🔗 Share this article

After the latest cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier commotion has subsided. While it might not be considered the absolute best offer in gaming anymore, the platform has introduced a number of big-name launch day games recently, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These additions further enrich a massive library of hundreds games perfect for weekend marathon sessions.

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

Resistance: Sniper Elite

From time to time, everyone needs a little release. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has delivered precisely that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter series presents players intensely graphic mayhem against Nazi targets. Recently, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely addition to the series. While it doesn't revolutionize the formula, Resistance remains a polished dose of immersive sim World War II sandboxes packed with Nazi objectives. The sniping is as visceral and gratifying as ever, with the series' signature killcam showing every bullet's impact in graphic, explicit detail. It's a violent thrill for every peace-lover wanting to let off steam in the security of a digital world.

1000xResist

1000xResist presents an critically acclaimed narrative touching on life after a pandemic existence, generational trauma, and much more. It approaches these themes through a science fiction perspective; you assume the role of Watcher, one of several clones of Iris, the only person left of a pandemic that wiped out 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 education and home life, both of which were bearable for a teenager. Watcher discovers Iris is not what she appears, and the story develops from there. Should all that mystery fails to hook you, the game indeed start with a killing. What could be a more compelling start than that?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, finishing a gazillion-hour RPG in just over a week is a tall order, but if there's any game deserving attempting the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking gem is leaving Game Pass at the close of the month (as is the first game, also available). But, due to a break in the middle, at least for players in the U.S., it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows 8 characters, each representing a different genre. There's a investigative story about a priest investigating the death of his church's head priest. A trader striving to eradicate poverty through the power of capitalism stars in a western-themed adventure. There's even a enigma about an herbalist with memory loss (because every good RPGs need a hero with an unknown past, of course). A few of these stories connect in surprising, intriguing ways, as you play through a stunning Industrial Revolution inspired world. And the battle system is excellent — “number go up” distilled to its essence.