I have not been able to play since my GM passed away when we were in high school. Listening to the good times, inside jokes, and friendships in this podcast takes me back.

Rating: ★★★★★ In a world often overwhelmed by uncertainty and stress, "Critical Role" has become my perfect mental sanctuary. As an emergency department registered nurse, my days are fraught with the weight of trauma and life-altering decisions. The pressure is unimaginable, and the need for an escape, vital. That's where this podcast has become not just a show for me, but a lifeline. "Critical Role" is a unique blend of storytelling, humor, and camaraderie, masterfully woven together by a group of incredibly talented voice actors. What sets it apart for me is how Matt Mercer's creative genius, Sam Riegel's unending humor, and Travis Willingham's infectious enthusiasm come together to create an experience that's as calming as it is captivating. It's a rare find: a podcast that can truly transport you to another world, offering a brief respite from our often harsh reality. Listening on my commute, I find myself not just a listener but a participant, imagining myself at the table with them, dice in hand, embarking on epic adventures. It's here, in these moments, that the stresses of my job begin to fade, giving way to laughter and a sense of belonging. On my days off, the show becomes the perfect companion for hiking, allowing me to unwind amidst nature while being engrossed in the magical realms of D&D. "Critical Role" is much more than just entertainment; it serves as a reminder of the beauty of storytelling and the power of imagination. It's a podcast that consistently manages to brighten even my darkest days, bringing smiles when they are needed the most. Despite having never met them, I feel a deep sense of gratitude towards the entire cast for their authenticity and the joy they've brought into my life. To those out there who find themselves fascinated by the allure of D&D or simply in search of a storytelling experience that can carry you away from the trials of everyday life, "Critical Role" is the podcast for you. Forget the internet trolls; this show is a gem, capable of offering both a laugh and a moment's peace in the midst of chaos. I am proud to be a listener and will continue to be one as long as the show runs, which, hopefully, will be indefinitely.

Sam. I can see him as a “fun friend”. But he disrupts the group and game. If I FF, it’s usually his segments

NB: The audio skipping problem goes away if you download the entire episode before starting to play it. I think this is an Apple problem, not a CR problem, due to the length of the shoes. I used to enjoy listening to the podcast during my commute, and I’d let the ads at the beginning and the breaks play to support the show. Sadly, the ads are now inserted at random in the stream and are much louder than the actual scenes… you’ll be listening to a touching moment being whispered among the cast and A REALLY LOUD AD WITH DRIVING MUSIC CUTS IN MID-WORD BLASTING YOUR EARS AND RUINING THE MOMENT. This happens many times per episode. It’s ruined the experience so much I’m stopping listening to the podcast. Sadly, since i don’t have time to watch a video stream, CR will lose a listener. Hope those ads make up for my leaving, as the team seems like good people.

Great Podcast but why is season 2 so incomplete

This cast, these friends, they are consistent in their high quality performances and storytelling. The characters are lovable and complex and the plots are fully immersive. The best of the best.

Discovered Critical Role via a random post from a stranger on social media, reacting to a big plot point—barely knew anything about D&D. Got interested, watched the first episode of campaign 2 to see what it was about. It’s now hundreds of hours later and I’m still watching/listening. Dig in, you won’t regret it.

Just perfect I hate tribble2 he left a one star

It’s critrole. It’s the best.

I came to this party late and have been delighting in the storytelling, and humor in this show. The highlight is that the cast obviously and truly enjoy each other. Their friendship and fun are what keeps me coming back.

I’ve been a long time listener and this show is me of the most amazing works of art I’ve ever had the pleasure of following.

What started as a group a talented friends telling elevated stories about friendship and its conquest over difficulty has steadily declined into that group of friends navel gazing and goofing off. There’s nothing wrong with that kind of “story,” but I for one miss the CR of the first two seasons. What once was a drama that touched the heights and depths of human emotion is now a 4-hour slapsticky joke-off. If you’re looking for epic fantasy, look elsewhere.

The ads are getting a little ridiculous, 15 minute from when i hit play to when the show actually starts is a bit much. And for the love of god please fix the upload problem. It’s annoying to hear the same 30 seconds over again.

Iphone may be the worst, clunky, convoluted, and archaic garbage ever to have existed. Thankfully, crit roll is here to make it just that little bit less truly horrendous

Love what you guys do! Its always entertaining and interesting! Even the ads at the beginning make me laugh, thanks guys!

If you like D&D, like comedy & have hours of time to pass, then listen to every second of these wonderfully talented voice actors as they stumble through the fantasy worlds!

It’s three minutes of ads just to get to . . . Sam’s ad. More generic ads are now spread throughout the show at the most awkward moments, practically cutting people off mid sentence. Also as others have pointed out, the podcast will often repeat sections of 15-20 seconds. It is jarring and beyond annoying.

