1 Hour 1 Decision (1H1D)

With just a glance at the title, you know Chris must be thrilled. In a not-so-surprising move, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has resumed torturing poor Chris by choosing a third person survival horror game. Developed by Tango Gameworks, this selection also happens to be a sequel to a game that neither of our hosts have ever played. It seems obvious that the deck is stacked against this t...

Instead of balls, you hunt these monsters with literal swords and shields. Always on the hunt for their next game, our hosts put this episode's selection up to a vote and the winner was this action roleplaying game developed and published by Capcom. While this is apparently the sixth mainline entry in the series, it turns out there are basically quadruple that many entries in total! You might be s...

The sequel to the spinoff that expanded the scope of the franchise. The subject of this episode is one of many real-time strategy games developed by the veterans over at Creative Assembly. What makes this one different from most of their titles is that it sits outside the Total War franchise and exists inside the Halo universe. With the lion’s share of the developer’s previous work designed especi...

It took Tom twelve years to try this sequel. The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has made some interesting choices in the past, but the random selection of this action RPG developed by BioWare shall prove to be a decisive one. Tom played Dragon Age: Origins and its expansion (Awakening) back when they launched in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Then BioWare dropped this sequel just sixteen months...

Surprisingly, this has nothing to do with the spirit board. Devolver digital takes center stage once again as the Xbox Game Pass has selected the side-scrolling platformer developed by Skeleton Crew Studios for this episode. With the game's story focused on a shipwrecked sailor on a quest to get home and most of the development handled by a single individual (Thomas Olsson), we have a feeling we k...

Chris is excited and Tom has never heard of this one. The Xbox Game Pass has led our hosts to a number of games published by tinyBuild, but this is the first time they are tackling a game crafted by the French indie developer Splashteam. In this action-adventure platformer, players take on the role of Milo as he collects hundreds of cute little critters and uses their powers to solve puzzles and u...

The Epic Grand Finale Head-to-Head Battle featuring Welcome To GAMECORP! Can you guess who we brought on to solve the debate of Dead Space 2 versus Bugsnax? The answer is in the absurd subtitle of this episode, but there's also a little bit of an asterisk there. On this special episode, we have Jake, Cowboy and JB from "Welcome to GAMECORP" joining us to determine which game is the grand champion....

This game is not based on that film with the similar sounding title. The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has decided it is time to manage a zoo once again. This time, however, it has selected the retro-styled simulation sandbox developed by Springloaded. Like the retro zoo simulation games that inspired it, this title has you managing the staff, attractions, and amenities of your own custom-bu...

Is this the lost alien child of Journey and Marble Madness? Earning its name, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has made an eccentric choice for this episode. This dubiously categorized “sci-fi adventure game” developed by Exbleative revolves around an alien spacecraft that must traverse different planets on a journey toward an unclear objective. The worlds themselves are procedurally genera...

Would you believe surviving is impossible and there are no vampires? The show has reached episode 100 and it seems only fitting that the game chosen for this landmark episode is another roguelike! Can you feel how thrilled Chris must be with this turn of events? The show must go on and in this roguelike side-scroller developed by Luca Galante, the player is tasked with surviving as long as possibl...

The complete trilogy starring a frog and his trusty magnifying glass. The Xbox Game Pass library is full of indies and oddities that could easily be overlooked. Fortunately for you, dear listener, our hosts are honor bound to investigate these titles when fate selects them. On the docket for this particular episode is the first-person comedy adventure trilogy designed and crafted by Grace Bruxner....

The second half of our second thirty-two... so basically the fifth sixteen? Are you ready for part deux? Thirty-two games all at once was sixteen too many, so this time we split the field of competitors in half. On this special episode, we have Eric from The Unlockables joining us to tackle the games that we played from episodes 65 to 80 here on 1H1D. Eric's votes are sure to come in handy when To...

