar...

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 this pick by the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” but...

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 for Mineko, our duo has an expert joining them fo...

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 nightmares afterward. With plenty of experience cra...

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 contains three titles from the series, namely The...

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 version of the 1930’s, the plot revolves around a cus...

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 Tom had not yet played. As the sixth installment in...

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. Another aspect that sets it apart is that player...

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 that Aaron has an interest in this title, but wha...

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 Earth to this fantastical world, the player arrives in...

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 our hosts have played and reviewed. We kept the mic...

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 retro-inspired indie role-playing game developed b...

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 the highly anticipated Sci-Fi Action RPG from Bet...

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 Pass “Surprise Me” button has decided to have our h...

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 was recently heavily reworked for the Xbox console....

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 of both. Perhaps with their expectations set suffic...

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 an adventurer, this title developed by Digital Sun...

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 strapping into exosuits and battling it out with din...

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 games, you may be surprised to discover that it was...

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. Unlike some similar planet-exploring titles, the design...

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 desaturated world, but it is the first one starring a dog...