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Following the company's recent announcement of Xbox Game Pass subscription changes, featuring a cost hike for the Ultimate Tier to $30 per month, many subscribers are looking for new methods to get the most from their membership. For those holding onto their membership or thinking about joining, here are our latest recommendations.

This weekend's games include a beloved JRPG, a delightful independent journey, and a brilliant puzzler scheduled to depart from the platform soon.

Persona 4: The Golden Edition

Among the top ways to get your money's worth from Game Pass is by diving into a lengthy, engaging role-playing game — and Persona 4: The Golden Edition matches that bill exactly. Players step into the part of a teenager who has just moved to the quiet rural town of Inaba. During the day, your objectives include forming friendships, taking on employment, and managing schoolwork. By night, you work to solve a disturbing serial murder case by exploring strange dungeons themed around your companions' deepest insecurities.

With a memorable group of heroes, tactical battle system, impeccable art design, and a plot full of surprises, Persona 4: The Golden Edition is regarded as a masterpiece for many reasons. It also boasts a highly addictive gameplay loop that will keep you up past bedtime, night after night.

Sopa - Tale of the Stolen Potato

Although big releases like Ninja Gaiden 4 are a key attraction for Game Pass, the subscription also highlights lesser-known indie gems. A perfect instance of this is Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato. Drawing from the animated classic, this enchanting indie adventure is a magical realist tale rooted in South American culture. You follow Miho, who, after helping his grandma prepare soup, is pulled into a colorful world filled with potato-nabbing frogs and various quirky animals.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato plays out similar to an educational PC game from the 1990s, as Miho tackles puzzles and aids the world's inhabitants by gathering an inventory of objects. Though it's a bit unpolished, Sopa is a sweet little experience that openly celebrates its appreciation for South America.

Cocoon

Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure is scheduled to exit Game Pass on October 15, leaving only a short time to experience it via your membership — and you absolutely must. Studio Geometric Interactive crafted one of the best puzzle games of this generation in 2023's Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure. Its core puzzle mechanic focuses on transitioning among realms inside additional worlds, and frequently you'll carry those worlds, in the form of vibrant spheres, alongside you.

Although it doesn't have direct guidance, everything about Cocoon's challenges is built in a very intuitive way, though they can challenge you as well. 2023 was a big year for games, so it's no surprise if Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure was a bit overlooked by many players. Let's rectify that while we can.