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 may be familiar with Keita Takahashi, most famous for creating and designing the Katamari Damacy series. If you are indeed familiar with that quirky franchise, you can start to make some fairly accurate assumptions of the art style and tone of this game. If not, just know you are in for something unlike most other things you've played. Will Tom and Chris appreciate this sojourn into the silly? Will it have meaty mechanics that keep them clamoring for more after the first hour is up? Time to take this title for a spin and see if it takes off!

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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 mix that with Metroidvania elements, you may start to form an idea of what playing this game could be like. Fortunately for you, Tom and Chris have each dedicated an hour of their busy schedules to do some real reconnaissance on this wild world and are ready to determine if this interstellar investigation warrants increased investment. Join our duo as they discuss and find out if this savage planet is worth your time!

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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 these terrific terrapins since he was six years old and while his investment in the franchise has waxed and waned over the last 35 years, his love for these radical reptiles never ninja-vanished. With that all in mind, his expectations might be running a bit too high for this video game follow-up to the 2023 film. Will the developers deliver something hot and cheesy or would you be better off warming up some DiGiorno? How many more pizza puns will Chris have to endure during this review? We will find out momentarily, won't we?

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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 ports and remasters), this remaster takes a twenty year old action RPG and gives it a major facelift through the use of Unreal Engine 5. Can you believe that Chris never played the original? Did you know that Tom played his fair share, but never started the main quest? Well, thanks to our special guest, both of these tragic failings are about to be remedied. Let's find out if anyone regrets their past decisions as they lock in their final ones!

Follow Rick on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pixelprojectradio.bsky.social
Pixel Project Radio's links: https://linktr.ee/pixelprojectradio

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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 stylized title has to offer. With themes drawn from Cormack McCarthy's The Road, and combat mechanics inspired by Dark Souls, a vision of the experience starts coming into focus. But what happens when they picked up their controllers and that vision met with reality? Each host has invested an hour and now they meet to briefly discuss their findings. Will they agree to keep playing after the hour is up? Hit play to hear their decisions!

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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 we kids sure loved it. It's safe to say that video games have come a long way in the last three decades, so it will be interesting to see if this latest entry can capture the magic of those early years while still delivering something fresh and exciting. Giving the doomguy a shield seems like it will help shake it up, but how far can you bend core game mechanics before they break? Well, Tom and Chris have each invested an hour in Hell and subsequently emerged to tell their tales... let's learn if you should dive in to this pit or just keep on scrolling.

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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 only published work, but fear not, these developers have plenty of experience elsewhere with interactive fiction. Will they be able to leverage their prior body of work to craft a compelling indie experience? The studio's aim is make rich narrative games accessible to everyone, especially those who don't already know the joy of playing video games. Will they succeed in that quest? Will our hosts emerge from the mandated hour ready to recommend this to their whole family? Join Tom and Chris as they sit down and discuss if this dusk leads to a new dawn.

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Zero to hero in no time flat.

We return now to the tried and true Xbox Game Pass "Surprise Me" button and the result is this third-person action adventure title developed by Ubisoft Quebec. Published by Ubisoft and developed using their proprietary Ubisoft Anvil engine, this game was released on just about every platform imaginable. From the same team that brought us Assassin's Creed Odyssey, this foray is decidedly more fantastical, diving head first into the myths and legends of those ancient times. Will mixing the standard Ubisoft formula with a more colorful animated presentation lead to an engaging experience? Or will fatigue with open-world collect-a-thons serve as its death sentence? Join our hosts as they spend an hour with Zeus and Prometheus to learn if these two gods bicker more than our own dynamic duo!

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