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After the latest cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has subsided. While it might not be considered the absolute best offer in gaming anymore, the platform has welcomed several high-profile launch day releases lately, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These additions further enrich a vast collection of numerous games perfect for weekend marathon sessions.

Our current recommendations feature a therapeutic action game, an award-winning indie masterpiece, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, everyone needs a little release. Over two decades, the Sniper Elite franchise has provided exactly that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter series offers players intensely graphic mayhem against enemy forces. Recently, Rebellion launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely addition to the franchise. Although it doesn't reinvent the gameplay, Resistance remains a polished serving of immersive sim World War II sandboxes packed with enemy objectives. The long-range combat is as visceral and gratifying as ever, with the game's signature killcam displaying every bullet's effect in graphic, explicit detail. It's a violent excitement for every pacifist looking to let off steam in the security of a digital space.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning story exploring post-pandemic life, generational trauma, and other deep themes. It approaches these themes through a sci-fi lens; you assume the role of Watcher, one of several clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a pandemic that eradicated human life. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's memories from the time Earth was ravaged by that horrific disease, as well as memories of her school and home life, neither of which were bearable for a teenager. Watcher discovers Iris is not what she appears, and the plot unfolds from that point. If all that intrigue fails to grab your interest, the game indeed begin with a murder. What could be a more gripping start than this?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in just nine days is a challenging task, but if there's any game worth trying the effort for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking masterpiece is departing Game Pass at the close of the month (along with the original game, also available). But, with a break in the middle, at least for those in the U.S., it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 features eight characters, every one representing a distinct genre. There's a procedural tale about a cleric looking into the murder of his church's head priest. A trader striving to solve poverty through the power of capitalism headlines a western-themed adventure. Additionally, there's a mystery about an herbalist with amnesia (since all great RPGs require a character with an unknown background, of course). A few of these plots connect in unexpected, fascinating ways, as you play through a gorgeous 19th-century inspired world. And the battle system is superb — “number go up” distilled to its purest form.