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After the recent cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial uproar has calmed down. Although it might not be considered the top deal in gaming now, the service has introduced a number of big-name launch day releases lately, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those additions only enhance a vast collection of hundreds games ideal for weekend marathon sessions.

Our current recommendations feature a cathartic action game, an prize-winning indie masterpiece, and a must-play HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

From time to time, we all require a bit of catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite series has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter series offers players ultraviolent carnage against Nazi forces. This year, Rebellion launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed new entry to the series. While it doesn't revolutionize the gameplay, Resistance remains a well-constructed serving of simulation World War II open environments filled with enemy targets. The long-range combat is as brutal and gratifying as always, featuring the game's signature killcam showing each shot's effect in gory, explicit detail. It's a bloody excitement for every pacifist wanting to unwind in the security of a digital world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning story touching on post-pandemic existence, family trauma, and much more. It examines these subjects through a sci-fi lens; you assume the role of Watcher, a member of several clones of Iris, the only survivor of a global outbreak that eradicated humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones explore Iris's memories from when Earth was ravaged by that terrible plague, along with memories of her school and family life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher learns Iris is not what she appears, and the plot develops from there. If all that intrigue fails to grab your interest, the game indeed start with a killing. What could be a more compelling opening than that?

Octopath Traveler 2

Yes, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in only over a week is a challenging task, but if any game deserving attempting the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's HD-2D gem is departing Game Pass at the close of the month (along with the first game, which is also included). However, with a holiday in the midst, at least for those in the U.S., it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows 8 characters, each representing a distinct story style. There's a investigative story about a cleric investigating the murder of his cathedral's head priest. A trader aiming to solve destitution through the power of commerce stars in a western-themed adventure. Additionally, there's a enigma about an herbalist with memory loss (because all great RPGs require a character with an mysterious background, of course). A few of these stories connect in surprising, intriguing ways, while you progress through a stunning 19th-century themed setting. And the battle system is excellent — stat-focused gameplay distilled to its purest form.