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Following the latest price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has subsided. Although it might not be considered the absolute best offer in gaming anymore, the service has introduced several high-profile day-one releases recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These titles only enhance a vast collection of numerous games perfect for weekend-long gaming binges.

This week's recommendations feature a cathartic action game, an prize-winning indie masterpiece, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, we all require a little release. Over two decades, the Sniper Elite franchise has delivered precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series offers players ultraviolent carnage against Nazi targets. This year, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the franchise. Although it doesn't revolutionize the formula, Resistance is a well-constructed serving of simulation World War II sandboxes packed with Nazi objectives. The sniping is as visceral and satisfying as always, with the series' trademark killcam showing every bullet's impact in gory, explicit detail. It's a bloody excitement for any peace-lover looking to unwind in the safety of a digital space.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning story touching on post-pandemic life, family pain, and much more. It approaches these subjects through a science fiction lens; you play as Watcher, one of multiple clones of Iris, the only person left of a global outbreak that eradicated humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones explore Iris's recollections from the time Earth was ravaged by that horrific plague, along with memories of her education and family life, neither of which were easy for a teenager. Watcher learns Iris isn't what she appears, and the story unfolds from that point. If all that intrigue isn't enough to grab your interest, the game indeed begin with a killing. What could be a more gripping opening than that?

Octopath Traveler 2

Admittedly, completing a extremely long RPG in only nine days is a challenging task, but if there's any game worth attempting the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking masterpiece is departing Game Pass at the end of November (as is the first game, which is also included). But, with a break in the middle, at least for those in the U.S., it's technically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight characters, every one embodying a distinct story style. You'll find a investigative story about a cleric looking into the death of his cathedral's head priest. A trader striving to eradicate poverty through the force of capitalism headlines a western-themed adventure. There's even a mystery about an apothecary with amnesia (because all great RPGs need a character with an unknown past, of course). Some of these plots connect in unexpected, fascinating ways, while you progress through a gorgeous 19th-century themed setting. And the combat is excellent — “number go up” boiled to its purest form.