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... but we have stolen their format and made them the judges as Tom and Chris each champion one of th...
Dec 29, 2022•46 min
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-built zoo. Unlike those games, this title also has you breeding rare creatures and, when that’s not en...
Dec 22, 2022•24 min•Ep. 102
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 generated and traversal is left to the player’s discretion, so no two players will have the exact same exp...
Dec 15, 2022•18 min•Ep. 101
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 possible as endless waves of non-vampire enemies fill the screen. It’s a bullet hell game, but the enemies ...
Dec 08, 2022•23 min•Ep. 100
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. Broken up into a series of cases, the player takes on the role of an aptly named amphibious gumshoe...
Dec 01, 2022•21 min•Ep. 99
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 Tom and Chris need a tie breaker... and it seems likely that will happen quite a bit! Which game will ...
Nov 24, 2022•47 min
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 for a fun experience, or will it end up feeling more like a literal second job? Unlike their indent...
Nov 18, 2022•24 min•Ep. 98
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 and characters before being thrust into the action? Spoiler Warning: considering the chaotic nature...
Nov 10, 2022•22 min•Ep. 97
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-loop is more complicated than just some six-sided dice rolls, but the premise stays pretty simple. ...
Nov 03, 2022•27 min•Ep. 96
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 have played them all, but his votes will break all the ties and keep this tournament moving! Which game...
Oct 27, 2022•39 min
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 a completely clean slate, how will our hosts feel about the game loop? Will it prove fun enough for ...
Oct 20, 2022•23 min•Ep. 95
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 focuses instead on a college campus. While our hosts have some experience with one of those, they defin...
Oct 13, 2022•23 min•Ep. 94
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 assassinating a set of key characters before the day is done. How exactly this is accomplished is left to th...
Oct 06, 2022•25 min•Ep. 93
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 the time. In classic 1H1D fashion, the game selected is obviously not the first in the series, but all...
Sep 29, 2022•25 min•Ep. 92
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 are some questions that need answering. Will this incarnation capture the nostalgia our hosts have ...
Sep 22, 2022•25 min•Ep. 91
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 familiar, right? Well, it was released in 2019, so perhaps it was accidentally foreshadowing events to...
Sep 15, 2022•22 min•Ep. 90
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 MudRunner taint their reaction to this title or will Tom and Chris find the game loop genuinely imp...
Sep 08, 2022•26 min•Ep. 89
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 an experience. Will Tom and Chris find themselves fully immersed in Senua's journey? If so, will the...
Sep 01, 2022•25 min•Ep. 88
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 with that very title. In this simulation style game, the objective is to complete a series of “bountie...
Aug 25, 2022•18 min•Ep. 87
When you enjoy cleaning so much that you do it for fun! For this episode, our hosts have been tasked with checking out a first-person simulation title developed by FuturLab and published by Square Enix Collective. This is definitely the kind of game that would generate a cult following, so it makes a certain amount of sense that our listeners would request that Tom and Chris take a crack at it. Will cleaning buildings really feel that satisfying? Will their experience running a virtual power was...
Aug 18, 2022•23 min•Ep. 86
It’s a place of torment, but is that figurative or literal? Once again the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button is in control of game selection and for this episode it has chosen the battle royale title developed by 24 Entertainment and published by NetEase Games Montreal. With over eighty games reviewed here at 1H1D, we were due for an entry in this increasingly popular genre and it is fitting that this one happens to be a new addition to the Game Pass lineup. With its focus on massive online mu...
Aug 11, 2022•25 min•Ep. 85
We wouldn't recommend getting near one, never mind sitting on one. When it's not picking Annapurna games, we can trust the ole "Surprise Me" button to pick a roguelike instead. For this episode, it has selected the top-down twin-stick shooter roguelike developed and published by Vlambeer. With an expanding roster of playable characters and a multitude of weapons and mutations to locate through play, the real question will be if the core mechanics are fun enough to keep our hosts fully engaged fo...
Aug 04, 2022•21 min•Ep. 84
We get this one and Outer Worlds mixed up a lot. The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button sure does like to pick games published by Annapurna Interactive. This one is the first-person adventure game developed by Mobius Digital where you play as an explorer traveling through your solar system to learn secrets of an ancient alien race and discover why they mysteriously disappeared. With a focus on exploration and a mechanic where your character retains all knowledge upon their death, this game seem...
Jul 28, 2022•21 min•Ep. 83
Pick one of the eight starting characters and then start traveling. In this role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Acquire, the first choice you must make is which story you'd like to hear. With eight different characters to choose, what are the odds that both our hosts pick the same one? Don't worry, that's a rhetorical question, we don't need you to figure out the percentage. With the "HD-2D" twist on classic sprite-based RPGs of yesteryear, this title walks the line of something that ...
Jul 22, 2022•29 min•Ep. 82
The title is a made-up word, which explains why you don't know it. Play enough games on Xbox Game Pass and you will surely find something unlike anything you have ever played before. If you doubt the veracity of this statement, simply check out this puzzle game developed by Jason Roberts and published by Annapurna Interactive. It plays like an interactive graphic novel, but it is curiously devoid of words. In addition, advancing the plot requires solving a series of puzzles that live on a two-by...
Jul 14, 2022•20 min•Ep. 81
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge multiple spinning blades of death... right? This title is listed as an action puzzle game and that seems pretty appropriate. Developed by Terri, Dose, Kitty, and JW, this is just one of many quirky indie titles published by Devolver Digital. The premise is fairly simple, your objective is to dodge an endless array of different spinning discs long enough to unlock access to additional rooms. Death is a constant, inevitable companion and a necessary compone...
Jul 07, 2022•21 min•Ep. 80
When your Skyrim mod is so involved that it just becomes its own game. Who doesn't love a good mystery? Well, truthfully the inhabitants of this idyllic Roman city aren't big fans, but they do have a compelling reason. You see, if any citizen commits a sin in their little paradise, the whole town pays with their lives. Your job is to travel back in time to figure out who dunnit... but unlike Clue, you wanna solve this crime before it actually happens. Yeah, we agree it is pretty trippy, but the ...
Jun 30, 2022•25 min•Ep. 79
It has nothing to do with Australia or a medical procedure. Uh oh! It looks like our hosts are back to playing roguelikes again! For this episode, our duo has been tasked with playing an action RPG variant developed by Aggro Crab and published by Team17. Will this title's focus on humor and its bright color palette set it apart from the many other roguelikes they have already encountered? Will a plot focusing on an unpaid intern forced to battle the ghosts of failed startups resonate with our pl...
Jun 23, 2022•18 min•Ep. 78
Imagine if The Sims had a wartime expansion… Instead of focusing on the front-line combatants, this war survival game developed and published by 11 bit studios focuses on the civilian experience. Hunger and sleep deprivation are your biggest threats in a city torn apart by conflict that asks the player to manage their homebase during the day and go out foraging for supplies when night falls. This one is definitely a departure from most of the other games this show has tackled on Xbox Game Pass, ...
Jun 16, 2022•22 min•Ep. 77
Wait a minute, this isn't just ONE game on Xbox GamePass but MANY games! Chris is joined by friends of the show Eric from the Game Positive podcast and Nave from Gaming Together podcast. Check out their reactions as Xbox shows off all the stuff coming out throughout 2022, 2023, and beyond! What do you think? Let us know! Hit us up on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tc1h1d Drop us an email at tc.1h1d(at)outlook[dot]com Check out our fancy site: https://quitthebuild.com/1h1d Check out E...
Jun 13, 2022•2 hr 50 min
