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Following Microsoft's recent announcement of Game Pass membership changes, featuring a cost hike for the top tier to $thirty per month, many subscribers are seeking new ways to maximize their subscription. For those keeping their membership or thinking about signing up, here are our latest picks.

This weekend's titles feature a beloved JRPG, a charming indie adventure, and a superb puzzler set to leave the platform shortly.

Persona 4 Golden

Among the top ways to maximize value from your subscription is by immersing yourself in a extensive, engaging role-playing game — and Persona 4: The Golden Edition fits that bill exactly. You step into the role of a teenager who has relocated to the quiet countryside of Inaba. During the day, your objectives involve forming new friends, taking on employment, and keeping up with schoolwork. At night, you investigate a disturbing string of murders by venturing into strange dungeons based on your friends' inner fears.

With a memorable cast of characters, strategic battle system, impeccable art design, and a storyline full of twists, Persona 4 Golden is regarded as a classic for good reason. It also boasts a incredibly addictive gameplay loop that will keep you up late into the night, night after night.

Sopa - Tale of the Stolen Potato

Although major releases like Ninja Gaiden IV are a key selling point for the service, the platform also highlights lesser-known games. A perfect instance of this is Sopa - Tale of the Stolen Potato. Drawing from Spirited Away, this charming indie adventure is a fantasy tale steeped in South American culture. Players join Miho, who, after helping his grandma make soup, is transported to a colorful realm populated by potato-stealing frogs and other quirky animals.

Sopa unfolds similar to an educational PC game from the 1990s, as Miho solves puzzles and aids the world's inhabitants by collecting an inventory of items. Though it's a little rough around the edges, Sopa is a sweet little experience that openly showcases its love for the region's culture.

Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure

Cocoon is scheduled to leave Game Pass on Oct. 15, giving you only a few days to play it via subscription — and you definitely should. Studio the creators designed one of the finest puzzlers of this generation in 2023's Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure. Its central gameplay element revolves around moving between worlds inside additional dimensions, and often you'll transport those realms, in the form of vibrant spheres, alongside you.

Although it doesn't have explicit instructions, everything about Cocoon's challenges is designed in a highly natural way, though they can test you as well. The year 2023 proved a big period for games, so it's understandable if Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure was a bit overlooked by the masses. Let's rectify that while we can.