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After the company's latest news of Xbox Game Pass subscription updates, including a cost hike for the Ultimate Tier to $30 per month, many members are looking for fresh methods to get the most from their membership. For those holding onto their subscription or thinking about signing up, we present our latest recommendations.

Our selected games include a acclaimed Japanese role-playing game, a charming independent adventure, and a brilliant puzzle game set to leave the service soon.

Persona 4 Golden

Among the best methods to get your money's worth from your subscription is by immersing yourself in a lengthy, engaging RPG — and Persona 4 Golden matches that description perfectly. Players take on the part of a teenager who has just moved to the quiet countryside of Inaba. During the day, your goals involve forming new friends, taking on part-time jobs, and keeping up with studies. At night, you investigate a disturbing string of murders by exploring unique locations themed around your friends' inner fears.

With a memorable cast of characters, tactical battle system, impeccable art design, and a plot full of twists, Persona 4 Golden is regarded as a classic for good reason. It also features a highly engrossing gameplay loop that will keep you up past bedtime, night after night.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato

While big titles like Ninja Gaiden IV are a primary attraction for Game Pass, the subscription also showcases smaller games. A great instance of this is Sopa - Tale of the Stolen Potato. Drawing from Spirited Away, this charming independent game is a magical realist tale steeped in South American culture. You join Miho, who, after helping his grandma prepare soup, is transported to a vibrant realm filled with potato-stealing frogs and various eccentric animals.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato plays out like an learning-focused computer title from the 90s, as Miho solves challenges and aids the realm's residents by gathering an assortment of objects. Even if it's a bit unpolished, Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato is a heartwarming little experience that proudly showcases its love for the region's culture.

Cocoon

Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure is scheduled to exit Game Pass on Oct. 15, giving you only a short time to experience it via your membership — and you absolutely should. Developer Geometric Interactive designed one of the best puzzlers of recent years in 2023's Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure. Its core puzzle mechanic focuses on transitioning among realms within additional dimensions, and frequently you'll transport those worlds, in the form of vibrant spheres, with you.

Although it doesn't have explicit instructions, everything about Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure's puzzles is designed in a highly natural manner, yet they can challenge you as well. 2023 was a massive period for games, so it's no surprise if Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure was somewhat overlooked by the masses. We should correct that while we can.