Breaking ships in space is hard work and apparently also a game. Tom and Chris take on listener request Dave Jackson from Tales From the Backlog and attempt the “action-adventure” simulation developed by Blackbird Interactive for this episode. After their day jobs, they each must boot up their gaming machine of choice and begin their second shift by chopping up spaceships. Will this game loop make...

This a prequel to a prequel and clearly named ironically. Based on the last couple of picks, the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button must have caught on to Tom's love of alliteration. It also seems to have grown a heart, as this fourth numbered title is actually the first in the timeline of Croteam's first-person shooter franchise. Does this mean that our hosts will get a solid idea of the setting...

One of the D's is Dungeons, but the other isn't Dragons. Trust in the almighty Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button and ye shall be rewarded... apparently. The pick for this episode is the deck-building dungeon-crawler developed by Terry Cavanagh that utilizes the most classic random number generator to determine outcomes of its turn-based encounters. The deck-building portion ensures that the game...

It's time for another thirty-two... but not all at once! Attempting to recap thirty-two games last time nearly broke us, so this time we are using our noggins by preemptively breaking the field in half and doing sixteen at a time. On this special episode, we have Todd from Secret Friends Unite joining us to tackle the games that we played from episodes 49 to 64 here on 1H1D.  Todd may not hav...

It’s the Xbox Live Arcade remake of a retro arcade game. One of the benefits of using the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button to select a game is that it often picks titles that our hosts have never seen. Despite its age, our hosts were not aware of this arcade shooter remake developed by Rare and (if we are being honest) they were not even familiar with the original or its sequels. Going in with...

Our hosts attended college together, but can they manage one? Back in the saddle, the “Surprise Me” button takes the reigns and picks something our hosts definitely would not have picked themselves. On this episode, Tom and Chris have been tasked with playing an hour of the second simulation title developed by Two Point Studios. Unlike the studio’s prior game about running a hospital, this one foc...

Can you break the loop? Are you sure you should? The “Surprise Me” button takes a break this episode as our hosts investigate another listener request. Up for review this time is Arkane Lyon’s first-person shooter about being caught in a time loop. As you may have guessed, this loop is definitely linked to death. More specifically, it resets on the player’s death and can only be broken by assassin...

Explore the wilderness, fight animals, maybe join a cult... Against all odds, Tom has somehow managed to avoid a certain Ubisoft developed first-person shooter franchise in its entirety. Considering the number of entries that exist in this popular franchise, it did seem inevitable that he would be playing one of them eventually and the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has decided that now is th...

If they have hands, are they even really worms? The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has selected the most recent iteration of the classic turn-based artillery game for this episode. Developed by Team17, the franchise has been around since 1995 and has had numerous iterations and spin-offs across a plethora of platforms. Video Games have come a long way in the past two decades, though, so there...

This disease is totally bubonic... and you play as kids. We left the game selection for this episode up to our listeners and they have spoken! The winner of the pole was the action-adventure stealth game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Home Interactive. As the title suggests, it is a game about deadly pathogens and a couple of children who end up caught in the crossfire. Sounds fa...

They once ran through the mud, now it's time for snow. Perhaps you will find it fitting that the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has taken this opportunity to bring us back to the beginning of it all. MudRunner was one of the very first titles we explored on 1H1D and now it is time to take a look at the truck driving simulation sequel developed by Saber Interactive. Will their fond memories of...

Journey into Helheim and avoid sharp objects located there. Numerous individuals have recommended this Ninja Theory developed action-adventure title to Chris, so it is only fitting that the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button followed suit and selected it as the game for this episode. With its Norse mythology based narrative and metaphorical exploration of psychosis, this is sure to be a doozy of...

Feel like taking photos while the world ends around you? When Chris indicated that the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button had selected this title for the next episode, Tom was dubious that the string of syllables he had uttered were in fact a game. Well, it turns out Chris is not a liar and there is indeed a first-person photography game developed by Origame Digital available on Xbox Game Pass wi...