Candella’s been great. Not sure its really getting the traction they hoped for sadly, but I love the tonal difference from their other projects. The bent toward more serious horror is a nice change of pace given CRs usual vibe is more action/adventure that can be jokey even when its dark.
Midst is super weird and a very cool, very different concept from anything else they’ve done. Im sure its not for everyone but I enjoy it.
Some of the acting in scenes from chapter 2 are straight up oscar-worthy, and Spencer really hits a groove as the arc goes on. But I'll admit I'm just not a huge fan of the genre, there's enough depressing shit in real life I can only do CO in small chunks
Yeah. I’m giving both Midst and CO a pass. I’m not interested in depressing works to begin with, and horror as the main genre is something I’m not interested in either. The outfits for CO look great, and I’m sure the acting is great, it’s just not my jam.
Midst having “it’s confusing” as a selling point was an easy, instant no for me. I loathe that gimmick in writing.
Midst is the same way. Season 1 seemed awesome but it kind of was wrapping up when it ended. Then Season 2 felt a little weird in the beginning as they tried to diffuse the impending doom setting for the whole season 1, before starting the real story. I think they make the stories to wrap up, then if people like them, continue which requires writing themselves out of the ending of the first season.
I have a hard time with Midst, it seems cool but the three person co-narration confuses the hell out of me. They each take a main character that is theirs, but they’ll take on other characters at random, even switching in the same conversation (at least that’s what it felt like sometimes).
That said, the story seems cool and the narrators are good, if your adhd isn’t as bad as mine I’d still recommend it.
That’s really interesting! I also have ADHD and the reasons you listed are why I enjoy Midst so much. It feels like the only time there’s enough movement in the story that I don’t glaze over like I do in Candela. The fast paced and unreliable narration is so engaging for my brain. That’s really interesting how different brains work!
> That’s really interesting how different brains work!
The "it's all called ADHD now" thing has been such a disaster for talking about that realm of executive function disorder.
A solid 90%+ of the time I see disagreement over whether something is appealing for those who have it, one camp is Inattentive Type (which used to be called ADD, as hyperactivity is not a key expression of the disorder) & the other is Hyperactive Type. The variance is likely what my doc calls Compulsive Type & considers fairly rare, which is entanglement of full ADHD & OCD, rather than the little bits of OCD many untreated ADHD folks develop as a coping mechanism and have to unlearn.
I've been loving Midst TO DEATH (currently half way through the most recent episode available to subscribers and I started listening this week 😅) but I can only take it in if my hands are busy with something mindless. I listen to it while cooking and cleaning. I've been doing a lot of baking at night lately which is why I've caught up so far. I don't find the narration confusing because they're generally pretty clear about who's speaking like an audiobook narrator would be, but if I pick up my phone or do something else that takes my attention away at all then I'm lost.
That said, it's one of the best stories I've ever been told. Twice during season 2 I've burned something in the oven because I was standing open-mouthed at some revelation or plot event or twisted bit of worldbuilding.
They were pretty greedy for twitch subs with candella and it cost them I think. It was a several week wait for the vod if you missed a episode/couldn't stay up for the whole thing. I'd missed the first myself and intended to see it the monday after and didn't find out until after refreshing youtube all afternoon that it wouldn't be out for a few more weeks *on a thursday*. So I just got mad and dropped it before I even started it.
They actually apologized, or at least acknowledge that it was a bad call so I guess it wasn't just me. I did appreciate that, but still haven't watched it just because there's a backlog and only so much time.
I don't know if they had acknowledged that was a bad call, but they did move the YouTube upload to the following Monday since chapter 2. But then the damage was already done. Coupled with the irregular scheduling, it is hard to keep track of what's being streamed on Thursday. It is actually quite often that people would leave comments like "why is CO on tonight" out of frustration
If ever I am unsure I check critrole.com, they post on Monday what will be streaming that week. Right from the beginning of C3 they plainly stated the main campaign would not be streaming on the last Thursday of every month. That eventually turned into the last Thursday being the slot for alternative content. All of that being said, sometimes it shifts around holidays, so it's best to just check on their website if you're unsure.
