Though the popular live-stream Dungeons & Dragons series Critical Role will soon be receiving an animated adaptation of their first campaign over at Amazon, fans can now get caught up with the series’ ongoing second campaign with the new series Crit Recap Animated. Critical Role’s official blog announced the short-form animated recap show back in December, with an introductory episode about campaign two’s adventuring party, the Mighty Nein, airing during break on Critical Role’s December 23 Twitch live-stream. On Wednesday, the series’ YouTube channel dropped a collection of animated recaps that cover the Mighy Nein’s first eight episodes together.
Crit Recap Animated is hosted by Dani Carr, who serves as Critical Role’s official “Lore Keeper” as well as production coordinator, via Critical Role. Long time fans of the series won’t have to roll history check to remember that Carr once hosted popular video recaps of Critical Role’s second campaign on the series’ YouTube channel. Carr’s recaps of the Mighty Nein’s adventures transitioned into an article-only format, a move which The Gamer recalled prompting “a great cry of despair […] from the Critter nation.”
Critters, the pet name which Critical Role fans use to describe themselves, were quite fond of the Lore Keeper’s previously mentioned video recaps of the Dungeons & Dragons series. “The new Crit Recap Animated seems to have greater healed that wound in an unexpected and fantastic way,” The Gamer spoke of latest incarnation of Critical Role’s recap show’s role in filling the void left behind by Carr’s initial recaps.
However, Crit Recap Animated serves a greater purpose than quelling the desires of established Critters – it hopes to welcome new fans into the world of Exandria. Critical Role’s official blog promoted the series as a way for new viewers to catch-up on the Mighty Nein’s ongoing saga. Short-and-sweet animated recaps serve as an introduction to potential fans who want to experience the story but may feel intimidated by the length of Critical Role’s hours-long actual-play episodes.
Critical Role player Marisha Ray shared Wednesday’s episode of Crit Recap Animated on her Twitter, specifically citing the series as something that could be shared with “anybody who’s wanted to join in on being a Critter”. Ray, along with Carr and Kevin Shire (Robot Chicken, Mad), likewise writes the animated recaps, which are brought to life by Offworld Studios.
Without a formal schedule announced on the series’ blog, those Critters caught up on campaign two should keep an eye out for future installments of Crit Recap Animated during Critical Role’s Thursday live-streams. And, for those using Crit Recap Animated to get caught up on campaign two, hopefully further recap compilations will make their way onto the series YouTube channel soon. Mighty Nein fans looking for further artistic renditions of campaign two’s characters can additionally look forward to the party member’s individual comic book origin stories, hitting shelves this summer.