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For the past month, we've been running regular suggestions for the games we are enjoying on Game Pass. It's an opportunity for us to highlight underrated titles or just discuss our favorite games. For this week, however, we need to begin by tackling the obvious issue: Microsoft's recent anti-consumer updates to the Game Pass subscription.

Starting October 1, Microsoft announced a series of adjustments to its subscription service, the most significant affecting the Ultimate plan — which offers the most games available plus immediate availability to latest releases from Xbox Game Studios. The new price is $30 monthly, up from $20. As expected, users expressed dissatisfaction, with many being vocal on social media and in discussion forums about their plans to terminate their plans.

It's the end of an era for the service as the once celebrated gaming bargain is no more. Now, gamers have to contemplate if the annual $360 cost for Game Pass's top tier is worth it to them, especially as daily expenses continues to rise.

If you're keeping your subscription, or seeking justifications to continue justifying it, read on for our current picks. These feature a top-tier exploration-platformers of all time, a potential award-winner from 2025, and a delightful JRPG sequel. Alternatively, should you prefer to cancel your subscription, see our guide on how to change or cancel your membership.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Should you decide to keep your Ultimate membership, you might require additional reasons to use it. A strong argument for the higher fee is that it includes to a suite of Ubisoft+ Classics. You’ll get multiple Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry titles for your monthly payment, but the best perk is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

This side-scrolling adventure brilliantly leverages the series, taking it back to its platforming roots in a dangerous maze that’s a thrill to mantle around. Combine this 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 three months of your subscription cost.

The Blue Prince Mystery

This investigative puzzle title Blue Prince debuted to strong sales and a dedicated community on Steam, but console adoption was supported initially by membership programs (it also appeared on PlayStation Plus). The word of mouth combined with its simple availability eventually helped the game attract two million users.

Trying a title for a few hours to see if it suits your taste or not is one of the core appeals of Game Pass, and those seeking immersion in a puzzle should check out Blue Prince. You play as the heir to an estate and large inheritance, but provided that you can locate the hidden chamber. The catch? The mansion's layout is ever-shifting, making Blue Prince a roguelike with new information to uncover regularly. I've spent a few hours with it and have been gradually uncovering mysteries and puzzle clues related to the enigma at the core of the story, and I'm curious to see where the game goes as I progress further.

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 Game Pass is the Prince's Edition version and that makes it tonally consistent with our preceding two recommendations? That remains unconfirmed. What I can share, though, is that Ni No Kuni 2 is excellent sequel to one of the best JRPGs of all time. Despite the whimsical Ghibli aesthetic and emphasis on youthful protagonists, Ni No Kuni 2 addresses serious themes, beginning with an seeming act of violence on a modern-day city 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 — think more like a action RPG than a Pokémon one — and features 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.