🔗 Share this article

Following the recent cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier commotion has calmed down. While it might not be considered the absolute best offer in gaming anymore, the platform has introduced several high-profile launch day games lately, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those additions further enrich a vast library of numerous games ideal for weekend gaming binges.

This week's picks feature a cathartic action game, an prize-winning independent gem, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, we all require a little catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has delivered exactly that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series presents players ultraviolent mayhem targeting enemy targets. This year, Rebellion launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely addition to the series. While it doesn't reinvent the gameplay, Resistance remains a well-constructed dose of simulation World War II sandboxes filled with Nazi targets. The long-range combat is as brutal and satisfying as ever, with the series' trademark killcam showing every bullet's effect in graphic, explicit detail. It's a violent thrill for every peace-lover looking to let off steam in the security of a digital space.

1000xResist

1000xResist presents an award-winning narrative touching on life after a pandemic existence, family pain, and much more. It examines these subjects through a sci-fi lens; you assume the role of Watcher, one of multiple clones of Iris, the only survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her sister clones explore Iris's memories from the time Earth was ravaged by that terrible disease, as well as memories of her education and family life, both of which were bearable for a teenager. Watcher discovers Iris isn't what she appears, and the plot unfolds from that point. Should all that mystery fails to grab your interest, the game indeed start with a killing. What could be a more compelling opening than this?

Octopath Traveler 2

Admittedly, completing a extremely long RPG in just nine days is a challenging task, but if there's any game worth 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, due to a holiday in the midst, at least for those in the States, it's technically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 features eight characters, each representing a different genre. There's a investigative story about a priest looking into the death of his cathedral's archbishop. A merchant aiming to eradicate poverty through the force of capitalism stars in a western-themed narrative. Additionally, there's a mystery about an herbalist with amnesia (because every good RPGs need a hero with an unknown past, of course). Some of these stories connect in surprising, fascinating ways, as you play through a stunning Industrial Revolution themed setting. And the combat is superb — “number go up” distilled to its purest form.