1 Hour 1 Decision (1H1D)

One for all the cat people. Meow Meow Meow.

Is this the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" Button's retribution for Chris hijacking game selection last episode? We shall soon find out as our hosts transform into cats and explore the neighborhood in this third-person adventure title developed and published by Double Dagger Studio. This is the studio's debut title and the objective was to make a casual-friendly game that allowed players to do anything a cat could do. Have they succeeded in this quest? It's time to join Tom and Chris as they talk through their first hour as cuddly cats and learn if they encourage you to do the same!

What do you think? Let us know!
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Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

Our ABC's suggest it comes after D-Day.

Chris gives the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button the boot for this episode as he thumbs the scale and subjects his co-host to the latest entry in a certain popular franchise. Developed by The Coalition and People Can Fly and published by Xbox Game Studios, this third-person shooter rewinds the clock and allows players to experience the events surrounding humanity's first encounters with the horde. Clearly Chris is excited to try it out, but we also know Tom is far less invested. How will their differing expectations impact their individual experiences? Well, each has played for an hour and now time has come for them to decide if they will join the ranks of enlisted. Hit play to find out if this emergence leads to convergence or divergence of their opinions!

What do you think? Let us know!
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Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

A.K.A. The Morose Tale of Graveyard Clem

If the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button picked this game purely by the name of the developer, we wouldn't blame it! Developed by Dinogod and published by Annapurna Interactive, the topic of this episode is a third-person action game that merges mech combat with farming and base building. On paper, it sure sounds like an intriguing combination, but will it prove to be an entertaining one? It's got a cool sounding title and we know our boys enjoy mechs, so they at least entered with optimism. When the hour was up, did they want to keep fighting or were they eager to eject? Either way, let's join Tom and Chris as they start down the road toward 300 more episodes!

What do you think? Let us know!
Check out all our links here:
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Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

Put monsters in your pockets.

It's our three hundredth episode! Has that milestone impacted the selection of the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button? Well, 300 is double the number of creatures in the initial entry of the world's most popular monster catching franchise. But this is Game Pass, so the button obviously couldn't pick anything in that franchise... but it could pick a similar but legally-distinct creature-catching RPG! Developed and published by Pawprint Studio, players of this free-to-play open-world title are transported to the vast continent of Idyll, where they'll meet and bond with the games titular creatures and embark on a journey of discovery. Will the story and core mechanics prove compelling enough to capture our hosts, or will they break free and run off like startled critters? Hit play on this epic episode to find out!

What do you think? Let us know!
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Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

Who dwells in a well under the ground? This bird, Glimmer!

It is time to give the "Surprise Me" button another break as we entertain our guest's game selection! Developed by Kyle Thompson and published by Top Hat Studios, this side-scrolling adventure game builds on lessons learned from Crypt Custodian. The developer's self-professed love of metroidvanias is in full display here, as players pilot a little bird on a big quest of survival. In dark fairytale world where birds are hunted to near extinction by a cruel queen, our hosts will need to master multiple mechanics to navigate a growing labyrinth and complete objectives to secure their family's future. Will the art, music, and gameplay coalesce into something they recommend you experience for yourself? With three votes to cast, we can be certain it won't be a tie!

Want to hear more from our guest?
Listen to Pages of Play: https://pca.st/ki4lga4i
Follow Erik on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dovetail.bsky.social

What do you think? Let us know!
Check out all our links here:
https://linktr.ee/tc1h1d

Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

Does he bend or clink?

The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has picked another indie title for this episode. Developed and published by Scotland-based Stormcloud Games, this platformer has players building the literal platforms they need to proceed. The protagonist is a retro robot named UM-13 that's definitely not an orange reskin of a similar robot from another animated IP. Suffice to say, Tom and Chris had not heard of this game before it was chosen, and we're guessing you haven't either. At this point, our dynamic duo have each spent an hour solving puzzles and platforming their way through levels styled after graphic novels and they are ready to give you their (comic)book report. Will they decide it is a hidden gem or a pile of scrap that's not even worth the salvage? Hit play to find out!

What do you think? Let us know!
Check out all our links here:
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Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

It's time to get to work!

When it comes to our show, the job of the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button is to pick a title, and then our hosts must do their job of playing for an hour and reporting back on the experience. Perhaps our cyber companion was feeling a bit meta, because it has chosen one of those job simulators for this episode, specifically the Japanese convenience store simulation developed by Nagai Industries and published by Beep Japan Inc. Tom and Chris are thus honor-bound to spend an hour stocking shelves and assisting customers in a virtual space inspired by 90's era Japan. Will this elicit fond memories or uncover trauma for Tom, who spent many years working a retail counter? How about Chris, who has distinctly less emotional baggage in this area? Either way, will this be a fun experience worthy of your time? Our clerks have punched in and are ready to share stories from their shifts. Let's hear how it went!

What do you think? Let us know!
Check out all our links here:
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Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

It's not on Game Pass, so it doesn't count!

We haven't done a bonus episode in a while, but for a turn-based tactical Star Wars game, both of our hosts are willing to make an exception. Developed by Bit Reactor in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, this title has been on the radar for both Tom and Chris for different reasons. For Tom, the Star Wars license makes playing this game inevitable. For Chris, combining the skills of X-COM developers with Respawn Entertainment makes this attention-worthy. So they both wanted to try it, but it wasn't on Game Pass, and neither wanted to waste "good content" so here we are! If you're a Game Pass diehard, we didn't number it so you can skip this one... at least until it turns up on the service sometime in the future!

What do you think? Let us know!
Check out all our links here:
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Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

It's the abbreviation for Professional Bowlers Association.

The Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has indeed surprised our two hosts with an obscure sports title. Ages ago it exposed them to the video game version of cricket and now it has selected this skill-driven bowling simulation developed and published by FarSight Studios. Simulating sports via video games has always felt like a strange choice to Tom, but he's also known to enjoy time at the lanes, so maybe those will just cancel each other out and allow him to approach his hour with an open mind. We have to acknowledge that Nintendo brought bowling into countless households two decades ago, but this title is certainly more serious and thankfully a whole lot less likely to cause you to accidentally break your television. That said, will it make you want to throw your controller on purpose instead? Tom and Chris have taken all the risks, so now you just sit back and reap the reward!

What do you think? Let us know!
Check out all our links here:
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Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)

It sounds better than baby boomer babies too.

In a surprise twist, the Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button has returned! It will come as no surprise that it seized control of game selection immediately upon its resurrection, so Tom and Chris must either thank or blame their longtime partner in crime for its choice of this sci-fi turn-based deck-building role-player from Cococucumber. Now that's a lot of hyphenated terms, so this sequel that's a prequel better demonstrate all those elements as our hosts collect cards and take turns dishing damage in a retro RPG. It turns out this team has plenty of experience with voxel-based games, but this will be Tom's first foray into their library, so he'll be entering empty of expectations. How will that compare with Chris and any baggage he's carrying from his time with the first in the franchise? Hit play and you'll discover if it was worth their time and yours!

What do you think? Let us know!
Check out all our links here:
https://linktr.ee/tc1h1d

Thanks for taking this ride with us :-)