What are you playing this weekend?

Are you happy the weekend is here? Sure you are. Work is behind you, and there's nothing deterring you from firing up something new or continuing where you left off with an older or more recent title.

This weekend, a few members of the VG247 crew are either on vacation or too busy to play games, but there are at least three of us who plan to get our game on this weekend.

For two of us, the weekend couldn't come soon enough because we have been looking forward to a couple of game releases for what has seemed like ages. For another, it's time to hone up on fighting skills as there are folks to compete with.

Connor Makar, Staff Writer - Guilty Gear: Strive, Inscryption

This weekend I’ll be trying to spend as much time as I can with Guilty Gear: Strive, as I have a tournament coming up in November and am super rusty.

That game is real top-of-the-shelf stuff, great netcode and a fun cast of characters make it a real joy to play. There was also a big patch for the game recently, so I’m eager to figure out what’s changed.

There’s also a cool little game called Inscryption I’ve seen pop up on my Twitter, so I really want to give that a go. Busy times!

Dorrani Williams, Video Producer - Riders Republic

Riders Republic is finally out which means I'll be playing that this weekend.

It's actually quite a challenging game, which surprised me, and it has a lot of replayability. Trying to complete all the side challenges for stars is addictive, and nailing a race with no crashes or resets feels very satisfying.

It's still early days, so I can't say much just yet. That said, I am enjoying what I've played so far and I think Riders Republic will last longer than STEEP did.

Check out my preview for it while you're here.

Stephany Nunneley, News Editor - Age of Empires 4

Does my choice surprise you? Of course it doesn't. You are well aware of how much I love conquering other cultures in Age of Empires 2. If not, you never read these weekend pieces and that hurts my feelings a bit.

I am super excited for Age of Empires 4, and from what I have heard, most of the game's mechanics come straight from AoE2. This really pleases me, and it will my friends as well.

My monk using pals will be pleased to know religious units, formerly known as monks, will be able to convert enemy units over to their side by triggering a conversion area of effect when holding a relic. This AOE effect will help quite a bit from what I undersatnd. Maybe I need to start using religious figures more often. Usually, I lose track of my monks while battling enemy units and destroying buildings, so I don't use them. And, they never seem to grab a relic on time before it's bogarted by one of my pals who is a relic hog (I adore them despite this personality flaw *wink*).

There will only be eight civilizations to start off with, but more will come in time. Until then, I will just have to play as either the Abbasid Dynasty, Chinese, Delhi Sultanate, English, French, Holy Roman Empire, Mongols, or the Rus. Dunno which one I will start off with first. Probably the Mongols or the Abbasid Dynasty.

I have heard there are some technical issues that need to be ironed out, like inconsistent frame times and frame-rates, but nothing game-breaking so far, which is good. Hopefully, details such as this can be worked out soon with updates.

Anyway, if you are a Game Pass subscriber, and like the RTS genre, you should really give the game a try this weekend. I have a sub, but the game was given to me as a Steam gift for my birthday last month, so that's where I will be playing it.

What are your weekend plans? Are you picking up AoE4 or Riders Republic? What about Mario Party Superstars or Guardians of the Galaxy? Let us know what you'll be getting into over the next couple of days.