

The Level
Duckfeed.tv
The Level is a podcast for people who love video games. It's a weekly roundtable hosted by friends and industry outsiders Kole Ross, Ben Merkel, Dennis Furia, David Moneysmith, and Jala Prendes. Every Friday, we discuss video game news, the games we've been playing, and listener mail.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 28, 2023 • 1h 58min
Episode 455: Strike the Swoop
The Grind:
Ben: Moss Book 1. Crab Champions.
Kole: Snakedate. Octodad (Student Edition). IndependANT. Antbassador.
David: Shardpunk: Verminfall.
Dennis: Destiny 2. Slay the Spire.
The Multiplayer:
What’s your favorite example of a developer listening to their players?
The End Boss:
Sega of America workers are unionizing.
Sony kills a lot of projects, but maybe for the better?
Wizards of the Coast sent the literal Pinkertons after a dude.
We’re getting more Case of the Golden Idol.

Apr 21, 2023 • 1h 36min
Episode 454: A Real Murderable Name
The Grind:
Jala: Murderous Muses. Dark Side of the Moon. Aperture Desk Job.
Dennis: Last Epoch. Call of Duty DMZ.
David: No Man’s Sky.
Kole: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion.
The Multiplayer:
Name the best duos in gaming.
The End Boss:
Someone broke Resident Evil 2 and 3.
Media Molecule co-founder leaves company.
Mario theme added to the Library of Congress

Apr 14, 2023 • 1h 57min
Episode 453: Pay it Further
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about Dredge, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, After the Fall, and much more!
The Grind:
David: Dredge. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands.
Dennis: Mighty Doom. Crusader Kings 3. Jurassic World Evolution 2.
Ben: Horizon: Call of the Mountain. After the Fall. BIGFOOT.
Kole: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Reunion.
The Multiplayer:
Design your dream controller!
The End Boss:
E3 cancelled.
Sony patents wacky shapeshifting controller.
American Tabletop Awards winners announced.

Mar 31, 2023 • 1h 49min
Episode 452: Passive Aggro
The Grind:
Kole: Resident Evil 4.
Ben: Resident Evil 4. Altered. Resident Evil Village VR. No Man’s Sky VR. Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge. Horizon: Call of the Mountain.
David: Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Sorry We’re Open.
Dennis: Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Diablo IV Beta.
The Multiplayer:
Propose a new visual style for a game!
The End Boss:
Steam won’t support older versions of Windows anymore come January 1, 2024.
Jake Solomon leaves Firaxis.
A game company made an AI its CEO and nothing means anything.

Mar 17, 2023 • 1h 49min
Episode 451: Down in the Sliders
The Grind:
Kole: Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Demo. Choo-Choo Charles. Myst FPS.
David: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Wo-Long: Fallen Dynasty.
Ben: Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Betrayal at Club Low.
The Multiplayer:
What game do you experience most through secondary content?
The End Boss:
Suicide Squad and Starfield are delayed.
There’s one texture that defines your whole childhood.
They’re toning down the rain in the Resident Evil 4

Mar 10, 2023 • 1h 32min
Episode 450: Wood and Degradation
The Grind:
Kole: Like a Dragon: Ishin! PowerWash Simulator: Midgar Special Pack.
Jala: Boyfriend Dungeon. A Mortician’s Tale.
Dennis: Grindstone. Call of Duty: DMZ.
The Multiplayer:
What game got you into your favorite genre?
The End Boss:
AI learns games better when you let it read the manual.
Paradox announces tons of new games.
Forspoken studio dissolved.

Mar 3, 2023 • 2h 17min
Episode 449: A Smokin' Aces Situation
The Grind:
Ben: Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Magic the Gathering.
Dennis: Magic the Gathering. Returnal. SP!NG. Call of Duty: DMZ.
David: Call of Duty: DMZ. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
Kole: Sons of the Forest. Frostpunk. The Case of the Golden Idol.
The Multiplayer:
What’s your cozy game?
The End Boss:
Elden Ring DLC announced.
Brass Birmingham usurps Gloomhaven on the Board Game Geeks charts.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer is… ehh…
New Call of Duty skin has a massive dong.
Diablo 4-inspired fashion goes to Milan.

Feb 24, 2023 • 2h 8min
Episode 448: Veiny Potatoes
Kole, David, Dennis, and Jala talk about Fire Emblem: Engage, Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line, Chaos;Head NoAH, and much more!
The Grind:
Jala: Fire Emblem: Fates. Fire Emblem Engage.
Kole: Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line. Frostpunk. Chaos;Head NoAH.
Dennis: Returnal. Call of Duty: DMZ.
David: Call of Duty: DMZ. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
The Multiplayer:
What’s your favorite nonstandard build?
The End Boss:
Blumhouse will soon publish games.
Terra Nil is releasing on March 28.
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened remake gets delayed.
Wilson makes a non-inflatable basketball.

Feb 17, 2023 • 1h 38min
Episode 447: Spiders for My Feelings
The Grind:
Kole: Dead Space Remake. The Case of the Golden Idol. Farthest Frontier.
Dennis: SP!NG. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
David: Sea of Thieves.
The Multiplayer:
FREE PLAY
The End Boss:
Metroid Prime gets surprise remaster release.
Nintendo adds Game Boy and GBA games to
Trans Witches are Witches bundle works to offset the bad wizard game.
Armored Core 6 inspires questionable Steam tag battle.
Links:
https://itch.io/b/1712/trans-witches-are-witches

Feb 10, 2023 • 1h 42min
Episode 446: Enemy Basketball Players
The Grind:
David: Call of Duty: War Zone 2.0.
Dennis: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Mini Motorways.
Ben: Days Gone. Barotrauma.
Kole: Farthest Frontier.
The Multiplayer:
What good could AI do for games?
The End Boss:
Assassin’s Creed composer wins first Grammy for a game soundtrack.
No, the Xbox 360 online marketplace isn’t going away.
Live service games continue to be a bad investment.