🔗 Share this article

After the latest price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has subsided. While it might not be considered the top offer in gaming anymore, the platform has introduced a number of high-profile day-one games lately, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those additions further enrich a vast collection of numerous games perfect for weekend gaming binges.

This week's recommendations include a therapeutic action game, an prize-winning independent masterpiece, and a must-play HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, everyone needs a little catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has delivered precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter line presents players ultraviolent mayhem against enemy targets. Recently, Rebellion launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the franchise. Although it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance remains a well-constructed serving of simulation World War II open environments filled with Nazi targets. The long-range combat is as visceral and gratifying as ever, with the series' trademark killcam displaying each shot's impact in graphic, explicit clarity. It's a bloody excitement for any pacifist wanting to let off steam in the safety of a virtual space.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an critically acclaimed story touching on post-pandemic life, generational trauma, and other deep themes. It approaches these themes through a sci-fi lens; you play as Watcher, a member of multiple clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out human life. Watcher and her sister clones delve into Iris's memories from the time Earth was beset by that terrible disease, as well as memories of her education and family life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher learns Iris isn't all that she seems, and the story develops from that point. If all that intrigue isn't enough to grab your interest, the game does start with a murder. What could be a more gripping opening than that?

Octopath Traveler II

Yes, completing a extremely long RPG in just over a week is a tall order, but if there's any game worth trying the effort for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking masterpiece is leaving Game Pass at the end of November (along with the original game, also available). However, due to a holiday in the middle, at least for those in the U.S., it's theoretically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows 8 protagonists, each embodying a different genre. You'll find a procedural tale about a cleric investigating the murder of his church's head priest. A trader aiming to eradicate destitution through the force of commerce stars in a frontier-inspired adventure. Additionally, there's a mystery about an apothecary with amnesia (because every good RPGs need a hero with an unknown background, naturally). A few of these stories intertwine in surprising, intriguing ways, as you play through a stunning Industrial Revolution themed world. And the battle system is excellent — “number go up” distilled to its essence.