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Following the latest price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the initial uproar has subsided. Although it may not be seen as the absolute best offer in gaming anymore, the service has introduced a number of big-name day-one releases lately, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These additions further enrich a vast collection of hundreds games perfect for weekend-long gaming binges.

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

Sniper Elite: Resistance

Every so often, we all require a bit of release. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite series has delivered precisely that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter series presents players ultraviolent carnage targeting enemy targets. This year, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely new entry to the franchise. While it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance remains a polished serving of immersive sim World War II sandboxes filled with Nazi targets. The long-range combat is as brutal and satisfying as ever, with the series' signature killcam showing every bullet's impact in graphic, explicit clarity. It's a bloody thrill for any peace-lover looking to unwind in the safety of a virtual world.

1000xResist

1000xResist tells an award-winning narrative touching on post-pandemic existence, generational pain, and other deep themes. It approaches these subjects through a science fiction perspective; you play as Watcher, one of multiple clones of Iris, the only survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones explore Iris's memories from when Earth was beset by that horrific disease, along with memories of her education and family life, neither of which were easy for a young person. Watcher learns Iris is not what she appears, and the story develops from there. If all that intrigue fails to hook you, the game indeed start with a killing. Is there a more compelling start than this?

Octopath Traveler 2

Yes, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in just nine days is a tall order, but if there's any game deserving trying the effort for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's visually striking masterpiece is departing Game Pass at the end of November (along with the original game, also available). However, with a holiday in the middle, at least for players in the U.S., it's technically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight characters, every one embodying a distinct story style. There's a investigative story about a priest investigating the murder of his church's archbishop. A merchant striving to eradicate destitution through the force of capitalism stars in a western-themed narrative. There's even a enigma about an apothecary with memory loss (because every good RPGs require a hero with an mysterious past, naturally). Some of these stories intertwine in unexpected, intriguing ways, as you play through a stunning 19th-century inspired setting. And the battle system is superb — stat-focused gameplay boiled to its purest form.