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After Microsoft's recent news of Game Pass membership changes, featuring a cost hike for the top tier to $30 monthly, many members are seeking fresh methods to maximize their membership. For those holding onto their membership or considering joining, here are this week's picks.

Our selected titles feature a acclaimed Japanese role-playing game, a charming independent journey, and a brilliant puzzler set to leave the service shortly.

Persona 4 Golden

One of the best methods to maximize value from Game Pass is by immersing yourself in a lengthy, engaging RPG — and Persona 4: The Golden Edition fits that description exactly. Players step into the part of a high school student who has relocated to the quiet rural town of Inaba. By day, your goals involve forming friendships, working part-time jobs, and managing studies. By night, you work to solve a chilling serial murder case by exploring unique dungeons based on your companions' inner fears.

With a memorable group of heroes, strategic turn-based combat, impeccable visuals, and a plot full of twists, Persona 4 Golden is considered a classic for good reason. It also features a incredibly engrossing cycle that will keep you up late into the night, night after night.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato

Although big titles like Ninja Gaiden IV are a primary attraction for Game Pass, the subscription also showcases lesser-known indie gems. A great example of this is Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato. Inspired by the animated classic, this charming independent game is a magical realist tale steeped in South American traditions. You follow Miho, who, after assisting his grandma make soup, is transported to a colorful world filled with potato-stealing frogs and various eccentric animals.

Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato unfolds like an learning-focused PC game from the 1990s, as Miho solves puzzles and helps the world's inhabitants by gathering an inventory of items. Though it's a little unpolished, Sopa is a heartwarming small experience that openly showcases its appreciation for the region's culture.

Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure

Cocoon is scheduled to exit Game Pass on Oct. 15, giving you only a short time to play it via your membership — and you definitely should. Developer the creators designed one of the best puzzle games of this generation in the 2023 release Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure. Its core puzzle mechanic focuses on transitioning between worlds inside additional worlds, and frequently you'll carry those realms, in the form of vibrant orbs, with you.

Although it lacks explicit instructions, everything about Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure's puzzles is designed in a very intuitive manner, though they will test you as well. The year 2023 proved a massive year for video games, so it's no surprise if Cocoon was somewhat missed by the masses. We should correct that now.