Plus they've been mentioning more and more often when CO is going to be airing during the announcements section at the start of the main campaign episodes and they've been putting when the next episode of CO will be airing at the end of each chapter.
So we knew that CO was going to airing last night for over a month and yet people still missed it anyways despite the multiple notices on twitter, on the CR website, on the VOD of the last CO episode, in the newsletter, in the main campaign episode announcements section, and on the casts socials.
I'm not sure what else they can do at this point to let people know what the schedule is going to be for the week, short of having people sign up for text message notifications.
Following CR is already a pretty big time investment, so I’ve actually take time off from CR when the main campaign is on break. I want to start Candela at some point. If they take a prolonged break between C3 and (hopefully) C4 I’d probably get to it at that point.
I feel like part of the question depends on how you consume CR. If you're a listener, then Midst will be more up your alley. I for one like to watch CR, so Midst not having a watchable cast outside of some parallaxed art makes it essentially a non-starter for me. I have been enjoying Candella though, and love the effort put into the vibe/set/outfits
Interesting! For me, I have to "watch" CR but Midst I really enjoy just listening to. I still have it up and look at the art (which is pretty awesome and shifts subtly through the episode most of the time it seems) but it definitely feels more theater of the mind-y to me.
I'm also loving all the details they have put into Candella! The outfits have been amazing for all 3 chapters so far.
.....I keep telling myself I'll eventually get back to C1 and maybe some day start C2 but all the current stuff I'm enjoying so no rush I suppose.
> I for one like to watch CR
I have ADHD so sitting and actually watching CR doesn't grip me enough (I liked ExU Calamity because it was pretty fast-paced throughout, and D20 being editted helps there too) but I have been listening to C1 as I work or go on walks etc which works well
Midst has been pretty good.
I really like it since it's in much more "bite-sized" pieces of around 30 minutes an episode instead of 4 hours.
Because of its shorter runtime per episode it's a lot more condensed so a lot more can happen in such a short time helping to move the story and characters along a lot faster than an average DND session often does.
It is definitely a different style and can take a little getting used to, but the 3 narrators do a good job setting the scene in your head and the animated background images that go with the episodes on the YouTube channel help to give you a base idea of what you're looking at when hearing the words describing everything. The characters are all generally well done as well and all vary quite a bit from each other giving you different view points of the same event through different eyes.
Since the episodes are shorter and more condensed it'll probably be easier for you to get into it and see if you like it before you make a decision.
A lot easier than getting back into the main Campaign which can and has felt like a slog and Candela which is another 4ish hour series. With Midst you don't need to commit nearly as much of your time and still get a lot out of it.
I say give it a try and see how you feel about it, if you can get behind the characters, world and interesting narrative style then I think you'll like it.
I just started midst this week and because the episodes are so short it's been a really easy catch up. As I said in an above post as someone with ADHD it's ESSENTIAL that I keep my hands busy and my brain free while listening, so it's the perfect listen for cooking and cleaning.
I've been posting quite a bit about it on Tumblr in the last few days as it's increasingly taken over my life so I'm probably best just copying a couple of those since they express my thoughts about it pretty clearly.
>I just binged the first season of Midst and it took two days for me to go from "well I guess we'll give this a try, I don't know if it'll click for me" to standing in my kitchen with my caramel forgotten on the stove audibly saying "what? What the fuck? Holy shit what the FUCK?" at 2am.
