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Following the latest price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has calmed down. While it may not be considered the absolute best deal in gaming anymore, the service has welcomed a number of big-name day-one games lately, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. These titles further enrich a vast collection of hundreds games ideal for weekend marathon sessions.

Our current picks include a therapeutic shooter, an prize-winning independent masterpiece, 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 delivered precisely that. Rebellion Developments' long-running shooter series presents players intensely graphic carnage targeting enemy forces. This year, the studio launched Sniper Elite: Resistance, a well-timed addition to the franchise. Although it doesn't revolutionize the formula, Resistance is a well-constructed dose of immersive sim World War II open environments packed with Nazi targets. The long-range combat is as visceral and gratifying as ever, with the series' signature killcam displaying every bullet's effect in graphic, testicle-crunching detail. It's a violent excitement for any pacifist looking to unwind in the security of a digital world.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an award-winning story exploring life after a pandemic existence, family pain, and other deep themes. It approaches these themes through a sci-fi perspective; you assume the role of Watcher, one of multiple clones of Iris, the only 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 horrific plague, along with memories of her school and home life, neither of which were bearable for a teenager. Watcher learns Iris is not all that she seems, and the story develops from there. If all that intrigue isn't enough to grab your interest, the game indeed begin with a killing. What could be a more compelling start than this?

Octopath Traveler 2

Yes, completing a gazillion-hour RPG in only over a week is a tall order, but if there's any game worth trying the effort 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, which is also included). But, with a holiday in the midst, at least for players in the U.S., it's technically achievable. Octopath Traveler 2 features eight characters, every one representing a different story style. You'll find a procedural tale about a priest looking into the death of his church's head priest. A merchant striving to eradicate poverty through the power of capitalism stars in a western-themed narrative. There's even a enigma about an apothecary with memory loss (since every good RPGs require a character with an mysterious past, of course). Some of these stories intertwine in unexpected, intriguing ways, as you play through a gorgeous 19th-century inspired setting. And the combat is excellent — “number go up” distilled to its purest form.