Critical Role

Honestly, I never thought I would like this show. As a D&D player (and DM) myself, I've always thought that watching someone play without playing yourself to be extremely boring. 54 episodes later, I have to say: that was not the case with Critical Role.

How can watching 8 people talk and roll dice make you laugh or cry?

I've found that listening to Matt's descriptions would paint a picture before my eyes. It was just like watching a movie, only way better. Because fails are awesome too here. Characters are not always ready or prepared, they sometimes don't really know what to say. And that makes them more real. Through the players' voices, I can hear their characters. I've come to the point where i really believe that Ashley and Sam are gnomes, and Travis is a Goliath.

This show made me want to be a better DM, and a better player. Matthew, I one day will be as prepared as you are! I know the chances of the cast ever reading this, but if any of you ever do, thank you for letting me watch and have fun with you.

Critical Role is a surprisingly engaging show, told through constant improvisation performed by some of the hardest hitters in the Voice Acting business, through the game "Dungeons and Dragons" lead by Matthew Mercer. Critical Role takes place in the high fantasy world of Exandria, and centers around the group of adventurers called Vox Machina. Vox Machina consists of Goliath barbarian Grog (Travis Willingham), human gunslinger Percival (Taliesin Jaffe), Dragonborn Sorcerer Tiberius (Orion Acaba), half-elf druid Keyleth (Marisha Ray), gnome cleric Pike (Ashley Johnson), gnome bard Scanlan (Sam Riegel) and the half-elven twins, the ranger Vex'ahlia (Laura Bailey) and her brother, the rogue Vax'ildan (Liam O'Brien). The story starts in-medias-res as the group are entering the dwarven city of Kraghammer. They don't manage to be there long before they start attracting attention and trouble. What makes the show isn't the story itself, which might surprise most who try to watch the show. It's the characters, their inter- personal relationships, struggles, and the impact they have on the world around them that makes the show what it is. Despite having no visuals at all, this show is intensely visual, through the amazingly graphic storytelling of Matthew Mercer. If you possess even a smidgen of ability to imagine, Matthew Mercer handles the rest. He'll paint castles in your mind, after which the remaining cast will fill the castle with life, laughter, and tears of both joy and sorrow. Being that the show is running on 300+ hours, and isn't done yet, with the average episode being 3 hours, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a short attention span. But if that isn't an issue, I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories about people. Even if you don't like fantasy, you'll quite quickly discover that the fantasy is just the setting of the story, but that the backbone of Critical Role is the characters. I've seen 300 hours of this show, and I'd happily watch 300 more.

I stumbled upon this web series quite early in its airing. It mainly caught my interest because of the cast. Nine voice actors in total, some of which you never knew you knew, make up this extremely well rounded and semi-professional improvisational group of adventurers. Developing a human being is no easy feat, and to make each and every character as unique as they are, it's astounding. With the cherry on top that is their years of experience in voice acting, it is a joy to listen to them all whenever they speak. Now what got me to stay was the absurdly well spun story, custom built by the dungeon master. The writing of this loose script is pulled off amazingly, and the only thing that would make it better is to have an actual cast behind the creator to voice each character. Don't get me wrong, he does do a fantastic job with each one, breathing life into every being in his world. From the characters born from both the players and the DM, comes the gut busting, tear jerking, most jaw dropping story that I have ever had the pleasure to witness unfold before me. As of writing this review today on the Thursday of May 19, 2016, I await the impending exhilaration of watching the newest episode, number 54. To all of those reading this, I have one question for you. Is it Thursday yet?

This is the best televised dungeon and dragons(homebrew/tweaked) series i have ever seen. Rarely ever do i like the position of spectator when people are playing games. But for 48 episodes i've been eagerly longing for the next. The dungeon master Matthew Mercer is a storyteller extraordinaire. All the other characters are of equal importance to the story Matthew develops. Each and every one of the actors adding a unique touch and feel to the campaigns. From serious to in for a good laugh you will be engulfed in an array of creative problem solving. Immersive roleplay and an excellent distribution of heroic moments between characters where all actors respect their assisting role at the right time allowing for each character to shine.

Thank you so much critical role crew for giving me such a lovely experience on a weekly basis. P.s. Please air the rebroadcast on a Sunday! It's too hard for this European to wait until Monday to see the episodes and impossible to break my day rhythm to see it at midnight.

This show is a joy to watch. All of the actors truly care about their characters and the narrative.

The unscripted, improvised actions of the players adds to the unpredictable and engaging story that Matt Mercer sets up.

Watching Critical Role will enrich your life.