Competitive games best played with buds.

Overkill’s The Walking Dead (Starbreeze, Skybound Entertainment, 505 Games, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Between the bitter ends of both The Walking Dead series hero Rick Grimes and Telltale Games’s acclaimed adventure series based on the comic book, life isn’t particularly terrific for fans of the ambulatory deceased. Now, developer Overkill Software is offering a consolation prize for the franchise faithful: a four-player cooperative shooter set shortly after the outbreak of the undead apocalypse. Unfamiliarity with the show isn’t a barrier to entry; the game’s makers worked closely with Robert Kirkman, cocreator of the source material, to forge a standalone story, this one based in Washington, D.C. You choose from one of several new characters, each with a unique backstory, skill set, and strategic role in the squad. Team up with pals online to stock and protect your own corner of the urban hellscape from walkers and rival human scavengers alike.

Despite appearances, The Walking Dead isn’t a zombified Call of Duty. The goal here is to survive rather than to exterminate everything that moves. Players must make do with improvised weapons: silencers that aren’t always silent, gunsights that don’t aim right, assault rifles that jam. Walkers and scavengers are attracted by sound just like on the TV show, so you’ll need to tread softly and carry a big barbwire-wrapped stick. Car alarms will ring the walker dinner bell; use them to lure hordes to enemy encampments.

Just like in Telltale Games’s excellent episodic adventures (definitely worth downloading if you haven’t already), The Walking Dead’s sprawling plot will evolve over time, with expansions planned post-release. Your journey begins in Georgetown and other desolate D.C. neighborhoods as you and your team systematically scour the nation’s capital for loot, then continue into new regions as your neo-society carves out its niche. Plan your raids and encampment defenses carefully: Just like on the TV show, the living are often more dangerous than the dead.

Sports Party (Ubisoft, Nintendo Switch)

Downhill skateboarding, Jetski racing, beach tennis, Frisbee golf, regular golf — this four-player party pack is worth picking up just for the variety of events. Each sport also takes advantage of the Joy-Con controller in a way that might give you Wii Sports flashbacks (in a good way). Players can take their system on the go and toss virtual Frisbees outdoors… or, you know, toss real Frisbees, too, we guess.

Pool Panic (Adult Swim, Nintendo Switch, PC)

Billed as the world’s “least realistic pool simulator,” this oddball indie adventure has you rolling through a planet-spanning billiards table as a cue ball keen on knocking over the world. Players pass the controller to unleash trick shots in more than a hundred quick-hit challenges, sinking bat balls in caves, bouncing off Boy Scouts in forests, and fleeing zombies that’ll infect your cue if you’re not careful.

NBA 2K: Playgrounds 2 (2K Games, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC)

Up to four players choose from a roster of more than 400 current and retired NBA ballers and take to the streets in this throwback to sports games that focused more on arcade action than realism. Courts range from NYC alleyways to California boardwalks, and every dunk, layup, and crossover is larger than life and becomes supercharged with each made shot.

Jackbox Party Pack 5 (Jackbox Games, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, iOS)

The You Don’t Know Jack party games were always best played at the end of the night and under the influence. This offshoot is even more loosey-goosey, with support for smartphone devices and up to eight players in contests that require more than just a Wikipedic knowledge of pop culture. Freestyle rap battles and player-judged doodling contests will engage every lobe of your melon.