1 Hour 1 Decision (1H1D)

So there's four of these, but only the second is numbered? The previous episode had some fantastic beasts, but this one is set in the century of dragons. That's right, the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has selected the fourth title in Bioware's RPG franchise for assessment on this episode! Well, it's the fourth one if you leave out Awakening and that freemium mobile game, but most of the fra...

Let's get you sorted, doubly so! The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is this show's equivalent of a certain famous sorting hat. It's fitting (pun intended) that it has selected that franchise's action role-playing game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Portkey Games for this numerically significant episode. The game in question puts you in the robes of an unusually late addition...

Think you can run a better park? Prove it! Back in 1993, Tom was convinced he could succeed where John Hammond had failed. Fortunately, the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has seen fit to give our hosts an opportunity to test that theory with this dinosaur theme park management simulator developed and published by Frontier Developments. The studio is no stranger to the genre and this isn't eve...

Saddle up and pedal forth for adventure! The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button spun through its options and landed on a choice that will have Tom and Chris spinning their own tires! Enter the latest game developed by Messhof, this time with publisher support from Annapurna Interactive. In this third person open world racing game, players are tasked with collecting some legendary items to save th...

Roguelites are our own personal hell. Venturing to the underworld ought to be met with a sense of dread, but for Chris, the dread he's feeling is centered on the roguelite nature of this isometric action RPG developed and published by Supergiant Games. Tom is a bit more optimistic, buoyed by the game's strong reception from both critics and players alike. Which of these two attitudes will rise up...

Not the German comedy series. There seems to be no shortage of cleaning simulators these days, but this one developed by President Studio and published by PlayWay has a different hook. Instead of power-washing someone's driveway or de-cluttering someone's home, this title puts you in the shoes of a former high school janitor that must clean up after criminals so those villains won't be caught for...

Take a trip to the 90's... the 2090's. The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button delivers on its name with the selection of this retro-anime inspired FPS developed by Hammer95 Studios and published by Epopeia Games. Neither of our hosts had heard of this before it was chosen, so they are going in with zero expectations other than whatever they may associate with mullets. With an hour on their play c...

Are we trading rogues or roguishly trading? Buckle up, buttercup! The grimdark of the Imperium awaits in this turn-based tactical RPG developed and published by Owlcat Games. The studio first cut their teeth translating another tabletop game (Pathfinder) to the digital realm. Despite some early challenges there, they found their rhythm, launched a sequel, and then were tasked with taking on 40k's...

Anthropomorphic Orange is the New Black? The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is sending our hosts directly to jail. They won't be passing go and they won't be collecting $200 on the way. Thankfully it's just part of the experience of playing the pixel-art RPG developed by Metal Head Games where the player takes on the role of a humanimal that must set things the wrong things right from behind...

Wait, isn't that the character from Arcane? Still completely oblivious to League of Legends outside his love for the animated show, Tom (and his pal Chris) must engage with another spin-off property, this time thanks to the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button. For this episode, the team will be investigating the digital collectible card dame developed and published by Riot Games. This game has bee...

Serve the public trust, protect the innocent, uphold the law. If you grew up in the same era as our hosts, the source material for this first-person shooter developed by Teyon and published by Nacon is well known to you. If you are a bit younger, perhaps you caught the remake that came out in 2014. If neither of those apply, just imagine if Darth Vader was a police officer in a dystopian Detroit....

It's like playing doctor, but just the administrative part. Have you ever dreamt of being an intergalactic hospital administrator? Well that dream can now become reality thanks to this business simulation title developed by Brightrock Games and published by Cult Games. Do you want to build rooms, hire staff, and satisfy the needs of alien patients? Well that's all packed in to this quirky sim. As...

The original hits keep on coming! Before Warcraft and the massive online world it would spawn, Blizzard Entertainment had a trio of hits in the early 1990s that established them as a creative force in video games. Those games are collected here (each in multiple incarnations) for modern players to enjoy. With just an hour to harness a healthy helping of highly-regarded games, how will our hosts sp...

Tempogoo didn't sound as catchy. The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is at it again with this quirky puzzle game developed by Witch Beam and published by CULT. Tom and Chris have been tasked with spending an hour conducting the pink slime creatures that give this game its name. Will the result be music to our ears or a discordant mess? Will we watch their gardens grow or will these fruits shri...

Fast Baked Chicken or video game? This acronym could stand for anything, but what it truly stands for is Federal Bureau of Control. Developed and published by Remedy Entertainment, this is simultaneously the debut multiplayer first-person shooter developed by the studio and also the first game published by them. That said, these folks are no strangers to making games and have previously brought yo...

Even more random than the original. The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is regularly deployed to randomly select games for this show. It is indeed fitting that it randomly selected this title developed by Stormteller Games and published by Thunderful Publishing that has much randomness seeded throughout its mechanics. From the cards and boosts you receive to the way the levels flow, many thing...

Out on the street? Get on the beat! We've reviewed a number of simulation games, but never one where you take on the role of a police officer. That changes on this episode with a title developed by Aesir Interactive and published by Astragon Entertainment. Strap on the boots of a new officer of the law and take on important daily duties like issuing parking tickets! The good new is that's apparent...

You survive by crafting more people. Here's a fresh one off the line! For this episode, Tom and Chris have been tasked with playing the newest survival game developed and published by 11 Bit Studios. The studio may be familiar to you if you are a fan of the Frostpunk franchise or if you checked out our previous episode about This War of Mine. This new title definitely builds on the Polish develope...

Does the T stand for Tom? The advantage of using the Xbox Box Game Pass "Surprise Me" button to chose games is that it will invariably select niche games that probably wouldn't be on your radar. Such is the case with this puzzle adventure title created by uvula and published by Annapurna Interactive. You've probably never heard of the studio... because this is their first and only game... but you...

Is the planet also forbidden? The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is back in control and it has chosen the one-and-only game that will ever be developed by Typhoon Studios. Published by 505 Games, this first-person title is billed as "action-adventure" but feels a bit more like "exploration-survival" to us. If you start with inspiration from Far Cry, add comedy science fiction films, and then...

Does it display turtle power? Move over Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button, one of our hosts has taken control of game selection. If Chris can get away with putting his thumb on the scale, Tom figures he will do the same. As a consequence, our dynamic duo will be checking out the platforming beat 'em up developed by Aheartfulofgames and published by Outright Games. Tom has been in the fight with...

Shockingly not another release of Skyrim! When our duo takes a request, it typically comes along with a guest, and this episode is no exception. Enter Rick from Pixel Project Radio who has chosen the surprising remaster of the fourth entry in a series dedicated to some especially old and rolled up parchment. Co-developed by Bethesda Game Studios and Virtuos (who are quite familiar with tackling po...

Both a color scheme and a hawk god. With no context outside of the key art, our hosts were in the dark about this random selection from the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button. It turns out to be a third-person action RPG developed in New Zealand by A44 and published by Annapurna Interactive. While that is a bit more to work with, it still doesn't paint the full picture of what this decidedly styl...

Seems like a good age for doom. Was this first person shooter chosen randomly by the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" Button? Hell No! But it was developed by id Software, who debuted the once infamous but now just famous franchise way back in 1993. For those of you who weren't alive way back then, something about those pixelated demons and the sprite-based violence unsettled adults of the time, but w...

Night begins... at least historically. The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is regularly employed to choose the next game our hosts must play. It is fitting that the interactive fiction title chosen for this episode will make Tom and Chris make a number of their own choices, leading each of them to potentially unique experiences. Developed by London-based Interior Night, this is currently their...