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After the latest cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial commotion has subsided. While it might not be seen as the top deal in gaming now, the platform has welcomed a number of high-profile day-one releases recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These titles only enhance a vast collection of hundreds games ideal for weekend marathon sessions.

This week's picks include a cathartic shooter, an prize-winning indie masterpiece, and a must-play HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

From time to time, we all require a bit of release. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has delivered exactly that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter series offers players intensely graphic mayhem targeting enemy targets. Recently, Rebellion launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed new entry to the series. While it doesn't reinvent the gameplay, Resistance is a polished serving of simulation World War II sandboxes packed with enemy targets. The long-range combat is as visceral and satisfying as ever, featuring the game's trademark killcam displaying each shot's effect in gory, explicit detail. It's a violent excitement for any pacifist looking to let off steam in the security of a digital world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning story touching on life after a pandemic life, family pain, and other deep themes. It examines these themes through a science fiction perspective; you assume the role of Watcher, a member of multiple clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a pandemic that wiped out human life. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's recollections from when Earth was ravaged by that terrible disease, along with experiences of her school and home life, neither of which were bearable for a young person. Watcher learns Iris isn't all that she seems, and the plot develops from there. If all that mystery fails to grab your interest, the game does start with a murder. Is there a more compelling start than that?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in only nine days is a tall order, but if any game deserving attempting the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking masterpiece is departing Game Pass at the close of the month (as is the first game, which is also included). But, due to 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 different genre. There's a investigative tale about a cleric looking into the murder of his cathedral's archbishop. A merchant aiming to eradicate destitution through the force of commerce headlines a western-themed adventure. There's even a mystery about an herbalist with amnesia (because every good RPGs need a hero with an unknown past, naturally). Some of these plots intertwine in unexpected, fascinating ways, while you progress through a gorgeous Industrial Revolution inspired world. And the battle system is excellent — “number go up” distilled to its essence.