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After the latest price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has subsided. While it may not be seen as the absolute best deal in gaming now, the service has welcomed several high-profile launch day games recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those additions only enhance a vast library of hundreds games ideal for weekend marathon sessions.

This week's recommendations include a cathartic action game, an prize-winning indie gem, and a essential HD-2D RPG.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

Every so often, we all require a bit of catharsis. Over two decades, the Sniper Elite series has provided exactly that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series offers players ultraviolent mayhem targeting Nazi forces. This year, Rebellion released Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed addition to the series. While it doesn't revolutionize the gameplay, Resistance remains a polished serving of simulation World War II sandboxes filled with enemy targets. The long-range combat is as brutal and gratifying as always, featuring the game's trademark killcam displaying every bullet's impact in graphic, testicle-crunching clarity. It's a bloody excitement for every peace-lover looking to unwind in the security of a digital world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist presents an critically acclaimed narrative exploring life after a pandemic life, family pain, and much more. It examines these subjects through a sci-fi lens; you assume the role of Watcher, one of several clones of Iris, the sole survivor of a global outbreak that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones explore Iris's recollections from when Earth was ravaged by that terrible disease, as well as experiences of her school and home life, both of which were easy for a young person. Watcher learns Iris isn't what she appears, and the story unfolds from there. If all that intrigue fails to hook you, the game does begin with a killing. Is there a more compelling opening than that?

Octopath Traveler II

Admittedly, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in just nine days is a tall order, 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 close of the month (along with the first game, also available). But, with a break in the midst, at least for those in the U.S., it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 features eight characters, each embodying a distinct story style. You'll find a procedural story about a priest investigating the death of his cathedral's head priest. A merchant aiming to solve destitution through the power of commerce stars in a frontier-inspired adventure. There's even a enigma about an apothecary with memory loss (since all great RPGs require a character with an unknown past, of course). A few of these plots intertwine in unexpected, intriguing ways, as you play through a gorgeous 19th-century inspired world. And the battle system is excellent — “number go up” boiled to its essence.