The "Surprise Me" Button hears Tom’s prayer. Tom has been quite curious about this role-playing game developed by Bytten Studio and, to his delight, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” Button has seen fit to choose it as the subject of this episode. Unapologetically inspired by the Pokemon video game series, the gameplay focuses on monster collection and turn-based battles. In the interest of changing things up and differentiating itself from the family-friendly franchise, however, this game sets i...
Jul 06, 2023•28 min•Ep. 129
What's better than an interview? Make it two for one! In this special episode of 1 Hour 1 Decision, Tom and Chris interview Marie Marquet & Romain Claude, Creative Directors and co-founders of Splashteam. If their studio isn't familiar to you, these are the folks that created the innovative puzzle-platformer Tinykin reviewed in episode # 103. Tom and Chris will now take their standard review format and use it to learn all about these two designers and their French indie studio. Join us for this ...
Jul 02, 2023•26 min
It’s French, so it’s only natural that you butcher the pronunciation. Hot off the press, this episode focuses on the new adventure game developed by Umanimation and published by Focus Home Interactive. The narrative centers on the main character’s childhood memories of the titular region of France and is depicted through hand-painted watercolor landscapes. The style evokes the works of whimsical creatives like Hayao Miyazaki, and our hosts will need to investigate and report back if their hour-l...
Jun 29, 2023•24 min•Ep. 128
It’s running and falling, but with shadows and dragons. For a change of pace, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has selected the tactical role-playing game developed by Harebrained Schemes for this episode. If the title did not give it away, this game is set within the Shadowrun universe, which is actually best known as the setting of the long-running cyberpunk tabletop RPG. As a single-player game, will this console RPG be able to capture that tabletop experience? Will a single hour be en...
Jun 22, 2023•24 min•Ep. 127
How do you hog-tie a slime? When your games are selected randomly, it’s inevitable that you will encounter some interesting picks. For this episode, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has decided that our hosts will be trying out the first-person vacuum-shooter developed and published by indie studio Monomi Park. The game centers on Beatrix LeBeau as she rolls up her sleeves and gets back to ranching slimes. Apparently she was successful in the first game, but our hosts honestly wouldn’t kn...
Jun 15, 2023•22 min•Ep. 126
Allegedly, you gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket. The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has spoken. Despite its name and the fact that it was developed by Big Ant Studios, this title has nothing to do with insects. If you live outside the United States, you may already be familiar with the sport, but rest assured that our two hosts are completely clueless on the matter. The absolute worst Ninja Turtle, which coincidentally is also Chris's favorite, once famously said that "Nob...
Jun 08, 2023•22 min•Ep. 125
Who put all this lore in our sandbox? Developed by Mojang Studios in conjunction with Blackbird Interactive, a hybrid action strategy game set in a familiar voxel world is the subject of this episode. While the concept continues to feel unique, the truth is that both of our hosts have played a few similar hybrid strategy games in their day. How will this game measure up to those fond memories? One key difference that is sure to impact their decision making is that Tom and Chris have embarked on ...
Jun 01, 2023•25 min•Ep. 124
Wait, aren’t Hibiscus and Butterfly varieties of tea? After a rapid burst of shooters, the Xbox Games Pass “Surprise Me” Button has decided to give our hosts a break, replacing fast paced gunplay with casual conversation and coffee construction. In this visual novel title developed by Toge Productions and published by Chorus Worldwide Games, the action is making drinks for a variety of fantastical characters in an alternate reality version of Seattle. With a title that screams it's a sequel, wil...
May 25, 2023•21 min•Ep. 123
The 1 must be for the war, ‘cause this is hardly the first Battlefield. The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button is on a roll and has our hosts playing another first-person shooter this episode. Instead of a fictious depiction of WWII, however, this game developed by DICE focuses on a far more realistic version of the first world war. With a multitude of stories strung together into an anthology of sorts, this game’s campaign is decidedly different than most. Beyond that, the game also hosts a mu...
May 18, 2023•22 min•Ep. 122
Take a spin with this spin-off of the franchise that spawned a genre! The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has taken the reins once again, and this time it has directed our dynamic duo to tackle a first-person shooter developed by MachineGames and Arkane Studios. It seems only fair for expectations to run a bit high when you consider that the original Wolfenstein effectively created the first-person shooter genre. That said, this much more recent title has already been out for a few years and...
May 11, 2023•23 min•Ep. 121
Is mixing Lovecraft together with anything a good idea? Our hosts are back at it with a special request! To make it even MORE special, this one is exclusive to the Xbox Series X/S! That should be enough to intrigue most, but if you are not yet convinced, know that this episode focuses on the “fantastical Lovecraftian Metroidvania” developed by Plot Twist and published by Rogue Games Inc. It promises to be full of mystery and cosmic horror as players traverse a curious mansion with their demonic ...
May 04, 2023•31 min•Ep. 120
Is it possible to make a single-player MMO? The Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has selected the massive asynchronous multiplayer title developed by Team WIBY and published by Devolver Digital for this episode. Asynchronous multiplayer is a pretty fancy way to say that the game is played solo, but the presence of other players is felt throughout the experience. For reference, think about doing a time trial against a "ghost" in your favorite racing game and then imagine there were a bunch of ...
Apr 27, 2023•24 min•Ep. 119
We promise to give a final decision [insert game title here]. This episode is about the hexagonal city-builder developed by Balancing Monkey Games. Never heard of the studio? Neither had our hosts… but this New Zealand based team is on a mission to make peaceful, inclusive games and this here is their debut. As you may have noticed, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has a tendency to task our hosts with investigating these seemingly niche titles and that is certainly part of the fun. For t...
