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Following the recent cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial uproar has subsided. While it may not be seen as the top offer in gaming now, the platform has welcomed a number of high-profile launch day releases lately, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These additions further enrich a vast collection of hundreds games ideal for weekend gaming binges.

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

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, everyone needs a bit of release. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite series has delivered exactly that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series offers players intensely graphic mayhem targeting enemy forces. Recently, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed new entry to the franchise. Although it doesn't reinvent the gameplay, Resistance remains a well-constructed serving of immersive sim World War II open environments packed with enemy objectives. The sniping is as brutal and gratifying as always, featuring the game's trademark killcam showing every bullet's impact in gory, explicit clarity. It's a violent excitement for every pacifist wanting to unwind in the security of a virtual space.

1000xResist

1000xResist tells an critically acclaimed story touching on post-pandemic existence, generational pain, and much more. It approaches these subjects through a sci-fi perspective; you assume the role of Watcher, one of several clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her sister clones explore Iris's memories from when Earth was ravaged by that horrific disease, as well as experiences of her education and home life, neither of which were bearable for a teenager. Watcher learns Iris is not what she appears, and the story develops from that point. If all that intrigue fails to grab your interest, the game does start with a killing. Is there a more gripping opening than that?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in only over a week is a tall order, but if any game worth trying the effort for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking masterpiece is leaving Game Pass at the end of November (as is the first game, also available). But, with a break in the midst, at least for those in the States, it's technically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 features 8 characters, every one representing a distinct story style. You'll find a investigative story about a priest investigating the death of his cathedral's head priest. A trader striving to solve poverty through the power of commerce stars in a western-themed adventure. Additionally, there's a enigma about an herbalist with memory loss (since every good RPGs require a hero with an mysterious background, naturally). Some of these plots intertwine in surprising, fascinating ways, while you progress through a gorgeous 19th-century themed world. And the combat is superb — stat-focused gameplay boiled to its purest form.