

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

Dec 1, 2017 • 2h 24min
221: Espionoptional
Kole, Ben, Jala, and David talk about Cuphead, that time Epic sued a teen, and we ask you which game deserves a VR adaptation.
The Brief:
Epic sues a Teen.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is being ported to mobile.
Desert Bus is being ported to VR.
Demon’s Souls multiplayer servers shutting down 2/28/2018.
Bungie screwed the pooch with an XP event.
The Multiplayer:
What game do you wish had a VR version?
The Grind:
Ben: Hue. The Final Station. Cuphead. Friday the 13th.
Jala: BroForce. Flying Hamster. Corpse Party.
David: Destiny 2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Kole: Rocket League. DanganRonpa V3.

Nov 17, 2017 • 2h 32min
220: Who Vigils the 'Lante?
Kole, Dennis, Jala, and David talk about EA’s microtransaction woes, LISA: The Painful RPG, and we ask you about your favorite in-game creations.
The Brief:
EA backs down on some Star Wars Battlegrounds II
Humble Care Package Bundle has some very good stuff in it.
David explains what it means to be an outlaw.
Games used as education about domestic violence.
The Multiplayer:
What's the coolest thing you've built/crafted in a game?
The Grind:
David: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Destiny 2.
Jala: Steins;Gate. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions.
Dennis: Destiny 2. Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Kole: LISA: The Painful RPG.
Links: Jala Prendes on Instagram: “Find me out at #texasrenaissancefestival if you go today! 😘 Ren Fest look — wizard who can run marathon distances and storm castles. Get…” • Instagram Jala Prendes on Instagram: “Just havin’ a sippy sip in the Magic Garden before watching Iris & Rose: Wild and Thorny. 😁” • InstagramDuckstiny 2 Raid 11/12 Calus - YouTube Gaming

Nov 10, 2017 • 2h 13min
219: Meat Gates and Nuggets
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about Super Mario Odyssey, Sony’s weird trophy reward program, and we ask you which games pull you into a time hole.
The Brief:
Console sales are way up.
TellTale lays off a bunch of their staff.
Sony is monetizing Trophies, kinda.
Ingress users can stalk each other.
The Multiplayer:
Which games pull you into a time hole?
The Grind:
Jala: We Happy Few. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. Resident Evil 7.
Kole: Stardew Valley. Super Mario Odyssey.
Ben: Super Mario Odyssey. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Dennis: Super Mario Galaxy 2. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle. Infamous: Second Son.
Links:(24) Jala Plays Resident Evil 7 Badly (Session 1) - YouTubeHumans vs. Zombies delivers thrills to campus

Oct 27, 2017 • 2h 22min
218: Consider the Haunch
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about SUPERHOT VR, the Switch adding GameCube controller functionality, and we ask you what’s holding back your favorite game.
The Brief:
Original Xbox backward compatibility coming to the Xbox One.
Switch software update enables GameCube controller functionality.
Bungie cancels “The Trials of the Nine”.
Vermintide 2 announced.
Overwatch team names announced.
The Multiplayer:
What’s one thing you would change about an otherwise good game to make it perfect?
The Grind:
David: Destiny 2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Kole: PRGE miscellany.
Dennis: Space Pirate Trainer. SUPERHOT VR. Card Crawl. X-COM 2: The War of the Chosen.
Ben: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 1-2 Switch.

Oct 20, 2017 • 1h 55min
217: Five People or Twenty Clowns
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about the closure of Visceral Games, Stardew Valley, and we do a Free Play Multiplayer.
The Brief:
EA shuts down Visceral Games.
Late Shift is an interactive movie.
Team Fortress 2
The Multiplayer:
FREE PLAY
The Grind:
Jala: Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. We Happy Few. In Verbis Vertis. Jeanne d’Arc
Ben: Breath of the Wild.
Dennis: Destiny 2. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.
Kole: Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Stardew Valley.

Oct 13, 2017 • 2h 8min
216: The Pigeons Did It
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Steamworld Dig 2, the new Star Control game announcement, and we ask you what your apocalypse game would be.
The Brief:
There’s going to be a new Star Control game.
Blade Runner 2049 flops.
Silent Hill 2 hidden bits.
A gambling in gaming petition.
The Multiplayer:
It’s after the end of the world and you find a handheld gaming system with one game in it. What game is it?
The Grind:
Dennis: Skyforce Anniversary. Star Wars Pinball. X-COM 2: War of the Chosen.
Ben: Breath of the Wild.
Kole: Steamworld Dig. Steamworld Dig 2. Stardew Valley.
David: Destiny 2.
Links:Off Camera Secrets | Silent Hill 2 - Boundary Break - YouTube

Oct 4, 2017 • 2h 12min
215: Codpiece Hardliners
Kole, Ben, Jala, and David talk about the We Happy Few, the Atari Box, and we ask you about your feel-good games.
The Brief:
Atari mini console is a mini computer.
University does study on action games and pattern recognition.
Nintendo Switch prices are normalizing.
Sonic 3D Blast facts.
The Multiplayer:
What’s your feel-good game?
The Grind:
Jala: Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider.
Kole: Clive Barker’s Undying. Golf Story.
David: Destiny 2.
Ben: Rocket League Season 4. Golf It.

Sep 29, 2017 • 1h 38min
214: Intergalactic Gump
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Steam’s Fake Game Problem, the Evil Within, and we ask you for your unconventional game problem solving stories.
The Brief:
The Witness released for iOS.
A smattering of Breath of the Wild mods.
Destiny faction showdowns.
Steam and Fake Games.
The Multiplayer:
Unconventional problem solving.
The Grind:
David: Destiny 2.
Dennis: Destiny 2. X-COM 2: War of the Chosen.
Ben: Rocket League.
Kole: The Evil Within. Dino Crisis. Metroid: Samus Returns. Danganronpa V3.

Sep 22, 2017 • 2h 16min
213: Dad Space
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about Dishonored: The Death of the Outsider, Battleborn’s shutdown, and we ask you about your high score stories.
The Brief:
Colleges are rolling out eSports scholarships.
Battleborn shuts down after 15 months.
More Shadow of the Colossus remake details revealed at TGS.
Knuckles & Knuckles and &Knuckles.
The Multiplayer:
What are you high score stories?
The Grind:
Jala: Guild Wars 2. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. Irresistible Mistakes. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider.
Kole: The Evil Within. Metroid Zero Mission. Metroid: Samus Returns.
Ben: Little Nightmares. Terraforming Mars (Board Game).
Dennis: Pandemic (Board Game). The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. Destiny 2.
Links:Original artwork comics and prints by NeonSkiesStudio on Etsy(11) Sonic Mania Mod - Knuckles Mania & Knuckles (PREVIEW) - YouTube Jala Prendes on Instagram: “Bugs Pt 2...yes, I'm aware that I fixate on very random things. #DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider” • Instagram

Sep 15, 2017 • 2h 4min
212: Welcome to the Palindrome
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Destiny 2, PewDiePie’s latest controversy, and we ask you what your Pokémon-style evolution would be.
The Brief
thatgamecompany announces Sky.
Fortnite gets a Battle Royale mode.
Warframe team takes a shot at Destiny 2.
PewDiePie fucks up again.
The Multiplayer:
What’s your Pokémon-style evolution?
The Grind
Dennis: Destiny 2. X-COM 2: The War of the Chosen.
David: Destiny 2. Fortnite.
Ben: Dead of Winter (a board game). Orwell.
Kole: The Evil Within. Slime Rancher. Resident Evil 7 DLC.