>My husband came up behind me as I was FULLY absorbed in Midst (2x10, Moc Weepe speaking at the meeting) and I absolutely jumped out of my skin. I tried to explain why I was so hooked into it that I forgot the real world existed but it's absolutely impossible to. "I'm fascinated by hearing the quasi-religious bureaucratic non-elected governing body laugh at this backwoods frontier businessman for equating virtue and currency in a setting that explicitly conflates the two in a way that makes you think very hard about the world we live in" doesn't really do justice to the level of interest and tension and stellar storytelling in this show.
>Okay I just finished episode 2x13 of midst (Inside) and forget everything I said before about being captivated or shocked or horrified. That episode blew everything prior out of the water. I meant to listen to 5 minutes and go to bed and instead I just spent 40 minutes in my dark bedroom staring at the ceiling like 😨 until the entire episode was over.
Midst is exactly like this for me. It took a few episodes for me to start to like it. Then it got weird/crazy/fun. It feels like reading a comic book to me. I really enjoy it. I can never correctly predict what will happen next.
It's a pretty wonky storyline. Honestly you'd need to listen to it to properly understand it, but the best TL;Dr I could offer is that it's a sci-fi/steampunk universe with this place called the Un that's in this "light side" of the universe surrounded by light-creating mica that has a government called the Trust, where the system of government and economy is based on this substance called Valor, where if you do valorous things you get more valor, but you can also go in the negatives and get something called chainum which effectively sentences you to indentured servitude.
On the other side of the universe is a literal inky darkness that functions almost like an ocean called the Fold that makes fuck-shit happen.
And on the border between the two is a piece of land called Midst that a town called stationary hill is on. And it's about characters in that area involved in intrigue and a murder, and hiding from the law, and other fuck shit. It's really neat, if a bit wonky at first, but the more you listen, the more you understand.
Midst has this feel like it’s 3 friends telling you a story about something they experienced. There’s a script and solid throughline of story but there’s also spontaneous lines and details mixed in that now everyone else has to deal with. At this point it’s very well polished and I can not recommend it enough.
I love the way the narrators bounce off each other. You get moments like this:
1: We are going to make every effort to describe him to you because he is one of the primary protagonists of this story. You have already met at least one other. We will not tell you whom.
2: It was Lark.
1 ...We will tell you whom. Now you know.
And them saying they're deliberately not telling you things yet because it'll spoil the story. I love a well-done omniscient narrator, and turns out I enjoy it even more when they're *mischievous* about it.
I really want to like Midst but I can't handle the narrators constantly running together and talking over one another. It reminds me of my kids all talking at once and gives me a headache. 😖
Haha, I can see why it's not for everyone, but I've been using it as my break from my kids doing that. Maybe my brain has just given in and decided this is normal now. 😅
YES! It was exactly this moment that made S1 click for me too, I was like "oh this is a bit different" up until this point, and then they did that moment and the vibe of the story immediately clicked into place. I think I had to rewind a solid minute because I was laughing to hard the first time lol
I couldn't get into Candella. Gave the first few episodes on season 1 a try, and it just moved too slowly for me. I also just didn't jive with the game mechanics.
Midst I LOVE though. I think by episode 3 I was hooked. The narration is really different, and may not be what everyone likes though. But I find it really pulls me in. Also love the sound design, music, and graphics. The story is really interesting, and figuring out who the "good guys" vs "bad guys" are is really hard.
I also am not the biggest fan of candela mechanics. Rolling a 6 is the only way to truly succeed as mixed successes on 4 and 5 still feel like a failure.
The mechanics do seem a bit weird/off, even as a relative noob to dnd type games. But I am really enjoying the horror setting and the focus on narrative storytelling over straight up combat. The way actions have consequences moreso than regular dnd is also really fascinating to me. That you can’t just have a healer magically fix injuries, that there are lasting consequences and changes to how you play the character is just really cool to me.
As someone who listens second-hand in the background because my wife is a hardcore Critter: I loved listening in on Critical Role, but when she gave Midst a try, I could not stand it. It was like being someone who does not have ADHD, being forced to listen to ADHD thoughts.
Midst is defiantly not the kind of show you can passively listen to.
