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After the recent cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier commotion has calmed down. While it might not be seen as the top deal in gaming now, the platform has welcomed a number of big-name launch day releases recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These additions only enhance a massive collection of numerous games ideal for weekend-long gaming binges.

Our current picks include a cathartic shooter, an award-winning indie masterpiece, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, we all require a bit of catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has delivered exactly that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter line offers players ultraviolent mayhem against Nazi targets. Recently, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely addition to the franchise. While it doesn't revolutionize the gameplay, Resistance is a polished serving of simulation World War II open environments packed with enemy targets. The sniping is as brutal and gratifying as ever, featuring the game's trademark killcam showing every bullet's effect in graphic, testicle-crunching detail. It's a violent excitement for every pacifist looking to unwind in the security of a virtual world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning narrative exploring life after a pandemic life, generational trauma, and much more. It examines these themes through a science fiction lens; you play as Watcher, one of several clones of Iris, the only survivor of a pandemic that wiped out human life. Watcher and her fellow clones explore Iris's recollections from the time Earth was beset by that horrific disease, along with experiences of her school and family life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher discovers Iris is not what she appears, and the plot develops from there. Should all that intrigue fails to hook you, the game indeed start with a murder. Is there a more compelling opening than that?

Octopath Traveler 2

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in just over a week is a challenging task, but if any game deserving trying the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's HD-2D masterpiece is departing Game Pass at the close of the month (as is the first game, which is also included). However, due to a break in the midst, at least for those in the U.S., it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight characters, each representing a different story style. There's a investigative story about a priest investigating the murder of his cathedral's archbishop. A merchant striving to eradicate poverty through the power of commerce stars in a frontier-inspired narrative. There's even a enigma about an apothecary with amnesia (since all great RPGs need a character with an unknown past, naturally). A few of these stories intertwine in unexpected, fascinating ways, as you play through a stunning 19th-century themed setting. And the combat is excellent — stat-focused gameplay distilled to its essence.