I have been a huge fan for years. I still love the content but the increased frequency of the ads and glitches that rewind 5 to 20 secs multiple times a show have really gotten in the way. I listen to tons of podcasts and it happens only with this one. What the f&@$ is up with that?

I love dungeons and dragons and I do it once a week but I wish to start from the beginning and if I do not have a choice that is very much OK. so have a good day.

I am a newer listener that found the the show after watching the amazon prime series. I now play dnd 3 times a week and can’t get enough of this show. Great characters, amazing storytelling, deep and and rich world building. This show has actually changed my life for the better. Thank you all for what you do.

Great characters, great voice acting, great fun. Literally the only complaint I have is that I can’t see what’s happening, and that’s on me for listening to the podcast instead of watching the vod.

The answer is yes! 10 months ago I had no idea who Critical Role was, but after discovering them through the Legend of Vox Machina I spent 5 months catching up. It’s been an absolute blast!

Love Critical Role, but currently episode three is borderline unlistenable. Especially the later half, it is constantly skipping back 20 to 30 seconds. Very frustrating. And I’ve seen other reviews saying this is a widespread problem. Will happily fix review when the error is resolved.

Matt and crew have created an amazing world, great twist and turns and guests. For hardcore D&D fans and fans of a great story.

I absolutely love the stories from this gang. I’ve listened to all of Vox Machina through YouTube and I am up to date on Campaign 3 but the most frustrating part is trying to find and spectate the episodes from other content. It would be much easier to navigate and find what I want if things were in playlists like Campaign1, Campaign2, Campaign3, 4sidedDive, etc.. is there a way to do this and I’m just dumb? Or is this a feature that should be added? Aside from that issue this group is amazing and I absolutely love their tales.

Great show but lately every episode keeps skipping back 5-20 seconds and replaying sections. It happens dozens of times an episode.

Where does one even begin? I’ve been only been playing D&D since 2015, and my friends in our party have been talking about Critical Role most of that time. I was interested but was apprehensive to commit to a long format show. Then Season 1 of “Legend of Vox Machina” hit Amazon and I loved it. Life was busy, and soon S2 was out. And I needed more…. I don’t know why I didn’t look for a podcast format sooner. I started at Campaign 1. I was immediately hooked. You don’t get the full experience of watching episodes, (which I’ve now done some) but the cast do such an incredible job emoting and being their characters. From the tensions and lives in Vox Machina, the trauma and growth of Mighty Nein, and now a handful of episodes into Campaign 3, these characters (and players) guided by DM/Matt Mercer have been with me almost every day this year. As a player, hearing the cast learn and grow and forget rules, and search for stats has been as entertaining as the narrative and combat play. It was an adjustment listening to all that at first (and not having my own dice to roll), but quickly adapted and enjoy it. I’ve had so much fun thinking around the situations and obstacles, what would I do as a player in that situation, maybe this thread leads to xyz…and on and on. I feel like I’ve been made invisible and I’m cheering silently from the edge of the table. I’m excited and sad to be getting closer to catching up. (Maybe I’ll start all over again…) But this Podcast edition of Critical Role has been a delightful and endearing companion to my daily routine. Overshare moment: as a guy who recently began his mental health journey, this show has come to mean so much to me. I audibly laugh and visibly weep at times and just point to my earbuds if my coworkers give me odd looks. A year ago I barely knew anything about Critical Role. Today, I can’t imagine not having it in my life. So thank you to all: Matt, Liam, Ashley, Sam, Laura, Travis, Marisha and Taliesin and all the rest! Is it Thursday yet?

Best podcast İ have listened to in my entire life.

I never knew I could enjoy watching/listening to someone play a tabletop game, especially an RPG. I’ve loved D&D for years but this talented group of people truly bring it to life and they do so with a sense of fun that makes you feel as if you’re welcomed into a warm cadre of friends. In a way, you are! Their storytelling and improvisational skills are top notch; it’s fascinating to see and hear their characters come to life and witness this world be communally woven into reality from the collision of their creativity and the structure of the game. You’ll feel all the emotions but be left with the warmth of joy and friendship. And we’ve not even talked about the overwhelming amount of content! This can keep you occupied and entertained for months or years. What a gift the Critical Role cast and crew have given us.

Just wish I could go back further into the first and second season. The third seasons is really good.

Great show but hard to listen to on here with the constant skipping and backtracking due to poor editing. It’s every episode and happens often throughout

I have taken years to listen to all three campaigns and I am now caught up. What an amazing show. All the cast is great and remind me of my nerdy best friends. As a child of the 80s and a D&D nerd I totally love this show.

First campaign was great but went sideways after that. Idiotic character creation begins in season 2 as each actor tries to outdo the others. The overdramatic whinny woke voices became way too much. Go woke go broke.

