🔗 Share this article

After the recent price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial uproar has calmed down. While it may not be considered the absolute best deal in gaming anymore, the service has introduced several big-name launch day releases recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These additions only enhance a vast collection of hundreds games perfect for weekend-long marathon sessions.

This week's recommendations include a cathartic action game, an prize-winning indie gem, and a must-play HD-2D RPG.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

From time to time, everyone needs a little release. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter series offers players intensely graphic carnage targeting Nazi targets. This year, Rebellion released Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the franchise. While it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance remains a polished serving of simulation World War II sandboxes packed with enemy objectives. The sniping is as brutal and gratifying as always, with the series' trademark killcam showing every bullet's impact in graphic, testicle-crunching clarity. It's a violent thrill for every peace-lover looking to let off steam in the safety of a digital world.

1000xResist

1000xResist presents an award-winning narrative touching on post-pandemic existence, generational pain, and much more. It examines these themes through a sci-fi lens; you assume the role of Watcher, a member of several clones of Iris, the sole person left of a pandemic that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's recollections from the time Earth was ravaged by that horrific disease, as well as experiences of her education and home life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher learns Iris is not what she appears, and the story develops from there. Should all that mystery isn't enough to hook you, the game indeed begin with a murder. What could be a more gripping start than that?

Octopath Traveler 2

Yes, completing a extremely long RPG in just over a week is a tall order, but if any game worth attempting the effort for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking gem is departing Game Pass at the end of November (along with the first game, which is also included). But, with a break in the midst, at least for players in the U.S., it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows 8 characters, every one representing a distinct story style. You'll find a investigative story about a cleric investigating the murder of his cathedral's archbishop. A trader striving to solve destitution through the force of commerce headlines a frontier-inspired narrative. There's even a mystery about an herbalist with amnesia (since all great RPGs need a hero with an unknown past, of course). Some of these plots intertwine in surprising, fascinating ways, while you progress through a gorgeous 19th-century inspired setting. And the battle system is excellent — stat-focused gameplay boiled to its purest form.