The Legend of Vox Machina: A Kickstarter campaign based on the early adventures of Critical Role’s campaign one that wanted to raise $750,000, blew past that goal in 40 minutes and went to raise over 11 million dollars back in 2019. A Kickstarter campaign based on a Dungeons & Dragons game that aimed to fund one episode blew past that and ended up being able to create not one full season of twelve episodes, but two. All because of the all-star Critter support. All because the fans of this beloved D&D game wanted to experience their favorite show in a new format.
I was one of the backers. (Because of course I was!!) The pandemic caused some delays as the world shut down and priorities shifted, but the Critical Role team still worked on creating this animated special for their fans. They put out behind-the-scenes videos and meet-the-cast-and-crew videos to help keep momentum going on this Kickstarter that broke records. They also highlighted their creative partners in crime: Titmouse, Inc., and Amazon Studios.
(In case you aren’t aware, Critical Role is a weekly streamed D&D game played between friends and voice actors: Ashley Johnson, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Sam Riegel, Taliesin Jaffe, Marisha Ray, Liam O’Brien, and DM Matthew Mercer.)
In 2022, The Legend of Vox Machina Aminated Special released. The first three episodes premiered on January 28. The episodes released over the span of a few weeks in batches of three episodes each week, so that’s how I enjoyed them.
And you know I had to review it for Fantasy-Faction. How could I not?
Well, it may not come as a shock to any of you, but as a fan of Critical Role, overall, they did an amazing job. The story focused on the Briarwoods arc—a fan favorite—and showcased how dark Percy (a human gunslinger) got while facing his (literal) inner demons. Some highlights for me were how they used shadows and mirror reflections to hint at Percy’s inner fight. I appreciated how the story also showed Pike (a gnome cleric) go on her spiritual journey trying—which was hinted at but never really showed too much in the original campaign. (In the original campaign, Ashley Johnson who played Pike regularly had to skip games because of her IRL obligations.)
I also enjoyed how the story highlighted how powerful and awesome Keyleth (a half elf druid) was; druids are over-powered in D&D so seeing that was truly lovely. And the friendships and challenges between the characters shown through, their dynamic wavering between fun and serious, joking and complicated, which was true to the original game. Overall, the story was a dark romp through Exandria (Mercer’s created world), and the twists and turns kept my attention, even though I knew most of them were coming from watching the original campaign.
That’s not to say the animated series was without issues: The first episode was raunchy as hell and leaned into the adult content and sheer violence was a little too much. The budding love between Keyleth and Vax (a half elf rogue) was way too fast. Some of the quirky and quippy lines that were so funny at the original table didn’t hit the same in the animated series. If you didn’t know D&D very well, or if it was your first take on Critical Role, I could see some viewers being turned off.
But overall, for me, season one was a fun watch, and I think it would be the same for other established Critical Role fans. It was fascinating to see the campaign one transform from on-the-table to on-screen and I honestly can’t wait until season two. And even if you’ve never seen Critical Role, I think you’d enjoy the adventure as well.
Four out of five dragons!
Julia Kitvaria Sarene
Jennie Ivins