1 Hour 1 Decision (1H1D)

Crafted by a composer and a terrible lizard. This episode covers the musically-inspired narrative adventure developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur and published by Annapurna Interactive. At the center of the story is a playlist of songs beloved by the lead singer of a band that took its name from a 1980's cartoon villain. That knowledge should prepare you for the nostalgia fueled coming-of-age tale tol...

Named for the mountain, not the heroine. Developed and published by the indie studio Maddie Makes Games, this 2D platformer chosen by the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is highly regarded by most critics in the industry. That neither Tom nor Chris ever got around to playing it since it was released in 2018 is even extra surprising... but here they are! With sights finally set on climbing this...

Renewable energy mixed with a DIY attitude! Crafted in Germany by two developers dubbing themselves Cyberwave, this first-person sandbox survival game was brought to life through a Kickstarter campaign and has arrived on Xbox Game Pass just in time for our dynamic duo to check it out. Our trusty "Surprise Me" Button has previously selected its fair share of survival and crafting games, and our hos...

Get thee to a nunnery! We return to our regular method of game selection this episode with a random pick from our trusted friend the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button. Speaking of friendship, you'll find it is in short supply in this third person adventure developed by Odd Meter and published by 11 Bit Studios. As it begins, players step into the shoes of the titular character as she does her ve...

We're off to the races, again! Move over Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button, as Chris thumbs the scales once again to accommodate a guest. For this episode our duo is joined by Gobotch to play and discuss the latest entry in the racing game franchise developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. Over the years, many racing game franchises have come and gone, but this one clear...

Not to be confused with the sixth one. If you disqualify retro collections, this must be the oldest individual game our hosts have ever played for the show. Tom and Chris have certainly played newer entries in the famous franchise, but neither lived in Japan in 1990, so they both missed this turn-based pixel-art role-playing game developed and published by Square when it debuted on the Family Comp...

It's back on the menu, boys! The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has selected an entry in a platforming series that has historically only existed in two dimensions. As this game's title suggests, this 2026 platforming game developed by Team Meat and Sluggerfly introduces the third. Our hosts have a cursory knowledge of the franchise, but admittedly have not spent much time, even collectively,...

It's the opposite of a perihelion. For this episode, the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has chosen a fresh narrative-focused action-adventure game developed and published by Don't Nod. Set in a possible future where the Earth has become uninhabitable, our hosts don the spacesuits of intrepid explorers looking to find humanity a new home! With roots in films like The Martian and Interstellar a...

Kenji and Kumori deal death to demons! How many games in this franchise will Tom and Chris review? When you leave game selection up to the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button, we suppose the whole franchise could be on the table. Fortunately for our hosts, this retro 2D side-scroller developed by The Game Kitchen and published by Dotemu has a distinctly different style than the past two they playe...

Just how easy will it be? The XBOX Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is back in the driver's seat for this episode! It has fittingly chosen an indie delivery game that was developed by a single person (Sam Cameron). Okay, so he had some help from his brother with the dialogue, but otherwise it's entirely his creation. With a PS1 aesthetic and some obvious inspiration from the another game with anthro...

A cyberpunk story that's set in the past. This selection's not random! Chris has been eager to try the two and a half dimension action platformer developed by Sad Cat Studios but, unfortunately for him, it was delayed several times. Fortunately for us all, the game ultimately arrived and thus could be added to the queue for this show. To make this episode even more tantalizing, Chris invit...

The apostrophe isn't a typo! The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has surprised our hosts with a top-down twin-stick shooter from the minds of SoulGame Studio! Comprised of two fresh cousins from Toulouse, this studio is incredibly indie. Perhaps that has allowed them to take a big swing here by taking the action of a bullet hell ship shooter like Ikaruga and combining it with the story and pro...

Time to brush up on your Latin! Tom was sure that he had played the first entry in this series for a previous episode of the show, but just like this game, it turns out that memory was a work of fiction inspired by true events. This first person action RPG developed by Warhorse Studios and published by Deep Silver was recommended to Chris, and Tom did indeed play at least a few hours of the first...

Can they try 100+ games in an hour? Spoiler alert: they can't! Even if they split the list down the middle and tried to tackle fifty each, the challenge of getting to everything included in this retro compilation from Antstream Arcade in the allotted hour is just impossible for our two hosts. That didn't stop Tom and Chris from testing out as much as humanly possible within those tight time constr...

All aboard another loony locomotive! The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button surprised our hosts by selecting a sequel to a title they have actually played! For this episode, Tom and Chris return to the world of roguelike deckbuilders crafted by the folks over at Shiny Shoe. The fundamental gameplay remains the same, but the premise this trip is that titans have taken over the tracks, so angels an...

This will have you swearing! If it's a rogue-like, you know that the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is the one that picked it. Developed by Windwalk Games and published by Team17, this game takes a different approach to established Arthurian legends and asks "What if Arthur and his knights were the villains?" You'll step into the boots of a nameless hero and, with the help of blessings from a...

You just know this will be an odd one. From slot machines to stolen potatoes, the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button maintains control of game selection and has our hosts playing this indie adventure title developed and published by StudioBando Inc. The player steps into the shoes of a child tasked with fetching some ingredients for his grandma's soup, but the pantry is a portal to another world,...

Simulating debt for fun? Alright "Surprise Me" button, what are you trying to tell us with your selection of this rogue-lite gambling sim developed by Panik Arcade? Do you want Tom and Chris to literally fall into debt? Or is this perhaps a cautionary tale so that we all learn a painful lesson virtually in order to avoid experiencing that fate in the real world? Admittedly, we think it's highly un...

Artifacts so nice they stole them twice! Even the "Surprise Me" button is entitled to a few days off, so Chris has stepped in and selected this action-platformer developed and published by South African studio Nyamakop. Like the studio, the game is also set in South Africa, but not in the present or even the past, but the future... 2099, more specifically. In this future, precious pieces of Africa...

Coulda called it cudgel cat. The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has an indie title picked out for our hosts this episode. More specifically, we are talking about the third-person (or should we say third-cat) adventure game developed by Kyle Thompson and published by Top Hat Studios. As you may have guessed from the name of the developer, this is the product of a solo operation! Using GameEngi...

Is it more than a well done pun? We have another guest! This time it is Jake aka Zulgeek that joins Tom and Chris to review a randomly selected game and decide if it is worth your time. For this episode, the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has selected the puzzle adventure game developed by Dogubomb and published by Raw Fury. The plot follows the "protagonist inherits a mansion, but there are...

Are they better than big ones? The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button takes control and doesn't surprise us at all by selecting the middle game of a trilogy. Developed by Tarsier Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, this title is chalked up as a puzzle-platform horror adventure game. What this means in practice is up to our hosts, who are joined by Adam from the "Spectre Approved"...

Tom thumbs the scale for this title. Move over "Surprise Me" button, the only thing surprising about this not-so-randomly chosen game is that Tom hasn't already played it. Fortunately Xbox Game Pass has rectified that oversight by adding this third person action-adventure game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. At this point, the game has been out for a while and has rece...

Perhaps a garden for growing grandiose gods? For this episode the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has selected the indie adventure developed by LimboLane and published by Fellow Traveller. These developers have some experience making strange and quirky games and it sure looks like this title is in that wheelhouse. In it, the gods are upset and the world is in peril, so the player needs to work...

What does that even mean? Well, when you let a randomizer pick your next game, you sometimes end up with something completely unexpected. Apparently this title is a multiplayer competitive platformer that was developed and published by Clever Endeavour Games out of Montreal, Canada. Our hosts are unfamiliar with this game and its indie developer, so they get a blank slate and an hour to make their...