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Following Microsoft's recent news of Game Pass membership updates, including a cost hike for the Ultimate Tier to $thirty monthly, numerous members are looking for fresh ways to maximize their subscription. For those keeping their subscription or considering signing up, here are our latest recommendations.

This weekend's games include a acclaimed JRPG, a delightful indie journey, and a brilliant puzzler set to leave the service shortly.

Persona 4: The Golden Edition

Among the top methods to get your money's worth from Game Pass is by diving into a extensive, captivating role-playing game — and Persona 4: The Golden Edition matches that description perfectly. You take on the role of a teenager who has relocated to the sleepy rural town of Inaba. By day, your goals include forming new friends, working part-time jobs, and managing schoolwork. At night, you work to solve a disturbing string of murders by exploring strange dungeons based on your companions' inner fears.

With a unforgettable cast of characters, tactical battle system, flawless art design, and a plot full of twists, Persona 4 Golden is considered a masterpiece for many reasons. It also features a incredibly addictive gameplay loop that will have you playing past bedtime, repeatedly.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato

Although big titles like Ninja Gaiden IV are a key selling point for the service, the platform also showcases smaller indie gems. A great instance of this is Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato. Inspired by the animated classic, this charming indie game is a fantasy tale rooted in Latin American culture. You join Miho, who, after helping his grandma make soup, is transported to a vibrant realm filled with potato-nabbing frogs and other quirky animals.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato plays out similar to an educational computer title from the 90s, as Miho tackles challenges and helps the realm's inhabitants by gathering an inventory of objects. Though it's a bit rough around the edges, Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato is a heartwarming little experience that proudly showcases its love 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 short time to experience it via subscription — and you definitely must. Studio Geometric Interactive designed one of the best puzzlers of recent years in the 2023 release Cocoon. Its central puzzle mechanic focuses on moving between realms within additional dimensions, and often you'll carry those realms, in the form of vibrant orbs, with you.

While it lacks explicit guidance, everything about Cocoon's puzzles is designed in a very intuitive manner, yet they will test you as well. The year 2023 proved a big year for video games, so it's understandable if Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure was somewhat overlooked by the masses. We should rectify that now.