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.
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Listeners of The Level that love the show mention: kole,Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Golden Idol Mysteries: The Spider of Lanka, GTFO, and much more! The Grind: - David: Redfall. - Ben: Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. Golden Idol Mysteries: The Spider of Lanka. - Dennis: GTFO. Magic: The Gathering - Arena. - Kole: Picross S9. The Multiplayer: - Let's talk about weird games! The End Boss: - Sony shutters PixelOpus. - Landlord's Super is leaving Early Access on May 25. - GameFreak is developing a non-Pokemon game.
The Grind: Kole: Rusted Moss. Like a Dragon: Isshin! David: Redfall. Dennis: Redfall. GTFO. Trackmania. Slay the Spire. Ben: Star Wars: Jedi The Multiplayer: Let's talk about our favorite celebrity appearances in games. The End Boss: VICE shutters Waypoint. Game budgets are out of control. Marvel's Midnight Suns won't be getting a Switch version. New Golden Idol expansion is coming out this week. PolishPixels.com (http://PolishPixels.com) is a database of games developed in Poland.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 (https://itch.io/b/1712/trans-witches-are-witches)
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.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about Hi-Fi Rush, Days Gone, Farthest Frontier, and much more! Jala's friend's Rain'sPatreon is https://www.patreon.com/RandomRain The Grind: * Jala: Dragon Ball FighterZ. Super Bomberman R. * Dennis: Elden Ring. Disco Elysium. Neon White. * Kole: Hi-Fi Rush. Farthest Frontier. * Ben: Days Gone. Dune (1979 Board Game). The Last of Us (TV Show). The Multiplayer: * Pitch a game about an actor. The End Boss: Australia reinstates its Interactive Games Fund. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor delayed. Apex Legends Mobile and Rumbleverse shutting down. Final Fantasy VII content is coming to PowerWash Simulator.
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about Definitely Not Fried Chicken, Days Gone, Call of Duty: Warzone, and much more! The Grind: * David: Call of Duty: Warzone. * Dennis: Call of Duty: Warzone. Disco Elysium. Halo Infinite. * Kole: Definitely Not Fried Chicken. * Ben: Griftlands. Days Gone. The Multiplayer: * Propose another warning label for games! The End Boss: * SteamWorld Build will literally kill Kole. * Riot suffers huge game code and data leak. * Gylt, a Stadia exclusive, is looking for a new home. * This fish plays Pokemon and he steals your identity and he's not even sorry about it.
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about Neon White, Burnhouse Lane, the Last of Us TV Series, and much more! The Grind: - Kole: Burnhouse Lane. - Dennis: Neon White. Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0. - Ben: Griftlands. The Last of Us TV Series. - David: Citizen Sleeper. The Multiplayer: - What game do you completely love even though it goes against your type? The End Boss: - Justin Roiland is a piece of shit. - Cordyceps is in health supplements, and that's actually fine, TLoU. - Wizards of the Coast backs off of predatory licensing change. - We might get more Metal Gear, without Kojima.
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about The Past Within, Returnal, Citizen Sleeper, and much more! The Grind: - David: Warframe. Citizen Sleeper. - Ben: Baba Does Taxes. Returnal. The Past Within. - Kole: The Past Within. The Devil in Me. - Dennis: Elden Ring. Warhammer: Darktide. The Multiplayer: - What game would you never touch with a ten foot pole? The End Boss: - EA removes CPR end zone celebration from Madden. - Sega dicks over Bitmap Books. - Member of STALKER dev team dies fighting Russian invasion of Ukraine. - The Last of US TV show is getting great reviews.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about Life is Strange: True Colors, Just Dance 2023, Marvel's Midnight Suns, and much more! The Grind: - Jala: Pokémon Scarlet. Capcom 2nd Arcade Stadium. Just Dance 2023. Samurai Shodown. - Ben: Marvel's Midnight Suns. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Marvel Snap. Returnal. - Dennis: Elden Ring. Warzone 2.0. Trackmania. Dr. Seuss Pinball. - Kole: Life is Strange: True Colors. The Multiplayer: - Free Play! The End Boss: - Square Enix fails to read the room on NFTs. - Super Nintendo World is almost here. - Lies of P is Pinnochio Bloodborne. - Zenimax QA votes unanimously to approve their union.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about the games they played over Duckstream, and announce the 2022 Title of the Year. The Grind: Friday the 13th Vermintide 2 Golf With Your Friends Deep Rock Galactic Deceit
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about The Devil in Me, Marve;'s Midnight Suns, Gungrave G.O.R.E., and much more! The Grind: Kole: Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me. Jala: Pokemon Scarlet. Ben: Marvel's Midnight Suns Dennis: Gungrave G.O.R.E. Modern Warfare 2: DMZ. The Multiplayer: What's your Game In the Year 2022? The End Boss: FromSoft reveals new Armored Core game. The boy wizard game's last-gen versions are delayed. Brawl Star gambling addicts bemoan loss of loot boxes.
