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Following Microsoft's recent news of Xbox Game Pass subscription updates, including a cost hike for the Ultimate Tier to $30 per month, many subscribers are looking for fresh ways to maximize their subscription. If you holding onto their membership or considering joining, we present this week's picks.

This weekend's games feature a acclaimed Japanese role-playing game, a delightful indie journey, and a superb puzzle game set to leave the service soon.

Persona 4: The Golden Edition

One of the best 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 bill exactly. Players step into the role of a teenager who has relocated to the quiet rural town of Inaba. By day, your goals include forming new friends, working employment, and keeping up with schoolwork. By night, you investigate a chilling string of murders by venturing into strange dungeons based on your companions' inner fears.

With a memorable group of heroes, tactical battle system, flawless art design, and a storyline packed with twists, Persona 4: The Golden Edition is considered a masterpiece for good reason. It also boasts 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 subscription also highlights smaller indie gems. A great instance of this is Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato. Drawing from Spirited Away, this enchanting indie game is a fantasy tale steeped in Latin American traditions. You follow Miho, who, after helping his grandma make soup, is pulled into a vibrant realm populated by 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 tackles puzzles and aids the world's residents by gathering an inventory of objects. Though it's a bit unpolished, Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato is a sweet little game that openly celebrates its appreciation for South America.

Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure

Cocoon is scheduled to exit the service on October 15, leaving only a short time to play it via your membership — and you definitely must. Developer Geometric Interactive crafted one of the best puzzle games of this generation in the 2023 release Cocoon. Its core gameplay element revolves around moving between realms within other worlds, and frequently you'll carry those worlds, in the form of colorful orbs, with you.

Although it doesn't have explicit instructions, everything about Cocoon's puzzles is designed in a highly intuitive way, yet they will challenge you as well. The year 2023 proved a big period for games, so it's no surprise if Cocoon was somewhat missed by many players. Let's correct that while we can.