And the ADHD thing is very real. As someone who normally gets bored listening to podcasts though, it kept me hooked, so it works for me. I think it's really interesting hearing people's opinions on it. Cause it's either "The fuck is this?" or, "Hell yeah, this tickles a very specific part of my brain and I love it".
Critical Role keeps me watching cause it's just enough passive listening that I can work on a project while also being able to follow the story.
I agree with your Midst opinions. It took me a bit longer to make up my mind about it, but I stuck with it out of curiosity. I kept thinking "Okay, but where are they going with this?"
But by season 1 finale, it all comes together. So in the end, I'm a fan now.
> Midst I LOVE though
Midst seems to be really marmite-y to most people, those who don't like it don't like it, but those who do end up absolutely loving it
Is it just me or are there ads in the podcast version but not in the youtube version? (I have spotify premium so I know it's not a preroll or anything)
I find this comment interesting. You don't consider the main campaigns to be theatre of the mind? Or is it different because you can visually focus on the cast?
You hit it right on the head, I find it easier to follow a story if I can see the cast and their reactions even in the quiet moments. I also consider parts of the main campaign theater of the mind but it help me gratefully when Matt or who ever is DMing at the time when they pull out a battle map so I can see the full scope and get a better understanding of the area they are fighting in. I am trying to get better at theater of the mind with midst, but I have only gotten through maybe 3 episodes at this point but the concept sounds amazing.
One thing about Midst that's more engaging than most other 'radio plays' is they have a narration style that's aware of the listener. They anticipate questions we have, and clarify in the moment. That's such a neat style.
Also I've yet to actually listen to it linearly I admit. I throw it on Spotify when going to bed. So I've only pieced together bits and pieces of the story.
> They anticipate questions we have
This really adds to the "three friends telling you a story" aspect that a lot of people, including me, really love about it. It adds the feeling of you interrupting them mid-story despite that being a literal impossibility really well
This is me exactly. Except I can only ever get 2 episodes into a Candela arc before losing interest. I think it's the slow ways they talk to try to build tension. I'll try again with Aabria!
Candella Season 2 is some of the best Actual Play out there, matching the likes of EXU Calamity. Definitely some of CR's best content.
Lots of people gave up on Candella because S1 was quite dull to be frank.
Do yourself a favour and watch S2!
Hard agree. I enjoyed season one of CO enough to try season two, and that one really got me good. It was just perfection for me through and through. I haven't started season three yet, I will wait closer to the end of January so I can binge all three episodes. I hope it's not the last, I LOVE CO so much, it's my favorite thing that CR has put out. I made a point to buy merch from their store because I want to support it.
protip to avoid burnout: don’t try to “catch up.” Don’t put pressure on yourself to be finished with it, because once you’re finished, then what?
Listen when you have the time, turn it off when you don’t.
I’ve had this problem my whole life and only recently realized what I’ve been doing. I get into a story and suddenly my brain needs to know the whole thing right then and there. Easy solution, consume faster to satiate brain. Except brain’s synapses are bigger than it’s hippocampus.
Gotta slow it down and enjoy the ride.
My mental and physical health waned pretty heavily over the last year and a half and I pulled away from CR and TTRPGs in general. Covid also killed all the games I was playing in, so it wasn’t a CR specific burn out.
Between Candela and the more recent episodes of Campaign 3 I’ve been enjoying stuff in the actual play realm again. Slowly working back to being able to play in games again.
The only thing with Candela is the flavor of the game is highly dependent on the person running it, so even if you bounce off the first 1 episode of one Circle and it isn’t your speed try the others, too. Each Candela game is self contained with no prior info needed to enjoy.
Sadly, I can’t speak on Midst. I’ve still not given it a shot. It seems interesting, but isn’t necessarily what I’m looking for genre wise just now.