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about Pentiment, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and much more! The Grind: - Dennis: Dawncaster. Slay the Spire. Warzone 2.0. - David: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. - Ben: God of War: Ragnarok. Pentiment. - Kole: NOTHING. The Multiplayer: - Your The Game Awards predictions. The End Boss: - Star Wars: Jedi Survivor release date leaks. - A Zenimax QA team unionizes. - A new Mario movie trailer dropped. - Vampire Survivor is getting some DLC.
Kole, Ben, David, and Jala talk about Pokemon Scarlet, The Case of the Golden Idol, Atari 50, and much more! The Grind: Jala: Persona 5 Royal. Pokemon Scarlet. Ben: God of War: Ragnarok. The Case of the Golden Idol. David: Kenshi. Kole: Signalis. Bonelab. Atari 50. The Multiplayer: What's your first video game memory? The End Boss: Starfox artist is working on a new game. Marvel's Midnight Suns is coming out like right now, much to our surprise. Tetris: The Grand Masters is coming to America for the first time. Elite: Dangerous is getting aliens, officially.
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about God of War: Ragnarok, SIGNALIS, Somerville, and much more! The Grind: Ben: Somerville. God of War: Ragnarok. Returnal. David: SIGNALIS. Kenshi. Shadow Over Loathing. Kole: Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose. Walkabout Mini-Golf: Myst. Dennis: Deep Rock Galactic. Magic the Gathering Arena: The Brothers' War. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. The Multiplayer: What feature will immediately make you interested in a game? The End Boss: God of War super special collector's editions ship with one glaring omission. Remedy announces Control 2. Fallout 76 gets a neat fan trailer. Crypto exchange FTX, which bought Storybook Brawl, implodes.
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about Persona 5 Royal, Walkabout Mini Golf, Dawncaster, and much more. The Grind: Ben: V Rising. Phasmophobia. Kole: Phasmophobia. Walkabout Mini Golf. David: Deep Rock Galactic. Dennis: Dawncaster. Fallout 3. Persona 5 Royal. The Multiplayer: What game or property do you want a survival horror version of? The End Boss: A Riven remake is on the way. Apparently Nascar 2005 for GameCube is a lot more useful than we thought. The Last of Us HBO series premieres in January 2023. The PS Plus numbers.
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about Phantom Abyss, Tunic, Scorn, and much more! The Grind: Dennis: Phantom Abyss. Magic: The Gathering Arena. Kole: Scorn. David: Scorn. Deep Rock Galactic. Ben: Tunic. Satisfactory. The Multiplayer: Let's talk about challenge runs! The End Boss: Square Enix trademarks “Symbiogenesis”. Streamer-funded Smash tournaments fill a void Nintendo isn't interested in filling. Dark Souls 2 online play restored, but with caveats.
Kole, Ben, David, and Dennis talk about Scorn, Outer Wilds, Echoes of the Eye, Slay the Spire: Downfall, and much more! The Grind: David: Deathloop. Deep Rock Galactic. Dennis: Deep Rock Galactic. Slay the Spire: Downfall Mod. Rabbids: Party of Legends. Ben: Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye. Tunic. Kole: Scorn. The Multiplayer: What games handle grinding the best? The End Boss: Bayonetta 3 voiceover woes. Silent Hill announcements are happening and we're uncertain. Scientists have taught brain cells to play Pong. Minecraft Legends looks like a neat RTS.
Kole, Ben, and Dennis talk about Medieval Dynasty, Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye, Ori and the Blind Forest, and much more! The Grind: Dennis: Ori and the Blind Forest. Medieval Dynasty. Ben: Dome Keeper. Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye. Kole: Rocksmith 2014. The Multiplayer: What games use simplicity or minimalism to great effect? The End Boss: Among Us is coming to VR on November 10. Let's talk about the Mario movie trailer. VTubers apologize for streaming porn with Splatoon 3, creatively.
