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Following the latest cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has calmed down. While it might not be considered the absolute best deal in gaming now, the platform has introduced several high-profile launch day games recently, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those titles further enrich a vast collection of hundreds games perfect for weekend gaming binges.

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

Resistance: Sniper Elite

From time to time, everyone needs a little release. Over two decades, the Sniper Elite franchise has delivered exactly that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter line offers players intensely graphic carnage targeting enemy targets. Recently, Rebellion launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the franchise. While it doesn't revolutionize the gameplay, Resistance remains a polished dose of immersive sim World War II open environments packed with enemy targets. The sniping is as brutal and satisfying as always, featuring the game's signature killcam showing every bullet's impact in gory, explicit detail. It's a bloody excitement for every peace-lover looking to unwind in the security of a virtual world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning narrative touching on life after a pandemic life, family pain, and much more. It examines these themes through a sci-fi lens; you play as Watcher, one of several clones of Iris, the only survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out human life. Watcher and her fellow clones explore Iris's recollections from the time Earth was beset by that terrible plague, along with experiences of her education and family life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher learns Iris isn't what she appears, and the plot unfolds from there. Should 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

Yes, finishing a gazillion-hour RPG in only nine days is a challenging task, but if there's any game worth trying the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's HD-2D gem is leaving Game Pass at the close of the month (as is the first game, which is also included). But, due to a break in the midst, at least for players in the U.S., it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight protagonists, each embodying a distinct genre. You'll find a procedural tale about a priest investigating the death of his cathedral's head priest. A merchant aiming to solve destitution through the force of capitalism stars in a frontier-inspired narrative. There's even a enigma about an apothecary with amnesia (since every good RPGs require a character with an unknown background, of course). A few of these stories connect in unexpected, intriguing ways, while you progress through a gorgeous 19th-century themed setting. And the combat is superb — “number go up” distilled to its essence.