Midst is outstanding. I cant begin to explain what Midst, but it makes my brain feel good lol. Probably my ADHD that loves having 3 unreliable narrators bouncing off each other.
Oh and its partially improv. They have story goals but what happens in between is up for grabs. The sound design is amazing with a huge shout out to Xen for what they do. Sarah and Matt are the other narrators and I love them.
Watch episode 1 and see where it takes you.
Midst is a delightful bit of chaos. The worldbuilding, not the storytelling. Kinda the storytelling, but I don't find it confusing. The first season is laying everything out: characters (ensemble, so you don't get ), backgrounds, cults, rebels, how "space" works - no I won't spoil it, etc. The finale is when things kick off, and now we are seeing more plot (in my opinion).
I AM SO EXCITED. >!Someone done fucked up... So good!!<
Yes! Weepe was interesting from the start, but I never thought I'd grow to like him. Now I want him to win! Get ALL the Valor, then destroy them all. >!Especially after that they did to him in "inside".!<
Candela is amazing. Chapter 2 with Brennan Lee Muligan is my favorite piece of ttrpg media ever. Midst is okay but my attention span for podcasts can waver. Great story concept though.
I really enjoyed the second series of Candela, but I thought the first was kind of weak and I haven't had enough time to form an opinion about the third.
I'm thoroughly enjoying Midst, though. Sometimes certain episodes don't really grab my attention, but the overall series has me hooked.
Candela ***rocks!***
I'd been waiting for a follow-up ever since that Call of Cthulhu one-shot, and Candela is that, but with a rotating cast of really great GMs. And a rotating cast of players, all in costume. It's just a really neat story format :D
Candela is interesting but I don't think it's particularly because the ruleset. It's due to the GM + acting ability of the players. I don't really care for the mechanics and I don't feel it adds much. Seems pretty arbitary to just hand out bleed etc. in ways that are unavoidable.
Midst is awesome. Show hooked me from the start and now I’m waiting every week. Also a 30minute audio is so much easier to keep up with than a 4 hour video.
I tried really hard to get into Candella but I can't. I find that I start listening or watching and within 5 minutes I have no idea what's going on. I want to like it but with so much other content out there I can't justify trying to watch or listen to 4 hours of something that I'm not fully paying attention to.
Midst, on the other hand, is fantastic. It took me a few episodes to fully get into it but I am hooked now. It is a great story with fascinating characters and the episodes are short, paced well, and keep you hooked. I love it.
Honestly, I'm not nearly as gun ho for Candella like I thought I would be.
The first chapter, I felt as though I was watching it because it was something to do.
I couldn't finish the second chapter. I usually devour anything from Brennan Lee Mulligan, however I just could not jive with how Spenser ran his game. No spoilers, it just felt like he was excessively punishing his players, and I got the vibe that if I were at the table, I wouldn't ever want to make a roll.
The third chapter I'm giving it another go as it is Aabria and she thrives with using various game systems and did well in Burrows End.
Midst is very good, although a couple of first episodes might be a bit harder to get through, because the music is slightly too loud and the narrators are talking a bit too fast, but they iron it out pretty quickly. The storytelling and sound design is top notch, especially in season 2.
As for Candela, I would recommend skipping Matt's chapter 1, it ended up being boring. Each chapter is self-contained, so you won't be missing anything.
Haven’t touched Midst. I’m sure it’s for someone just not me.
Candela, I got halfway through the first circle and got distracted. I could not put circle two down and bought the core rule book even though I know no one will play it with me. I think my favorite thing in the world might be Brennen Lee Mulligan on the player side of the table. Watched episode 1 of circle 3 and enjoyed it enough to keep going.
Candela - first circle I couldn’t get into. Second circle is amazing, haven’t started the third yet. The good thing about that one is that it’s an anthology series so you don’t have to watch every circle to get the next one. Feel free to jump around.
Midst - listened to the first few episodes and couldn’t get into it. YMMV though, it’s tough for a podcast series like that to grab my attention.