Kole, David, Dennis, and Jala talk about Catherine Full Body, Deep Rock Galactic, Metal Gear Survive, and much more! The Grind: Jala: Catherine: Full Body. Shining Force 2. Dennis: XCOM II: War of the Chosen. Trackmania. Deep Rock Galactic. David: Deathloop. Kole: Vampire Survivors. Metal Gear Survive. The Multiplayer: What's your Last Meal game? The End Boss: Google kills Stadia. CD Projekt Red announces a Cyberpunk sequel and several new Witcher games. Fandom buys GameFAQS and Kole is concerned. Overwatch 2 suffers launch day DDoS attacks.
Kole and Jala wrap up their coverage on the main Phoenix Wright trilogy of games by talking about Trials and Tribulations. Story concerned with the pasts of the various characters, it also seeks to wrap up loose ends and give a big fanservice payday to anyone with affection for the cast.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Dome Keeper, Trombone Champ, Timberborn, and much more! The Grind: Ben: Timberborn. Dome Keeper. Kole: Trombone Champ. Dennis: Deathloop. XCOM 2. David: Deathloop. The Multiplayer: What piece of DLC do you think was better than the base game? The End Boss: Metal: Hellsinger custom music mods look silly and fun. A fan has made Super Mario Bros. 5. 0G9-XN4-FNF Blizzard is making some baffling and hostile decisions with Overwatch 2.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Rocksmith+, Fallout 76 Expeditions: The Pitt, Timberborn, and much more! The Grind: David: Fallout 76 Expeditions: The Pitt. Destiny 2. Kole: Steam Deck impressions. Vampire Survivors. Skinwalker Hunt. Rocksmith+. Dennis: XCOM 2. Opus Magnum. Ben: Fall Guys. Timberborn. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. The Multiplayer: Think of a favorite video game franchise. What is one change to that franchise that would make you drop it like a sack of bricks? (Apart from the creators being hateful in some way; take that as read.) The End Boss: Sim Nimby won't let you play Sim City. Grand Theft Auto 6 hack seems like a disaster. Resident Evil 8 DLC will end the Winters story line. New GeForce graphics cards will add ray tracing to Portal.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Immortality, Live a Live, Taiji, and much more! The Grind: Kole: Immortality. Live a Live. Dennis: God of War (2018). Death Stranding. Opus Magnum. Ben: The Planet Crafter. Taiji. David: Destiny 2. The Multiplayer: Free Play! The End Boss: PlayStation Stars look like NFTs even though they aren't. Pacific Drive looks rad as hell. Nintendo shows details about Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Against all odds they're making a new Theatrhythm Final Fantasy game. That's not the real TSR, it's some bigots who trademark squatted. They made an AI-art SHMUP, with all of the ethical concerns associated with that.
Kole, Ben, and Dennis talk about Cursed to Golf, Second Extinction, The Planet Crafter, and much more! The Grind: Kole: Cursed to Golf. No One Lives Under the Lighthouse. Dennis: Second Extinction. Death Stranding. Ben: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Planet Crafter. The Multiplayer: Add a character to a multiverse fighting game! The End Boss: Rocksmith+ is finally releasing on September 6. Disney is getting into TCGs with the horribly-named “Lorcana”. Sam Barlow's new game “Immortality” is getting rave reviews.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Roboquest, Arcade Paradise, the Horror of Salazar House, and much more! The Grind: Ben: Slay the Spire. Metroid Dread. Magic: Arena. David: Destiny 2. Roboquest. Dennis: Roboquest. Slay the Spire. Kole: Arcade Paradise. Horror of Salazar House. The Multiplayer: Patch notes for reality. The End Boss: Slime Rancher 2 enters Early Access on September 22. The Lords of the Fallen, a reboot of Lords of the Fallen, announced. Ben's recommendations: The Rehearsal, Dune Imperium.
