🔗 Share this article

After the recent cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has calmed down. While it might not be seen as the top deal in gaming now, the platform has introduced several high-profile launch day releases lately, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These titles further enrich a vast library of hundreds games perfect for weekend-long gaming binges.

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

Sniper Elite: Resistance

Every so often, everyone needs a little catharsis. Over two decades, the Sniper Elite series has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series presents players intensely graphic carnage targeting enemy targets. This year, Rebellion launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed addition to the series. While it doesn't revolutionize the formula, Resistance remains a polished dose of immersive sim World War II sandboxes packed with enemy targets. The sniping is as brutal and gratifying as always, featuring the series' trademark killcam displaying every bullet's effect in graphic, testicle-crunching clarity. It's a bloody excitement for any pacifist looking to unwind in the safety of a digital space.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist presents an award-winning story exploring post-pandemic existence, family trauma, and much more. It approaches these subjects through a science fiction lens; you assume the role of Watcher, a member of multiple clones of Iris, the only survivor of a pandemic that eradicated humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's recollections from when Earth was ravaged by that terrible plague, along with experiences of her education and family life, neither of which were easy for a teenager. Watcher learns Iris is not what she appears, and the story unfolds from that point. Should all that intrigue fails to grab your interest, the game indeed begin with a murder. What could be a more gripping opening than this?

Octopath Traveler 2

Admittedly, finishing a gazillion-hour RPG in only over a week is a tall order, but if there's any game deserving trying the grind 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, also available). But, with a break in the middle, at least for those in the States, it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight characters, every one embodying a different story style. You'll find a investigative story about a priest looking into the death of his church's archbishop. A trader striving to eradicate destitution through the power of commerce stars in a frontier-inspired adventure. There's even a enigma about an herbalist with amnesia (since every good RPGs require a character with an mysterious past, naturally). Some of these stories connect in unexpected, fascinating ways, while you progress through a gorgeous 19th-century themed setting. And the combat is excellent — stat-focused gameplay boiled to its purest form.