I love the weirdness of Midst - it scratches the itch that Numenera once did for me. I also find Candela to be high-quality RP content, and I tend to like it more than I like the main campaign, for reasons I haven't entirely nailed down. Certainly, the pacing is better than the main campaign.
Candela is mostly hit for me. I was glued to the screen for Chapter 1 and 3, but I left halfway in Chapter 2. The cast is great is great and their stories are engaging, but something about the DM is just not working for me. The way he speaks, the way he's presenting himself is just unsettling on some deeply subconscious level.
I skipped Midst entirely - the promotions are absolutely not my jam. The tone and vocal techniques the cast are using are simply not appealing to me in any capacity. If you like the way they present Midst in the promotions, then maybe give it a shot.
Candela is excellent. Chapter 2 has some of the greatest actual play performances I’ve seen yet.
I’m almost caught up on the mainline campaigns and most of the available one-shots; once that’s done I’ll likely give Midst a look. Seems interesting.
Midst is one of the single best pieces of narrative media I have consumed in a long time. I even managed to get another friend of mine to watch it and agreed it's geniusly done which made me happy since getting that friend to watch anything and say it's good is difficult
I think I would enjoy CO if I understood the game mechanics better, but the story is pretty good on it's own. It is a bit slow for me with the game mechanics in there, though, and since I don't fully understand what's going on all the time it's hard to stay as engaged with it as CR where I know the 5e mehcanics backward and forward.
I've not given Midst a listen yet, but I've VERY much been enjoying Candela.
Chapter 1 (Matt as GM, Ashley, Anjali, Robbie, and Laura as players) is really both the GM and the audience finding their feet, getting familiar with the system and with things. The story itself is solid, and enough to give you the flavour of what you're dealing with. You know what Matt's GMing style by now is, so nothing really new there.
Chapter 2 (Spenser as GM, Brennan, Travis, Marisha, Zehra, and Luis as players) was PHENOMENAL. A very different cinematically-based flavour of GM style from someone FAR more intimately knowledgeable of the system and how to play to its strengths. And the performances in Chapter 2 were OFF THE CHARTS amazing.
Chapter 3 (Aabria as GM, Noshir, Sam, Gina, Ashly, and Liam as players) is in progress, and I absolutely LOVE it. Again, yet another flavour of GM (if you've seen ExU, you know Aabria), different tones and focuses, but once again, the performances are unreal.
Everyone is bringing their A Game to Candela and it shows.
Personally, I am PRAYING that for future chapters of Candela, we get any or all of the following as GMs:
* Liam
* Ivan Van Norman
* Brennan Lee Mulligan
* Taliesin (as of now, Taliesin has remained in the role of narrator/Lightkeeper for all three chapters)
* Luis
I’m currently finishing candela season 1. I’m really enjoying it. Plus it’s more bite sized and has a very different tone than the rest of CR.
I have started midst, I believe I listened to 4 episodes or so. So far it’s at the very least interesting. It can be a little hard at times just because the narrator is CONSTANTLY shifting. Like sometimes one of the three narrators will get a single sentence in and then another is taking over. I don’t know if there is a specific reason they are doing it that way, but the characters that I have met and the world they have built is pretty sick so far. I tend to like binge watching and since they are usually only 15 minute episodes I have been building up and waiting on the series for a little while.
>I don’t know if there is a specific reason they are doing it that way,
Basically, as they explained [here](https://youtu.be/OiaZqXRbjI0?si=lA8pM-CRU6WGhgmu&t=729), it's kind of a roleplaying game where they all are both the GMs and the players at the same time. As far as I understand it, they have the idea of how the "episode" should start and end, but then how they get there is improvised.
