🔗 Share this article

Following the latest price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier commotion has calmed down. While it might not be seen as the absolute best offer in gaming now, the platform has introduced several big-name day-one releases recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These additions further enrich a massive collection of hundreds games ideal for weekend gaming binges.

This week's picks include a cathartic action game, an prize-winning indie masterpiece, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, everyone needs a bit of catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite series has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series offers players ultraviolent carnage against enemy forces. Recently, Rebellion released Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed new entry to the franchise. While it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance remains a polished serving of simulation World War II open environments filled with Nazi targets. The long-range combat is as visceral and gratifying as always, featuring the series' signature killcam displaying each shot's impact in graphic, explicit detail. It's a violent thrill for any peace-lover looking to let off steam in the safety of a virtual space.

1000xResist

1000xResist presents an critically acclaimed story exploring life after a pandemic existence, generational pain, and much more. It examines these subjects through a sci-fi perspective; you assume the role of Watcher, a member of several clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's recollections from when Earth was beset by that horrific disease, as well as memories of her education and family life, neither of which were bearable for a young person. Watcher learns Iris is not all that she seems, and the story unfolds from that point. If all that intrigue fails to hook you, the game indeed begin with a murder. Is there a more compelling start than that?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, completing a extremely long RPG in only over a week is a tall order, but if any game deserving trying the effort for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking masterpiece is leaving Game Pass at the end of November (along with the original game, also available). But, with a break in the midst, at least for those in the U.S., it's theoretically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight protagonists, every one embodying a different genre. There's a investigative story about a priest investigating the murder of his cathedral's head priest. A trader aiming to eradicate poverty through the force of commerce headlines a frontier-inspired narrative. There's even a mystery about an apothecary with amnesia (because every good RPGs need a character with an unknown past, naturally). Some of these plots intertwine in surprising, intriguing ways, while you progress through a gorgeous Industrial Revolution themed world. And the battle system is superb — stat-focused gameplay boiled to its essence.