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After the recent cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial commotion has calmed down. While it might not be considered the top offer in gaming now, the service has welcomed a number of big-name day-one releases recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those additions further enrich a massive collection of numerous games perfect for weekend marathon sessions.

This week's recommendations include a therapeutic action game, an prize-winning indie gem, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

From time to time, we all require a bit of catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series presents players ultraviolent mayhem against enemy forces. This year, Rebellion released Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the franchise. While it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance is a polished serving of simulation World War II sandboxes packed with Nazi objectives. The sniping is as brutal and gratifying as always, with the series' trademark killcam showing every bullet's effect in gory, testicle-crunching clarity. It's a bloody excitement for any pacifist wanting to unwind in the safety of a digital space.

1000xResist

1000xResist tells an award-winning narrative touching on life after a pandemic existence, family pain, and other deep themes. It approaches these themes through a science fiction perspective; you assume the role of Watcher, one of multiple clones of Iris, the sole person left of a global outbreak that eradicated human life. Watcher and her sister clones explore Iris's recollections from the time Earth was ravaged by that terrible disease, as well as experiences of her school and family life, both of which were easy for a teenager. Watcher learns Iris is not what she appears, and the story develops from that point. If all that mystery fails to grab your interest, the game indeed start with a murder. What could be a more gripping start than that?

Octopath Traveler 2

Yes, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in only nine days is a tall order, but if there's any game deserving attempting the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's HD-2D gem is leaving Game Pass at the close of the month (as is the original game, also available). However, with a break in the middle, at least for players in the U.S., it's theoretically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 features eight protagonists, every one embodying a distinct genre. You'll find a procedural tale about a cleric investigating the death of his cathedral's archbishop. A trader striving to solve poverty through the power of commerce headlines a western-themed adventure. Additionally, there's a enigma about an herbalist with amnesia (because every good RPGs need a character with an mysterious past, of course). Some of these stories connect in surprising, intriguing ways, while you progress through a stunning Industrial Revolution inspired setting. And the combat is superb — stat-focused gameplay distilled to its purest form.