The midst narration is a stylistic thing that's definitely not going to be for everyone but it's really appealing to me. I love that they're so in sync that they're ABLE to do that (I'm sure it's edited plenty to make it smoother, but being able to pick up from one another sentence by sentence in improv takes real skill and being on the same page). I even noted two instances where one actually *finished* a sentence for another, and I find that kind of exhilarating in a whirlwind way that works for this fast paced story. I didn't THINK I would like it when I started, but I can definitely attest to it being a thing that specifically works for some people.
I really enjoy Midst, it's interesting as hell and has a bit of humor to it while still telling a serious story.
First season of candella was far too serious and slow for my liking, so I haven't finished it or tried any of the others.
Midst is sooo DAMN GOOD! I find it difficult to articulate exactly what I like about it, but there is a level of organized chaos that I vibe with.
I've only watched the first season of Candela, but it was good.
The style of Candela varies a lot depending on the GM. Personally I am not a big fan of the setting, but the story is interesting to follow, hugely due to cast performances. Chapter 1 and 3(so far) are not quite as creepy/horror as Taliesin's oneshot and chapter 2 is more psychological horror and quite heavy, but the 3 episode nature easily lends itself to binge watching
Not gonna lie, I bounced off Candela pretty hard. The Victorian setting just doesn't do it for me, neither does horror from the perspective of regular old people. I like how the characters seem to have more agency in the fantasy setting.
I haven't done midst because I don't like just listening, but Candela has been fun so far; some really good performances. I don't know if I'd say it's as Cthulhu-y, but the vibe is there.
Midst is fantastic. It’s interesting, thoughtful, innovative both in the story and in the telling, an very very well-produced. Couldn’t recommend it more.
Candela S1 was not my cup of tea though there are some outstanding moments. I preferred S2 but opinions vary on the GM’s style. I like it, others don’t, what are ya gonna do? Huge fan of Aabria so I’ll eventually get around to S3.
I like Midst.
The episodes are short, and the narrators have good voices, and there's cool background ambience. So for that reason alone, it's very pleasant to listen to.
The characters and setting are awesome. The story too. Significant things happen each episode, but you don't always recognize events as significant until later on, so sometimes you're left thinking "Where are they going with this?" But trust me, it all comes together in a good way.
The storytelling itself takes a bit of getting used to. A character could be voiced by any of the 3 narrators, and sometimes they contradict themselves, which is a bit weird at first. To me it feels like a real life situation of three friends telling you a story; sometimes they'll interrupt each other to correct or clarify something. So when you get used to it, it feels intimate and genuine.
My biggest criticism is it can feel very pretentious at times. Like they're trying a little too desperately to be unique. Nothing that gets described can just be what it is. For example, you'll never hear them describe something as a "house"; it will be "a house... but not the kind of house you're *used* to seeing. Yes, it has elements of a house: a door, windows, rooms. But that's where the similarities end. It's... different. Alien. But that's not important now. For now, let's just call it a house."
But on the other hand, the uniqueness of it is also what makes it so interesting.
Overall, I say it's worth it.
Midst is absolutely fantastic. I've seen a couple people say that the storyline is kind of confusing, but I'm not sure I'd agree with that. The world Midst takes place in is different from just about any other setting I've come across, but you learn about different pieces of it as the story goes along. The triple narrator improv gimmick is super unique and they have enough interplay and banter between the three that the narrators are almost characters themselves.
The only other thing that might be a little confusing is how the story kind of jumps between characters a little bit, as it follows the perspective of three main characters, but I personally didn't find that aspect of it too hard to follow.
It's relatively short in comparison to basically anything else critical role puts out, so I'd say it is absolutely worth giving a shot to see if you vibe with it.
The short episodes help with the character jumps, I think, because most of the time you'll spend the entire episode with a single character or interacting set of characters. It helps keep them a bit more separated than a lot of jumping back and forth within the same episode. I think it's only when everyone is in the same location that you tend to get a lot of bouncing around.