Apr 20, 2023•23 min•Ep. 118
Whoa-oh, here she comes! For this episode, our usual duo is joined by the trio from Play Along Podcast to discuss a certain shark-centric action game developed and published by Tripwire Interactive. With oh-so-many delicious(?) hosts in the water, this one is sure to be a feeding frenzy of opinions! Tom and Chris are forever hooked to their one-hour time limit, but our three guests have been set free of this restriction. How will this extra time impact their final decisions? Join us for a dip an...
Apr 13, 2023•31 min•Ep. 117
Our hosts spend an hour... speaking with a game designer! In this special episode of 1 Hour 1 Decision, Tom and Chris take some time to interview Christopher Chancey, President & CEO of ManaVoid Entertainment. If you are a fan of this show, you will recognize ManaVoid as the company behind Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan, which we covered on episode # 109. Join our hosts as they flip their script and use their usual format to learn all about this Canadian game designer. Can he explain ...
Apr 09, 2023•55 min
This show gets lost there all the time! In a fitting move, the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has randomly selected this aptly titled third-person action-adventure game. As the final game developed by Zoink before it was absorbed into Thunderful Development, this title has some decidedly indie sensibilities, including both literal dice rolls and card mechanics integrated into its otherwise action-style combat. Considering his appreciation of physical board games and his general aversion to ...
Apr 06, 2023•22 min•Ep. 116
This is a popular title for several unrelated fantasy novels. With the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button to guide them, our hosts are once again faced with something truly random. This time, the title selected is the 2D action-RPG developed by Megusta Games. With a heavy focus on combat mechanics, one might be inclined to compare this with other games that also have “souls” in their names… but this game is decidedly more indie, brought to life by a passionate individual. Will this singular vis...
Mar 30, 2023•23 min•Ep. 115
Why romance one kingdom when you can romance three? Our listeners have spoken and decided via poll that this episode will center on the action-role playing video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo. The story may be centuries old, but this game is incredibly fresh. Available on just about everything, our hosts have booted up their PC and Xbox respectively and sat down to play an hour of this title through their Game Pass subscriptions. Will this day one release deliver on th...
Mar 24, 2023•28 min•Ep. 114
Allegedly it stands for Gunslinger Of REsurrection. When you see that the title includes a forced acronym and hear that the protagonist’s full name is “Beyond the Grave” some eyebrows are justifiably raised. Nevertheless, Tom and Chris are honor bound to heed listener Adam's (from Revival and Extinction Pod) request and thus this episode focuses on the third-person action shooter developed by IGGYMOB. With a protagonist designed by acclaimed manga artist Yasuhiro Nightow (of Trigun fame) and a f...
Mar 16, 2023•24 min•Ep. 113
Apparently, it’s the French word for rabbit. The tried-and-true Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button is in control and has selected the so-fresh-it’s-not-technically-done indie platformer created by Studio Doodal for this episode. Information on this indie developer is particularly sparce but it appears they plan to specialize in creating story-driven games with compelling background lore. Will this narrative focus complement the precision platforming, or will it prove distracting? Is it even fai...
Mar 09, 2023•22 min•Ep. 112
Are you an innocent villager or a vile conspirator? The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has selected the murder mystery social deduction game from German indie developer VestGames as the subject of this episode. In this online game, players are assigned a random role as either a villager or a conspirator and then must work to eliminate the other group. The game is full of hidden information, so investigation and deduction are the main thrusts of the gameplay. With just an hour on the clock t...
Mar 02, 2023•21 min•Ep. 111
Inspired by 90’s JRPGs, one man decided to make his own. Once again, game selection was left to our listeners and the result of that poll was this turn-based, 16-bit-style RPG developed by Matthias Linda. It turns out that if you exclude some of the backgrounds and the music, basically everything else was done by this one individual. His intent was to capture the feelings of playing those games back in the 90’s and reviews suggest that he was successful in the attempt. After some time on other p...
Feb 23, 2023•27 min•Ep. 110
Wait what the? This isn't a random game...but it IS a game on Game Pass! We've got a fresh hot take on a game that dropped just over a month ago! Chris has been loving Hi-Fi Rush and had to share his thoughts on it. Check it out! 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 Follow us on Goodpods @1h1d Check out our fancy site: https://quitthebuild.com/1h1d Thanks for taking this ride with us :-...
Feb 22, 2023•6 min
It's time to bring the color back to this monochrome world. This game may have lost the poll, but the Xbox Game Pass “Surprise Me” button has declared that our hosts will be playing it anyway! Developed by Quebec-based ManaVoid Entertainment, this indie adventure title is chock full of RPG elements, including a host of collectable allies and a turned-based “battle” system. You play as the titular Billy and you are set on a quest to restore color to the world and undo the curse of a particularly ...
Feb 16, 2023•22 min•Ep. 109
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 title, but with both solid critical reviews and a lineage that traces back to the Resident Evil serie...
Feb 09, 2023•25 min•Ep. 108
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 surprised to learn that despite his self-professed love of monsters, Tom has curiously avoided this e...
Feb 02, 2023•29 min•Ep. 107
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 especially for the mouse and keyboard, how will this console RTS feel on the Xbox controller? Also of inte...
Jan 26, 2023•26 min•Ep. 106
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 after the original had hit store shelves. With such a short development cycle, could they possibly c...
Jan 19, 2023•28 min•Ep. 105
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 know where the studio got its name. To be honest, that's basically all we know about this title, as i...
Jan 12, 2023•24 min•Ep. 104
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 ultimately return home. Will the game’s 2D characters traversing a 3D environment end up being a bles...
Jan 05, 2023•22 min•Ep. 103
