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Following the company's latest announcement of Xbox Game Pass membership changes, featuring a cost hike for the Ultimate Tier to $30 monthly, numerous subscribers are seeking new ways to maximize their membership. For those keeping their subscription or considering signing up, we present our latest recommendations.

This weekend's titles feature a beloved JRPG, a delightful independent adventure, and a brilliant puzzler set to leave the service soon.

Persona 4: The Golden Edition

One of the top ways to maximize value from Game Pass is by diving into a lengthy, captivating role-playing game — and Persona 4: The Golden Edition matches that bill exactly. Players step into the role of a teenager who has relocated to the quiet countryside of Inaba. During the day, your objectives involve making new friends, taking on employment, and keeping up with schoolwork. At night, you work to solve a chilling string of murders by exploring strange dungeons themed around your friends' deepest insecurities.

With a memorable cast of characters, strategic turn-based combat, impeccable visuals, and a plot packed with surprises, Persona 4 Golden is regarded as a masterpiece for good reason. It also features a incredibly addictive gameplay loop that will keep you up late into the night, repeatedly.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato

While big releases like Ninja Gaiden 4 are a key selling point for the service, the platform also showcases lesser-known games. A perfect instance of this is Sopa - Tale of the Stolen Potato. Drawing from Spirited Away, this charming indie game is a magical realist tale steeped in Latin American culture. You join Miho, who, after assisting his grandma prepare soup, is pulled into a colorful realm filled with potato-nabbing frogs and various quirky creatures.

Sopa unfolds like an educational computer title from the 90s, as Miho solves puzzles and aids the realm's residents by gathering an assortment of items. Even if it's a little rough around the edges, Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato is a heartwarming small game that openly showcases its love for South America.

Cocoon

Cocoon is scheduled to exit the service on Oct. 15, leaving only a few days to experience it via your membership — and you definitely must. Developer the creators crafted one of the finest puzzlers of this generation in the 2023 release Cocoon. Its central gameplay element revolves around moving among worlds inside other dimensions, and often you'll transport those realms, in the shape of colorful spheres, with you.

Although it doesn't have direct instructions, everything about Cocoon's puzzles is designed in a highly natural way, though they will challenge you as well. 2023 was a massive year for video games, so it's no surprise if Cocoon was a bit missed by many players. We should correct that while we can.