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After the recent price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has subsided. While it may not be considered the absolute best offer in gaming anymore, the service has introduced several big-name launch day games lately, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These additions only enhance a massive collection of hundreds games ideal for weekend marathon sessions.

This week's recommendations feature a cathartic action game, an award-winning independent masterpiece, and a must-play HD-2D RPG.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

From time to time, we all require a little release. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite series has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series offers players intensely graphic carnage against Nazi targets. This year, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed addition to the series. Although it doesn't reinvent the gameplay, Resistance remains a well-constructed serving of immersive sim World War II sandboxes filled with enemy targets. The sniping is as visceral and satisfying as always, with the game's signature killcam displaying every bullet's effect in gory, testicle-crunching clarity. It's a bloody excitement for any pacifist looking to unwind in the security of a virtual space.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an critically acclaimed narrative exploring life after a pandemic existence, generational pain, and much more. It approaches these subjects through a science fiction perspective; you assume the role of Watcher, a member of multiple clones of Iris, the only survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out human life. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's memories from when Earth was beset by that terrible disease, along with experiences of her school and home life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher discovers Iris is not all that she seems, and the plot unfolds from there. Should all that intrigue fails to grab your interest, the game does begin with a murder. What could be a more gripping opening than this?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in only nine days is a tall order, but if any game worth trying the effort 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, also available). However, with a break in the middle, at least for players in the U.S., it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 features eight characters, every one embodying a different genre. There's a investigative story about a cleric looking into the death of his cathedral's archbishop. A trader aiming to eradicate poverty through the power of commerce stars in a frontier-inspired narrative. Additionally, there's a enigma about an apothecary with amnesia (because all great RPGs require a hero with an mysterious past, naturally). Some of these plots intertwine in surprising, intriguing ways, as you play through a stunning 19th-century themed setting. And the battle system is superb — “number go up” boiled to its essence.