🔗 Share this article

Following the latest price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial commotion has subsided. While it may not be considered the top deal in gaming now, the platform has introduced several big-name day-one releases lately, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those titles further enrich a vast library of numerous games ideal for weekend gaming binges.

This week's recommendations feature a cathartic action game, an award-winning independent masterpiece, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, we all require a bit of catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter line offers players ultraviolent carnage against enemy forces. This year, Rebellion released Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the series. Although it doesn't reinvent the gameplay, Resistance is a polished serving of simulation World War II open environments filled with Nazi targets. The sniping is as brutal and gratifying as always, featuring the game's trademark killcam displaying each shot's effect in graphic, testicle-crunching detail. It's a bloody excitement for every peace-lover wanting to unwind in the security of a virtual space.

1000xResist

1000xResist tells an award-winning narrative exploring post-pandemic existence, generational trauma, and other deep themes. It examines these subjects through a science fiction lens; you play as Watcher, one of multiple clones of Iris, the only person left of a pandemic that wiped out human life. Watcher and her sister clones delve into Iris's recollections from the time Earth was beset by that terrible plague, along with memories of her education and home life, both of which were bearable for a teenager. Watcher discovers Iris isn't all that she seems, and the plot unfolds from that point. If all that mystery fails to hook you, the game indeed start with a killing. Is there a more gripping start than that?

Octopath Traveler 2

Admittedly, finishing a gazillion-hour RPG in only over a week is a tall order, but if any game deserving attempting the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's HD-2D masterpiece is departing Game Pass at the end of November (as is the original game, also available). But, with a break in the midst, at least for players in the States, it's technically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 features 8 characters, every one embodying a different genre. You'll find a investigative tale about a cleric investigating the murder of his cathedral's archbishop. A trader aiming to solve poverty through the force of capitalism stars in a western-themed adventure. Additionally, there's a enigma about an apothecary with amnesia (because all great RPGs require a character with an mysterious background, of course). Some of these stories connect in surprising, fascinating ways, while you progress through a stunning Industrial Revolution themed setting. And the battle system is excellent — stat-focused gameplay distilled to its purest form.