

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

Aug 3, 2018 • 2h 2min
251: The Royal Dirtbag Ex
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about No Man’s Sky Next, the Overwatch League season finale, and we ask you about the scariest sounds in gaming.
The Brief:
Overwatch League season one ends.
Picross S2 is coming out on August 2.
Labo vehicle kit announced.
NYU researchers develop AI to make you better at video games.
The Multiplayer:
What’s the scariest sound in gaming?
The Grind:
Ben: Octopath Traveler.
David: Fallout 4.
Dennis: No Man’s Sky Next.
Kole: Paratopic. Nier: Automata. Mega Man X Collection.

Jul 27, 2018 • 2h 12min
250: In a Salami Way
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Octopath Traveler, the Culling 2 catastrophe, and we ask you what your favorite treatment of death is in a video game.
The Brief:
Fortnite has made over $1 billion in in-game purchases.
The Culling 2 pulled from the market.
Gwent Standalone is in peril, gets a non-announcement.
Raiders of the Broken Planet renamed Spacelords.
Stardew Valley multiplayer update coming to PC on August 1.
The Multiplayer:
What game has your favorite treatment of death?
The Grind:
Kole: Nier: Automata. Outlast 2. The Last Door. Learning keyboard.
Dennis: Warframe. Superhot VR. Gloomhaven.
David: Destiny 2.
Ben: Twilight Imperium. Octopath Traveler.

Jul 20, 2018 • 2h 10min
249: Oxygen Bone
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Absolver, the Uncharted fan film, and we ask you about your favorite barks in games.
The Brief
Nathan Fillion stars as Nathan Drake in an Uncharted fan film.
Octopath Traveller sells out world ‘round.
The Aliens in Colonial Marines are dumb by mistake.
Fortnite’s success is changing the Unreal asset store.
The Multiplayer:
What are your favorite barks in games?
The Grind:
Ben: Five Tribes. T.I.M.E Stories.
Dennis: Overwatch. Absolver.
Kole: Rock Band 3. The Sims 4: Seasons. Puyo Puyo Tetris. Outlast 2.
David: Destiny 2. Nioh.

Jul 13, 2018 • 2h 24min
248: Bread Printer
Kole, Jala, and David talk about Persona 4: Dancing All Night, the Sonic Toaster, and we ask you what game’s pre-release hype tricked you most.
The Brief:
Warframe revealed new expansions, and surface-to-space combat.
Camden Park Appalachia Fallout ’76 meetup.
The Sonic toaster will be ruining breakfasts in October.
The Multiplayer:
What game’s advertising or pre-release hype tricked you hardest?
The Grind:
David: Destiny 2. Nioh.
Jala: Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds. Corse Party: Blood Drive.
Kole: Lumines Remastered.

Jun 29, 2018 • 1h 51min
247: Hung With Care
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about the WHO’s recent report on video game addiction, FAR: Lone Sails, and we ask you what your most useless game skill is.
The Brief:
The WHO establishes video game addiction as a mental illness.
Bethesda sues Warner Bros. over Westworld game.
Final Fantasy VII remake director admits they announced the game too soon.
Sims 4: Seasons lets you boink St. Nick.
The Multiplayer:
What is your most hard-won, but useless, video game skill?
The Grind:
Jala: Sniper Elite 4. Persona 4: Dancing All Night. Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds.
Ben: FAR: Lone Sails. Divinity: Original Sin II. Knights of the Old Republic II.
Dennis: Realm Royale. RIGS. Trackmania.
Kole: The Cat Lady. Rocksmith.

Jun 22, 2018 • 1h 51min
246: A Confederacy of Bournes
Kole, Dennis, and David talk about the remaining E3 news, ask you what headlines you wished you’d seen, and camp out talking about Rime.
The Brief:
What E3 stuff are we actually excited about?
The Multiplayer:
Share the E3 headlines you wish you’d seen.
The Grind:
David: Nioh. Cultist Simulator.
Kole: The Park.
Dennis: Realm Royale. Rime.

Jun 15, 2018 • 1h 47min
245: Aww, Sad Story... Slurrrrp
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about some general E3 news, Realm Royale, and we do some free-play multiplayer cleanup.
The Brief:
CD Projekt Red shows more Cyberpunk 2077.
Metal Wolf Chaos XD is being published by Devolver.
Fallout 76 is an online prequel.
Elder Scrolls Blade is a thing, so is Skyrim Very Special Edition.
The Multiplayer:
Free Play cleanup.
The Grind:
Dennis: Realm Royale. Starblood: Arena. Rec Royale.
Kole: Vampyr.
Jala: Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds. Persona 4: Dancing All Night.
Ben: Nothing.

Jun 5, 2018 • 1h 52min
244: Move to the Mountains and Grow Your Own Corn
Kole, Ben, Jala, and David talk about Cultist Simulator, the Fallout 76 reveal, and we ask for your E3 predictions… real and fake.
The Brief
Bethesda trolls fans with announcement stream.
Bethesda announces Fallout 76.
Square Enix says that they won’t make any more ___ Go games.
The Multiplayer:
E3 predictions, real or fake.
The Grind:
Jala: Corpse Party: Blood Drive. My Name is Mayo. Open Sorcery. Mind≒0.
Kole: White Day: A Labyrinth Named School.
Ben: Epistory.
David: Cultist Simulator.
Links:Jala Plays Open Sorcery - YouTube

Jun 1, 2018 • 2h 10min
243: We All Hope to Die Eminently
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about God of War, Dennis’ new PSVR, and we ask you what you think will be different about games in 10 years.
The Brief:
Killer7 is coming to Steam.
Solo underperforms.
Battlefield 5 will have female playable characters.
TotalBiscuit passes away.
The Multiplayer:
What will be different about games in ten years? What will be the same?
The Grind:
Ben: God of War. A Way Out.
Kole: Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened.
Dennis: Playstation VR! Skyrim: Rastered. RIGS.
David: Subnautica. Darkwood.

May 25, 2018 • 45min
242: Rapid Fire Buttons
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David do some Free Play Multiplayer cleanup!


