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After the latest price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial commotion has subsided. Although it may not be seen as the top offer in gaming now, the service has introduced several high-profile day-one releases lately, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These titles only enhance a massive collection of hundreds games perfect for weekend marathon sessions.

Our current recommendations feature a cathartic shooter, an award-winning independent gem, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

From time to time, we all require a bit of release. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite series has delivered exactly that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series offers players ultraviolent mayhem targeting Nazi targets. This year, Rebellion launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed addition to the series. While it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance remains a polished dose of immersive sim World War II sandboxes packed with enemy targets. The long-range combat is as brutal and satisfying as ever, with the series' trademark killcam showing each shot's impact in gory, testicle-crunching detail. It's a bloody excitement for any peace-lover wanting to unwind in the security of a virtual world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist presents an award-winning story touching on post-pandemic life, generational trauma, and much more. It approaches these subjects through a science fiction perspective; you play as Watcher, one of multiple clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out human life. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's recollections from when Earth was ravaged by that terrible disease, as well as memories of her education and family life, neither of which were easy for a young person. Watcher learns Iris is not all that she seems, and the story develops from there. If all that intrigue fails to hook you, the game does start with a killing. Is there a more compelling start than that?

Octopath Traveler 2

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour 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 departing Game Pass at the close of the month (as is the first game, which is also included). But, with a break in the middle, at least for players in the U.S., it's theoretically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight protagonists, each embodying a distinct story style. You'll find a procedural story about a priest looking into the murder of his church's archbishop. A trader striving to solve destitution through the power of commerce stars in a frontier-inspired narrative. Additionally, there's a mystery about an apothecary with memory loss (since every good RPGs require a character with an unknown background, of course). A few of these plots connect in unexpected, intriguing ways, as you play through a gorgeous 19th-century themed setting. And the combat is superb — stat-focused gameplay distilled to its purest form.