Put simply, it is a Dungeons and Dragons show on Geek and Sundry's Twitch channel, every Thursday 7pm PST (or 3am GMT... and yes I watch live) where the cast are voice actors. All episodes are available on the Geek and Sundry website. Links to all these things at the bottom of this blog post.
That description is a little dull.
Critical Role is a Dungeons and Dragons show, yes, but it showcases how amazing, insane, and brilliant role play, improv, and cursed dice can really be. I'm aware that their 50th episode airs next week, and to watch 150-200 hours of something can be daunting. I'm not going to give a summary of the story, but a quick description of my favourite episodes, and why I love Critical Role so much.
The Trial of the Take is in four parts, with four special guests. This is the first time we see the party split, but they still kick ass. Each character has a moment in the spotlight, including the guests. Not only that, but the battles show just how powerful the party are, and how they each use their skills to their advantage. These four episodes are a great place to start; you are introduced to the characters, the rules of D&D (honestly, you do not need to know how it works to enjoy Critical Role!), and the brilliant storyline.
The Rematch is another fantastic episode. Grog, the goliath barbarian, goes up against his arch nemesis again, but other things happen as well. Probably one of my favourite NPCs (non player characters; basically any character fully controlled by Matt Mercer the DM, rather than a character a player controls) is introduced - Victor. Simply search on YouTube for Critical Role and Victor, and you will immediately see why I love this character.
Consequences and Cows shows how comedy and tragedy can coincide. The group is considered an enemy, yet they still help others; they still show how much they care about the common people of the town. Plus they get turned into flying cows. No, really, they get turned into flying cows.
The Sunken Tomb had me in tears. I wept for that entire day. I won't give spoilers as to why, but I could not stop crying. I know that they are "just" fictional characters in a game, but I have grown so attached to Vox Machina over the last year, and this episode sort of showed to me how much I love this.
Critical Role reaffirmed something I already knew - girls can be gamers. More than that, it made me want to try Dungeons and Dragons. I have been Dungeon Master of my own group for close to six months now, and I'm a player in Valour's Call (link at the side). Critical Role is a brilliant form of entertainment, even if the rules of the game do not interest you. You will laugh, cry, and fall in love with these characters over and over again.
Links:
Geek and Sundry YouTube
Critical Role from Episode One
Information on Victor
Geek and Sundry Twitch
Valour's Call
See you next week!
E