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Over the last few weeks, we have been sharing weekly recommendations for the games we are enjoying on the Game Pass service. It's an opportunity for us to highlight underrated titles or just discuss our preferred titles. For this week, however, we have to kick things off by tackling the obvious issue: Microsoft's recent unfavorable changes to Game Pass.

On Oct. 1, Microsoft announced a series of adjustments to the service, with the most notable coming to the service's Ultimate tier — that provides the largest game library plus immediate availability to new games from Microsoft's game studios. The new price is $30 monthly, increased from $20. As expected, users expressed dissatisfaction, with many being vocal on online platforms and in discussion forums about their plans to terminate their plans.

This marks the conclusion for Game Pass as the once celebrated gaming bargain is no more. Now, players must consider if the annual $360 cost for the premium plan provides value to them, especially as everything else in life continues to rise.

Should you maintain your membership, or looking for reasons to keep it active, check out our current picks. They include a top-tier exploration-platformers of recent years, a 2025 Game of the Year contender, and a delightful JRPG sequel. Alternatively, should you prefer to cancel your subscription, see our guide on how to change or cancel your membership.

The Lost Crown: A Prince of Persia Adventure

If you do happen to stick with your Ultimate membership, you might require additional reasons to justify it. The best case for paying the extra cash is that it includes to a suite of Ubisoft+ Classics. You’ll get multiple Assassin's Creed games and Far Cry titles for your $30 a month, but the best perk is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

This side-scrolling adventure brilliantly leverages the series, returning to its origins in a dangerous maze that’s a thrill to mantle around. Pair that with exceptionally rich, most varied combat the category includes, and it creates a premium exploration game. Add in both Hollow Knight: Silksong and The Rogue Prince of Persia and you’re already breaking even on a quarter of your annual fee.

Blue Prince

This investigative puzzle title Blue Prince debuted to impressive numbers and a dedicated community on Steam, but its console player base was supported initially by subscription services (it was also available on PlayStation Plus). Player recommendations alongside its simple availability led to the game reach 2 million players.

Trying a title for a few hours to discover if it's your jam or not is one of the core appeals of Game Pass, and anyone looking to get lost in a puzzle should explore Blue Prince. You take the role of the heir to an estate and large inheritance, but provided that you can locate the hidden chamber. The catch? The building's design is ever-shifting, making Blue Prince a procedural game with new information to discover every day. After several sessions with it and have been gradually uncovering mysteries and hints related to the enigma at the core of the story, and I'm eager to discover where the game goes as I progress further.

The Prince's Edition: Ni no Kuni 2

Is this suggestion Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom just because the edition available on Game Pass is the Prince's Edition and that makes it tonally consistent with our previous selections? That remains unconfirmed. What I can share, though, is that Ni No Kuni 2 is delightful follow-up to a top role-playing game of recent memory. Although featuring charming animation-style visuals and emphasis on youthful protagonists, Ni No Kuni 2 addresses heavy topics, beginning with an apparent terrorist attack on a contemporary metropolis before immediately throwing the main character (a world leader) into an alternate dimension where they find themselves involved in a historical power struggle. Unlike its predecessor, the combat is more action-focused — resembling a action RPG than a turn-based title — and features a truly complex and complex management in which you must oversee a kingdom. It might be the Prince's Edition, but that sounds more like royal treatment to me.