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After the recent cost hike for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has subsided. While it may not be considered the absolute best deal in gaming anymore, the service has welcomed a number of high-profile launch day releases recently, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those additions only enhance a vast collection of numerous games perfect for weekend-long marathon sessions.

This week's recommendations include a therapeutic action game, an award-winning indie masterpiece, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Resistance: Sniper Elite

Every so often, we all require a little catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite series has provided precisely that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter line presents players ultraviolent carnage targeting Nazi forces. Recently, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the series. While it doesn't revolutionize the gameplay, Resistance is a well-constructed serving of immersive sim World War II sandboxes packed with Nazi targets. The long-range combat is as brutal and gratifying as always, with the series' signature killcam showing each shot's impact in gory, testicle-crunching detail. It's a violent thrill for every pacifist wanting to unwind in the safety of a digital world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning narrative touching on life after a pandemic life, family trauma, and other deep themes. It examines these themes through a science fiction perspective; you assume the role of Watcher, one of several clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a pandemic that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones explore Iris's recollections from when Earth was ravaged by that terrible disease, along with memories of her education and family life, neither of which were bearable for a teenager. Watcher learns Iris isn't all that she seems, and the story unfolds from there. Should all that intrigue fails to grab your interest, the game indeed start with a killing. What could be a more gripping start than that?

Octopath Traveler II

Yes, finishing a gazillion-hour RPG in only over a week is a challenging task, but if any game worth attempting the grind for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's HD-2D masterpiece is leaving Game Pass at the end of November (as is the original game, also available). However, due to a holiday in the middle, at least for those in the States, it's theoretically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 features eight characters, each embodying a different genre. There's a procedural story about a cleric looking into the death of his church's archbishop. A trader striving to eradicate destitution through the power of capitalism stars in a frontier-inspired narrative. Additionally, there's a enigma about an herbalist with memory loss (since every good RPGs need a hero with an unknown past, of course). A few of these plots connect in unexpected, fascinating ways, while you progress through a stunning 19th-century inspired world. And the battle system is superb — stat-focused gameplay boiled to its essence.