I’m 10 years old I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was introduced to DND in 5th grade (At the time we did 5th grade friendly campaigns) and I had so much fun playing it, and in the summer coming to 8th grade I started listening to campaign 1, and now in high school it’s great listening and I’ll just listen to it while I’m bored and it great.

I’m brand new to DND and absolutely love this show and the actors and the story and literally everything! Except the editing. It is exceptionally bad. Constantly backtracking 20 seconds or more of moving ahead. It really drives me up a wall and although this is a long podcast so I can imagine it is difficult to edit, it just feels really sloppy. Because it happens EVERY single episode.

For four hours

I started listening to CR several years ago as a way to connect with my teenaged (now adult) son. We watched a few twitch episodes together (I love the live aspect) and then we went our separate ways of engagement. As a working mom who travels quite a bit I keep up on the show w the podcast and he logs on faithfully to his twitch channel. I’ve watched the Vox animation as well (crush on Percy! Just sayin.) bottom line. As someone w a masters degree in creative writing and another in Science, the show has it all. A fun escape from reality. A way to express myself newly, and most importantly a no stress way to connect with my son. Thank you to the entire cast and crew for bringing an exceptional product to market and for caring about the way you do it.

I have been a critter for a long time but I’m disappointed with the editing quality of this podcast. Oftentimes it skips and multiple times in an episode. I’ve listened to the podcast on Spotify and those errors are not present. They added prerecorded ads which can hurt the story immersion. I love the story, characters, and the people but I hope these editing issues are fixed.

I was introduced to Critical Role by a friend of mine, starting with Campaign 3, and after a few episodes I have never looked back. As a D&D player in high school, I have always been a fan of the game, but hearing this group tell their stories through it as a medium has been inspiring, gripping, hilarious, and touching. My life has been changed by Critical Role, and I am forever grateful and eager to hear what comes next.

I tried watching and listening years ago but couldn’t get into it because they were too long. Now that my interest in DND is peaking, I listen to 2 or 3 episodes a day! I started with C3 and am near catching up so once I do, I’ll go back listen to c2. I love everyone on here, the guests and more! If you enjoy storytelling, listening to friends just having fun or wished you had friends, give it a go! It’s free, you have nothing to lose but everything to gain.

I listen to this while I’m at work. It’s a great way to distract me from the mundane work day. I love the story that the cast tells and I laugh and cry as they do! My only problem is the ads. I don’t mind Sam’s long ads or the ads that are played before, after or when they go to break but the one that get played in the middle of dialogue or a battle are extremely annoying and take away from the story that they are telling as they play. For example 2 characters could be having a heartfelt conversation and you are feeling the emotions that are there but then you get ripped away by an ad for Burger King or T-mobile and then dropped back into the scene and your trying to pick back up what is happening but can’t cause all you’re thinking about is the annoying ad.

Ashton made me question my gender identity and I’m not mad about it ❤️❤️❤️

I’ve been a fan since the latter half of season 1 and love the universe that’s been created through their stories. Unfortunately since around January 2023 they’ve started inserting 1 or more random ads between the pre show ad reads and the mid show ad break. While ads are a necessary evil for podcasts, these ads tend to be dropped in with no warning and are often placed mid sentence which kills the mood the team is trying to set.

I respect what this show did for the hobby, but I couldn’t get into it. Episodes are too long and the pacing is too slow. The group is too large and it makes the story hard to follow. Season 1 is unlistenable due to bad audio quality, poor mic etiquette, and an in medias res start with minimal context. The business side of this production is also toxic, as is a segment of the fan base.

This is by far my favorite thing to listen to I work on a farm and spend a lot of time alone this makes my day so much better the way they articulate things makes me feel like I’m watching a movie and it makes my day go by so fast

Deeply engaging narratives and characters. I love the cast and the blend of personal relationships and roll playing.

Did we lose access to Talks Machina? Was trying to catch up (started about 15 months ago with the earliest recordings of Vox) and was enjoying experiencing what the community experienced as it grew over time. No worries if the decision was made to cut them - I’ll just miss out. Appreciate all the effort!

The podcast version was a great resource when I was getting caught on this wonderful series with the talented members of Critical Role and their amazing guests. I used the audio on my commute and went back and watched more visual elements: combat, Sam’s as bits, etc on Twitch and ther YouTube channel. I love these folks and really appreciate their work bringing D&D into the popular culture.

I’m a teacher and I commute three hours, five days a week and this podcast is a lifesaver! The character are endearing and the action is incredible. I’ve tried several D&D podcasts and this is the perfect balance of gameplay and narration. The voices are great and make the characters come to life. Each episode is long enough to take a week to listen to on the road and the cadence holds my attention throughout.