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After the recent cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial uproar has calmed down. While it might not be considered the absolute best deal in gaming anymore, the service has introduced a number of high-profile day-one games recently, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those titles only enhance a massive library of numerous games ideal for weekend gaming binges.

This week's picks feature a therapeutic action game, an prize-winning independent gem, and a must-play HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, we all require a little release. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has provided exactly that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series offers players ultraviolent carnage targeting Nazi targets. Recently, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed new entry to the franchise. Although it doesn't reinvent the gameplay, Resistance remains a well-constructed dose of simulation World War II open environments packed with Nazi objectives. The long-range combat is as visceral and gratifying as always, featuring the series' signature killcam displaying every bullet's impact in gory, explicit clarity. It's a violent thrill for any peace-lover wanting to unwind in the security of a digital world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist presents an award-winning narrative exploring life after a pandemic existence, generational trauma, and much more. It approaches these subjects through a science fiction perspective; you play as Watcher, a member of several clones of Iris, the sole person left of a global outbreak that wiped out human life. Watcher and her fellow clones explore Iris's recollections from when Earth was ravaged by that horrific disease, as well as memories of her education and family life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher discovers Iris is not what she appears, and the plot develops from there. Should all that mystery isn't enough to grab your interest, the game indeed start with a killing. What could be a more compelling start than that?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in only over a week is a challenging task, but if any game worth trying the effort for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's HD-2D gem is leaving Game Pass at the end of November (along with the first game, also available). But, due to a break in the middle, at least for players in the U.S., it's technically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 features 8 characters, each representing a distinct genre. There's a procedural story about a priest investigating the death of his church's head priest. A trader aiming to eradicate destitution through the power of capitalism stars in a frontier-inspired adventure. There's even a enigma about an apothecary with memory loss (since all great RPGs require a hero with an unknown background, naturally). A few of these stories connect in unexpected, intriguing ways, while you progress through a stunning 19th-century themed setting. And the battle system is superb — “number go up” distilled to its purest form.