3 Game Pass Games That Will Validate Your Membership During the Weekend (Nov. 21-23)

After the recent price increase for Game Pass Ultimate, the earlier uproar has calmed down. While it may not be seen as the top offer in gaming anymore, the platform has introduced a number of big-name launch day games recently, including Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2. Those additions further enrich a massive collection of hundreds games perfect for weekend gaming binges.

Our current recommendations feature a cathartic shooter, an prize-winning independent masterpiece, and a must-play HD-2D RPG.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

From time to time, we all require a little catharsis. For 20 years, the Sniper Elite franchise has provided exactly that. Rebellion Developments' enduring shooter line offers players intensely graphic mayhem targeting enemy forces. Recently, Rebellion released Sniper Elite: Resistance, a timely addition to the franchise. Although it doesn't reinvent the formula, Resistance remains a polished dose of immersive sim World War II sandboxes filled with Nazi targets. The sniping is as brutal and satisfying as always, with the series' signature killcam showing every bullet's impact in graphic, testicle-crunching clarity. It's a bloody thrill for any peace-lover wanting to unwind in the safety of a virtual space.

Resist 1000x

1000xResist tells an critically acclaimed story touching on life after a pandemic life, generational pain, and other deep themes. It approaches these subjects through a science fiction lens; you play as Watcher, one of several clones of Iris, the only person left of a pandemic that wiped out humanity. Watcher and her fellow clones delve into Iris's recollections from the time Earth was beset by that terrible disease, along with memories of her education and home life, both of which were bearable for a young person. Watcher discovers Iris is not all that she seems, and the plot develops from that point. Should all that intrigue fails to hook you, the game does start with a murder. What could be a more gripping start than this?

Octopath Traveler 2

Admittedly, completing a extremely long RPG in only nine days is a challenging task, but if any game deserving trying the effort for, it's Octopath Traveler 2. Square Enix's HD-2D gem is departing Game Pass at the close of the month (as is the first game, also available). But, with a holiday in the middle, at least for players in the States, it's theoretically doable. Octopath Traveler 2 follows eight characters, every one representing a different genre. There's a investigative story about a cleric looking into the murder of his cathedral's archbishop. A merchant striving to solve poverty through the force of capitalism headlines a frontier-inspired narrative. There's even a mystery about an herbalist with memory loss (because all great RPGs require a character with an mysterious background, naturally). A few of these stories connect in unexpected, intriguing ways, while you progress through a stunning 19th-century themed setting. And the battle system is superb — stat-focused gameplay boiled to its purest form.