🔗 Share this article

After Microsoft's latest news of Game Pass membership changes, featuring a cost hike for the Ultimate Tier to $30 per month, many members are looking for fresh ways to maximize their subscription. If you keeping their subscription or considering signing up, we present this week's picks.

Our selected games include a acclaimed JRPG, a delightful indie adventure, and a brilliant puzzler scheduled to depart from the service soon.

Persona 4: The Golden Edition

Among the top methods to maximize value from your subscription is by immersing yourself in a lengthy, captivating role-playing game — and Persona 4 Golden fits that bill perfectly. Players step into the role of a teenager who has just moved to the quiet rural town of Inaba. During the day, your goals involve making new friends, working employment, and managing studies. At night, you investigate a chilling string of murders by venturing into unique locations based on your friends' deepest insecurities.

With a unforgettable group of heroes, strategic turn-based combat, impeccable visuals, and a storyline full of surprises, Persona 4 Golden is considered a classic for many reasons. It also boasts a incredibly engrossing gameplay loop that will have you playing late into the night, repeatedly.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato

While big titles like Ninja Gaiden IV are a key selling point for Game Pass, the subscription also highlights lesser-known games. A great instance of this is Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato. Drawing from Spirited Away, this charming independent adventure is a magical realist tale rooted in Latin American traditions. You follow Miho, who, after assisting his grandmother make soup, is pulled into a colorful realm populated by potato-stealing frogs and various quirky animals.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato unfolds like an learning-focused computer title from the 1990s, as Miho solves challenges and aids the world's residents by collecting an inventory of items. Even if it's a bit rough around the edges, Sopa is a sweet small game that openly celebrates its appreciation for the region's culture.

Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure

Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure is set to leave the service on Oct. 15, giving you only a few days to experience it via subscription — and you absolutely must. Studio Geometric Interactive crafted one of the best puzzle games of recent years in the 2023 release Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure. Its central puzzle mechanic revolves around moving between worlds inside other dimensions, and often you'll transport those worlds, in the form of vibrant spheres, alongside you.

While it doesn't have direct guidance, everything about Cocoon's puzzles is built in a very intuitive manner, yet they can test you as well. The year 2023 proved a big period for games, so it's no surprise if Cocoon was somewhat missed by the masses. Let's correct that while we can.