Kole, Dennis, and Jala talk about Mortuary Assistant, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Under Falling Skies, and much more! The Grind: Kole: Mortuary Assistant. Jala: Sonic Mania. Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Dennis: Under Falling Skies. Vampire Survivors. Rainbow Six: Extraction. The Multiplayer: What are your little gaming habits and rituals? The End Boss: The Contradiction guy has a new FMV project called Fogtown. Alone in the Dark reboot announced. Sony is exploring adding its own launcher for PC games.
Kole, Dennis, and Jala talk about Into the Breach: Advanced Edition, Late Shift, and Solasta: Crown of the Magister. The Grind: Jala: Contradiction. The Quarry. Late Shift. Dennis: Into the Breach: Advanced Edition. Divinity: Original Sin. Solasta: Crown of the Magister. Kole: Resident Evil Village. The Multiplayer: Let's talk in-person gaming events! The End Boss: Covid is still messing up the games industry. Sony gets rid of feature you never used. Steam simplifies game art by outlawing marketing clutter.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Overwhelm, Zombie Army 4, Stray, and much more! The Grind: Dennis: Overwhelm. Snowrunner. Kole: Trackmania Turbo. David: Destiny 2. Zombie Army 4. Ben: Stray. The Multiplayer: What animal deserves its own video game? The End Boss: The University of Toronto establishes a huge video game library. Stray mods bring real life (and fictional) cats into Stray. There's an Elden Ring Name Generator. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake derailed.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Stray, Last Call BBS, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, and much more! The Grind: Kole: Stray. Ben: Stray. Last Call BBS. David: Elite: Dangerous. 20 Minutes Till Dawn Dennis: NEOVERSE. Trackmania. The Multiplayer: What game makes the most interesting use of a class system? The End Boss: Inscryption is coming to PS4 and PS5 on August 30. New Warhammer expansion's map is real neat. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands player gets the rarest, most powerful randomly generated gun.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Elite: Dangerous, Thumper, and much more! The Grind: Dennis: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Chorus. Ben: Before Your Eyes. Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Kole: The Quarry. Thumper. David: Elite: Dangerous. The Multiplayer: What art style would you like to see used more often in games? The End Boss: Studio Canal films being pulled from European PSN. Ubisoft tries to pull some nonsense with digital storefronts. Halo Infinite's co-op campaign mode will never come out.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Before Your Eyes, ElecHead, Monster Hunter: Rise, and much more! The Grind: Kole: ElecHead. Dennis: God of War (2018). Trackmania. David: Monster Hunter: Rise. Ben: Dorfromantik. Before Your Eyes. The Multiplayer: What's your favorite endgame content? The End Boss: Persona games are coming to Switch. New Mario+Rabbids gets October 20 release date. Quebec language law puts local video game industry at risk. Steam Summer Sale is happening right now.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Super Auto Pets, Snowrunner, the Quarry, and much more! The Grind: Dennis: God of War (2018). Snowrunner. David: Snowrunner. No Man's Sky. Destiny II. Vampire Survivor. Ben: Super Auto Pets. The Looker. Kole: The Quarry. The Multiplayer: What's your favorite black character in games? The End Boss: There's no way to finish KOTOR II on Switch. Xbox PC app will tell you if you can run a game. Gloomhaven dev stops using Kickstarter because of blockchain move. Maniac mods a mosquito swatter to gamify it.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about The Quarry, Citizen Sleeper, To the Moon, and more! The Grind: David: Destiny 2. No Man's Sky. Snowrunner. Ben: Citizen Sleeper. The Quarry. Kole: The Quarry. Jala: The Quarry. Where the Water Tastes Like Wine. To the Moon. The Multiplayer: Free Play! The End Boss: The Diablo Immortal monetization scheme is ironically demonic. Capcom announces release date and details for Resident Evil Village DLC. Netflix is making a Squid Game reality show and I hate it here. Bethesda seems to be setting themselves up for failure with Starfield.
Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about Snowrunner, Diablo Immortal, Open Sorcery, and much more! The Grind: Jala: Fire Emblem: Echoes. Open Sorcery: Jingle BEL/S. 16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonald's. Contradiction. Dennis: Roller Champions. Diablo Immortal. Snowrunner. Ben: Mudrunner. Elden Ring. Monster Train. Kole: None. The Multiplayer: What video game sidekick would you like to have? The End Boss: GoldenEye 007 remaster is possibly coming. GameStop employees in Nebraska walk out. Resident Evil 4 remake officially announced. Wholesome Direct 2022 is scheduled for 2022.