🔗 Share this article

Following the recent price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial commotion has calmed down. While it may not be considered the absolute best offer in gaming now, the service has welcomed a number of high-profile launch day releases lately, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These titles further enrich a massive collection of numerous games perfect for weekend gaming binges.

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

Sniper Elite: Resistance

Every so often, everyone needs a little catharsis. Over two decades, the Sniper Elite franchise has delivered exactly that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter series offers players intensely graphic carnage against Nazi targets. This year, Rebellion released Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed addition to the series. While it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance is a well-constructed serving of simulation World War II sandboxes packed with Nazi targets. The sniping is as brutal and gratifying as ever, with the game's trademark killcam showing each shot's effect in gory, explicit clarity. It's a violent excitement for every pacifist wanting to unwind in the security of a digital space.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist presents an award-winning story exploring post-pandemic existence, family pain, and other deep themes. It examines these subjects through a sci-fi lens; you assume the role of Watcher, a member of multiple clones of Iris, the only person left of a pandemic that eradicated human life. Watcher and her sister clones explore Iris's recollections from the time Earth was ravaged by that horrific plague, along with experiences of her education and family life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher learns Iris is not all that she seems, and the story unfolds from there. Should all that mystery fails to grab your interest, the game does begin with a killing. Is there a more compelling opening than this?

Octopath Traveler II

Yes, finishing a extremely long RPG in just nine days is a tall order, but if any game worth trying the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking gem is leaving Game Pass at the close of the month (along with the original game, which is also included). But, due to a holiday in the midst, at least for players in the U.S., it's technically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 features 8 characters, each embodying a different genre. You'll find a investigative story about a cleric investigating the death of his church's head priest. A trader aiming to solve destitution through the force of capitalism stars in a frontier-inspired narrative. There's even a mystery about an apothecary with amnesia (because all great RPGs require a character with an unknown background, of course). Some of these plots intertwine in unexpected, intriguing ways, while you progress through a gorgeous 19th-century inspired world. And the combat is superb — stat-focused gameplay distilled to its purest form.