Between Levels Podcast

WheelieAverage has finally jumped into World of Warcraft: Forever, and after just two hours, he's already hooked. This week on Between Levels, Wheelie and FightinCowboy are joined by ScreenRant writer and Black Comics Chat podcaster Leo Faierman to discuss the launch of WoW Forever. Wheelie shares his first-ever World of Warcraft experience, Cowboy gives the veteran perspective on why Forever feel...

Could Phantom Blade Zero actually be better than Sekiro? This week, FightinCowboy and Sarthe share their first impressions of Phantom Blade Zero, and the early verdict is VERY positive. Cowboy is approaching ten hours with the game and believes its combat comes closer than almost anything else to capturing the back-and-forth dance that makes Sekiro so special. We discuss its huge weapon variety, c...

WheelieAverage has played three hours of Stranger Than Heaven, and RGG Studio might have created one of the strangest combat systems we’ve ever seen. This week, Wheelie and FightinCowboy break down Stranger Than Heaven’s unusual limb-based combat, weapons, executions, accessibility concerns and story spanning five different decades. We also return to Valor Mortis now that Cowboy has played signifi...

Welcome to The Bonus Level — an extra Between Levels episode outside of our normal numbered weekly podcast. WheelieAverage is joined by Dom from Dom’s Roundtable and Danreb Victorio from SmashPad for a special Final Fantasy Resonance review roundtable. Wheelie has finished the main story and spent around 40 hours with the game, Dom has put more than 70 hours into it and explored virtually everythi...

Valor Mortis takes centre stage this week as WheelieAverage, FightinCowboy and Sarthe dive into the game, its aggressive first-person combat, build crafting and some of the technical issues Wheelie encountered during his playthrough. Wheelie has finished Valor Mortis, while Cowboy is around five or six hours into the game and having a much more positive experience so far. We compare impressions, b...

Phantom Blade Zero is getting closer, and after spending six hours with the latest build, Sarthe thinks it could be something very special. In Episode 15 of Between Levels, WheelieAverage, FightinCowboy and Sarthe dive deep into Phantom Blade Zero. Sarthe has now played the game five different times and breaks down its incredibly fluid combat, huge weapon variety, free respec system, level design,...

Gears of War: E-Day is finally here, and Wheelie thinks it might be Xbox's best game since the Xbox 360 era. In Episode 14 of Between Levels, WheelieAverage, FightinCowboy and Sarthe dive into Gears of War: E-Day, including why the preview may have shown one of the game's slowest sections, its early review scores and why games should be judged on what they actually are rather than what a reviewer...

World of Warcraft has officially taken over Between Levels. In Episode 13, WheelieAverage, FightinCowboy and Sarthe dive deep into World of Warcraft Forever, with Cowboy admitting he somehow managed around 50–60 hours of WoW in under a week. We break down why WoW is still so dangerously addictive, what makes Forever different, the classes and professions, PvP, pets, controller support and whether...

Between Levels is back with Episode 12! This week, Jesse from DayOne joins WheelieAverage and FightinCowboy, with Sarthe joining a little later in the show. The main event is Control Resonant. Having all reviewed Remedy’s latest game, we break down its new melee-focused combat, open-world structure, powers, build variety, puzzles and exploration, as well as Dylan Faden’s development as the new pro...

Sarthe is back from Gamescom for Episode 11 of Between Levels, joining WheelieAverage and FightinCowboy to talk about what he saw and played in Germany, including Tides of Annihilation and more. Then we dive into Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Cowboy has finished the game, Wheelie is near the end, and Sarthe has spent several hours with it. We discuss the combat, Issen system, difficulty, open areas,...

Sarthe is away at Gamescom this week, so TheMavShow joins WheelieAverage and FightinCowboy for Episode 10 of Between Levels! We’re breaking down our favourite reveals from Gamescom Opening Night Live, including The Witcher 3 remaster, Tides of Annihilation, Warlock, Fable and plenty more, along with some of the games that left us a little less convinced. Then Mav and Cowboy give their hands-on imp...

The developers of Mortal Shell II join Between Levels! For Episode 9, WheelieAverage, FightinCowboy and Sarthe sit down with Mortal Shell II co-founders Vitaly Bulgarov, Andrew McLennan-Murray and Anthony for an in-depth conversation about the making of one of our favourite Soulslikes of 2026. We discuss the huge leap from the original Mortal Shell to Mortal Shell II, how Cold Symmetry’s creative...

Mortal Shell II is finally here, and WheelieAverage, FightinCowboy and Sarthe are joined by Dom from Dom’s RoundTable for the first full Between Levels review roundtable. The four break down Mortal Shell II’s enormous evolution over the original, including its combat, Shell system, build diversity, exploration, bosses, lore, difficulty, performance and technical state. They also discuss how it com...

Beast of Reincarnation has excellent combat, impressive traversal and plenty of promising ideas—but almost every strength comes with a frustrating catch. In Episode 7 of the Between Levels Podcast, WheelieAverage, FightinCowboy and Sarthe break down where Beast of Reincarnation succeeds, where it completely drops the ball and why its repetitive enemies, reused bosses, limited progression and disap...

What are the greatest video games of all time? This week, WheelieAverage, FightinCowboy and Sarthe reveal and discuss their personal Top 5 Video Games of All Time. Some choices may be predictable, while others could raise a few eyebrows. From nostalgic classics and community-driven experiences to modern masterpieces, the hosts explain why games including Phantom Dust, Elden Ring, Nioh 2, Armored C...

Join WheelieAverage alongside special guests Arc Knight and Keith Mitchell as they dive into Soulslike games, upcoming releases, game development, rising prices and the realities of creating content in the gaming space. In this episode, we discuss Elden Ring and modded Soulslike experiences, some of the most frustrating enemies in Dark Souls and Bloodborne, fall damage and traversal mechanics, Mor...

WheelieAverage, Sarthe, and FightinCowboy are joined by special guest DreamcastGuy for Episode 4 of Between Levels. In this episode, we discuss Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced and how it revitalizes one of the franchise’s most beloved games, our disappointment with Echoes of Aincrad, and the Revelations DLC for DOOM: The Dark Ages. We also share our Fantasy Critic predictions for Mortal Shell...

Join WheelieAverage, Sarthe, and FightinCowboy as they dive into Soulslike games, the future of physical media, digital-only gaming, horror game tropes, PC gaming, and the changing shape of the industry. In this episode, we discuss what actually makes a game a Soulslike, our favorite Soulslike experiences, Elden Ring, co-op and invasion mechanics, build crafting, modding, PlayStation's reported mo...

Join WheelieAverage, Sarthe, and FightinCowboy as they dive into some of the biggest topics in gaming, including GTA VI pricing, Valve's Steam Machine, Fantasy Critic, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, and the rising cost of gaming. In this episode, we discuss our Fantasy Critic draft strategies, impressions of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, GTA VI editions and microtransactions, Valve's Steam Ma...

Welcome to the very first episode of Between Levels. Join WheelieAverage, Sarthe, and FightinCowboy as they dive into some of the biggest topics in gaming, including Xbox's future, GTA VI, Summer Game Fest, and the future of Soulslike games. In this episode, we discuss Xbox's recent showcase, industry layoffs, GTA VI's impact on the gaming landscape, Mortal Shell 2, Lords of the Fallen 2, anime ga...