For the past month, we have been sharing regular suggestions for what we're playing on the Game Pass service. It's an opportunity for us to spotlight hidden gems or just discuss our favorite games. This time around, however, we need to begin by addressing the elephant in the room: the latest unfavorable changes to the Game Pass subscription.
On Oct. 1, Microsoft announced a bevy of changes to the service, the most significant coming to the service's Ultimate tier — that provides the largest game library plus day-one access to new games from Microsoft's game studios. It'll now cost $30 monthly, up from $20. Understandably, subscribers were not happy, and numerous voices on social media and in comment sections about how they were going to cancel their plans.
This marks the conclusion for the service as the once celebrated gaming bargain is no more. Now, gamers have to contemplate if $360 a year for Game Pass's top tier is worth it to them, particularly when daily expenses gets more expensive.
Should you maintain your membership, or looking for reasons to keep it active, read on for this week's recommendations. They include a top-tier Metroidvanias of recent years, a 2025 Game of the Year contender, and a charming role-playing game follow-up. Or, if you're inclined to cancel Game Pass, refer to instructions on how to change or cancel your Game Pass subscription.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
If you do happen to stick with your Ultimate membership, you might require more excuses to use 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 games for your monthly payment, but the best perk is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
The 2D Metroidvania brilliantly leverages the series, returning to its origins in a dangerous maze that’s a exciting to explore. Pair that with exceptionally rich, most varied combat the genre offers, and it creates a top-shelf Metroidvania. Pair it with 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 launched with impressive numbers and a committed player base on Steam, but its console player base was buoyed at launch by subscription services (it was also available on other services). The word of mouth combined with its simple availability led to the game reach 2 million players.
Checking out a game for several sessions to discover if it's your jam or not is a key advantage of Game Pass, and anyone looking to get lost in a mystery should explore Blue Prince. You play as the heir to an estate and large inheritance, but provided that you can locate the hidden chamber. The challenge? The building's design is ever-shifting, making Blue Prince a procedural game 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 eager to discover how it develops as I progress further.
Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom - The Prince's Edition
Am I recommending Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom simply since the edition available on the service is the Prince's Edition and that creates thematic harmony with our preceding two recommendations? I'll never tell. What I can share, however, is that Ni No Kuni 2 is excellent sequel to a top role-playing game of all time. Although featuring charming animation-style visuals and emphasis on youthful protagonists, Ni No Kuni 2 doesn't shy away from serious themes, opening with an seeming act of violence on a contemporary metropolis before quickly transporting the main character (a world leader) into an alternate dimension where they end up smack in the middle of a historical power struggle. Compared to the first game, the battles are real-time — resembling a Tales game than a turn-based title — and includes a genuinely deep and complex management in which you have to manage a kingdom. It might be the Prince's Edition, but that sounds more like royal treatment to me.
