Three Game Pass Games We Are Enjoying Over the Weekend (October 10-12)
Following Microsoft's recent news of Xbox Game Pass subscription updates, including a cost hike for the top tier to $30 per month, many members are looking for fresh methods to get the most from their membership. For those holding onto their membership or thinking about signing up, here are this week's picks.
Our selected games include a beloved Japanese role-playing game, a delightful indie adventure, and a superb puzzle game scheduled to leave the service soon.
Persona 4 Golden
Among the best methods to get your money's worth from your subscription is by diving into a extensive, engaging role-playing game — and Persona 4: The Golden Edition matches that description exactly. Players step into the part of a teenager who has relocated to the sleepy countryside of Inaba. By day, your goals involve forming new friends, taking on employment, and keeping up with schoolwork. By night, you work to solve a chilling string of murders by exploring strange locations themed around your companions' deepest insecurities.
With a unforgettable cast of characters, strategic turn-based combat, impeccable art design, and a plot packed with twists, Persona 4 Golden is regarded as a classic for good reason. It also boasts a highly engrossing cycle that will have you playing late into the night, repeatedly.
Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato
Although big titles like Ninja Gaiden 4 are a primary selling point for the service, the platform also highlights smaller games. A perfect instance of this is Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato. Drawing from the animated classic, this charming independent game is a fantasy journey steeped in Latin American traditions. Players join Miho, who, after helping his grandma make soup, is transported to a colorful realm populated by potato-nabbing frogs and various quirky animals.
Sopa plays out like an learning-focused computer title from the 1990s, as Miho solves challenges and aids the realm's inhabitants by gathering an assortment of items. Though it's a bit rough around the edges, Sopa is a sweet little game that openly celebrates its appreciation for South America.
Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure
Cocoon is set to leave Game Pass on Oct. 15, giving you only a short time to play it via subscription — and you absolutely must. Developer Geometric Interactive crafted one of the best puzzlers of recent years in the 2023 release Cocoon. Its core puzzle mechanic focuses on transitioning among realms inside other dimensions, and frequently you'll carry those worlds, in the shape of colorful spheres, alongside you.
Although it lacks direct guidance, everything about Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure's puzzles is built in a very intuitive way, yet they will challenge you as well. 2023 was a massive year for video games, so it's understandable if Cocoon: A Puzzle Adventure was a bit overlooked by the masses. Let's rectify that while we can.
