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After the recent price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has calmed down. While it might not be seen as the absolute best offer in gaming anymore, the platform has welcomed a number of big-name day-one releases recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those additions only enhance a vast library of hundreds games ideal for weekend gaming binges.

This week's picks include a therapeutic shooter, an prize-winning independent gem, and a must-play HD-2D RPG.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

Every so often, everyone needs a little catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite series has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series presents players ultraviolent carnage targeting enemy forces. This year, Rebellion released Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the franchise. Although it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance remains a polished dose of simulation World War II open environments packed with Nazi objectives. The long-range combat is as visceral and gratifying as always, with the game's trademark killcam showing each shot's effect in graphic, explicit detail. It's a bloody excitement for any peace-lover wanting to let off steam in the safety of a digital world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning narrative touching on life after a pandemic existence, family pain, and much more. It examines these themes through a science fiction perspective; you play as Watcher, a member of multiple clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a pandemic that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's recollections from when Earth was ravaged by that horrific plague, as well as experiences of her education and family life, both of which were bearable for a teenager. Watcher discovers Iris isn't all that she seems, and the story unfolds from that point. Should all that intrigue fails to hook you, the game does start with a murder. Is there a more gripping opening than this?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in just 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 leaving Game Pass at the end of November (along with the original 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 features eight protagonists, every one representing a different story style. You'll find a procedural tale about a cleric investigating the death of his church's archbishop. A trader striving to eradicate poverty through the force of commerce stars in a western-themed adventure. There's even a mystery about an herbalist with amnesia (because every good RPGs need a hero with an unknown past, of course). A few of these plots intertwine in unexpected, intriguing ways, while you progress through a gorgeous Industrial Revolution themed setting. And the battle system is superb — “number go up” distilled to its essence.