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Over the last few weeks, we've been running weekly recommendations for what we're playing on the Game Pass service. It's an opportunity for us to highlight underrated titles or simply to talk about our preferred titles. For this week, however, we need to begin by tackling the obvious issue: Microsoft's recent unfavorable changes to the Game Pass subscription.

Starting October 1, the company revealed a series of adjustments to the service, with the most notable coming to the service's Ultimate tier — that provides the most games available plus day-one access to new games from Xbox Game Studios. It'll now cost $30 a month, up from $20. Understandably, subscribers were not happy, and numerous voices on social media and in comment sections about their plans to terminate their subscriptions.

It's the end of an era for Game Pass as the once celebrated gaming bargain has ended. Now, gamers have to contemplate if the annual $360 cost for Game Pass's top tier is worth it to them, particularly when daily expenses gets more expensive.

If you're keeping your subscription, or seeking justifications to continue justifying it, read on for our current picks. These feature one of the best exploration-platformers of recent years, a potential award-winner from 2025, and a charming role-playing game follow-up. Or, should you prefer to cancel your subscription, refer to instructions on modifying or ending your membership.

The Lost Crown: A Prince of Persia Adventure

If you do happen to stick with your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you’re probably going to need more excuses to use it. The best case for paying the extra cash is that it includes to a collection of Ubisoft titles. You’ll get plenty of Assassin's Creed games and Far Cry games for your monthly payment, but the best perk is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

The 2D Metroidvania makes fantastic use of the franchise, returning to its origins in a trap-filled labyrinth that’s a exciting to explore. Pair that with exceptionally rich, most varied combat the category includes, and you have the recipe for a premium exploration game. Add in both Hollow Knight: Silksong and The Rogue Prince of Persia and the value becomes clear on a quarter of your annual fee.

The Blue Prince Mystery

The first-person puzzle game Blue Prince launched with impressive numbers and a committed player base on Steam, but its console player base was supported initially by subscription services (it was also available on other services). The word of mouth alongside its ease of access eventually helped the game attract two million users.

Checking out a game for several sessions to discover if it's your jam or not is one of the core appeals of the service, 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 challenge? The mansion's layout is ever-shifting, making Blue Prince a roguelike with fresh clues to uncover regularly. I've spent a few hours with it and have been gradually uncovering mysteries and puzzle clues surrounding the mystery at the core of the story, and I'm curious to see how it develops as I uncover more.

Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom - The Prince's Edition

Am I recommending Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom just because the version included on the service is the Prince's Edition version and that creates thematic harmony with our preceding two recommendations? That remains unconfirmed. What I will tell, though, is that Ni No Kuni 2 is excellent sequel to one of the best JRPGs of recent memory. Although featuring charming animation-style visuals and emphasis on youthful protagonists, Ni No Kuni 2 doesn't shy away from heavy topics, beginning with an apparent terrorist attack on a modern-day city before quickly transporting the protagonist (the literal president) into an alternate dimension where they find themselves involved in a violent Medieval-era coup. Unlike its predecessor, the combat is more action-focused — resembling a action RPG than a turn-based title — and includes a truly complex and detailed simulation in which you have to manage a kingdom. It might be the Prince's Edition, but it feels more like king shit to me.