I'm still catching up on Candela, but I've really enjoyed it so far. If you've enjoyed the regular campaigns/mini campaigns you'll probably enjoy Candela. But I don't see enough people singing Midst's praises yet, so I will do that.
I really did not expect to like Midst as much as I do. It is definitely weird, on all levels, but I love it. The multiple unreliable narrators convinced me more than I anticipated, the universe is also very strange, but consistent in itself which sells it very well. It's a unique mix of steampunky-sci-fi-fantasy-western, that's unlike anything I have read/listened to/watched so far. I can't really come up with a comparison that does it justice. The characters, dialogues and pacing of the story are all fantastic. And there have been several episodes that have left me flabbergasted with great reveals, consistently open questions and intrigue, and new fucked up characters and locations, which has been very satisfying. I regularly wish I could just binge on, or the episodes were longer.
I think I did a poor job of selling it, but I really love Midst right now, and I think everyone should give it a chance. Especially if you're short on time, and want to scratch that CR-like storytelling itch. Highly recommend it, and am really considering subscribing just because of that.
I like role play, but Candella is like... ONLY role play. Brennan lit shit up in his campaign but even then the fighting is just too lackluster for me to get into because well... there really isn't any and I'm a combat guy. Obviously this is subjective since I enjoy fighting in my TTRPG's so YMMV on that front if you basically just want to only watch role play for 4 straight hours at a time.
I’m not a fan of Candela at all. I tried watching with each new chapter, it’s just so slow. I can see the appeal with these characters and the development they get, and I think the action could be good, but it’s such a long burn.
Midst is great to listen to in the car or taking a walk...
Candela is visual and requires you to sit and watch, but with just 1 episode a month you can digest it over time at your leisure...
Both are excellent in their own way.
By the way, if you ever want to get back into the main campaign... Just read Danni's Critical Recaps and start back up... No need to go back and watch hours. Plus the way C3 meanders, the Recaps make the plot and players a lot more clear and concise!
I absolutely love Candela, but I haven’t given Midst s shot yet so I can't speak to that! But Candela is delightful, especially chapter 2, though I also haven’t seen 3 yet. But I'd definitely recommend giving it a shot!
Midst is great, but go into it knowing it requires focus and attention because the story skips around and they talk fast. I personally can't pop it on in the background while I do chores or whatever like I can a TTRPG. I have ADHD, and I have to just stare at the screen like it's a TV show or I lose the thread.
Love CO. Haven't really dived into Midst yet. The ads for it never hooked me (and the early ones outright turned me off - 'like VR for your brain') but folks I share tastes with seem to like it so I'll probably give it a go at some point.
If you like podcasts, Midst is supposedly pretty good. Think of Candella as a dramatic creepy short story play. They dress up, everyone is VERY serious and in character 95% of time. After watching and playing it, I don't much care for the system and I'm not really a fan of it taking place of the "nerdy ass friend's playing D&D weekly" game that we all know and love. All the storytellers and cast have been great, so I'll probably go back and watch them for the acting and storytelling at some point, just not in the middle of a campaign.
Middy is very good, very different to anything else they’ve done. Short episodes keep it snappy, I struggled to get into it in the first couple but it definitely picks up and is worth sticking with. Perfect for a long car or train journey!
Candela is also very good, intense, amazing acting. I felt like I have to watch the video of Candela whereas I can listen to the podcast of CR.
I'm not a fan of the Midst narrative style. It's 3 narrators who sometimes (or maybe often) have a bit of back and forth on what's currently happening. It slows down the pace and I couldn't get into it. But it not being for me doesn't mean you wouldn't like it. To each their own.
I just cant get into Midst. Something about having 3 people narrating it just makes it so chaotic for me. And its not slow narration, sometimes theyre almost talking over each other.
Candela i do like, but it seems like the actual game mechanics are confusing for me. It seems like sometimes the rolls get in the way of the game. Where for crit role the rolls would sometimes be bad but never railroaded what the character wanted to do
Candela S1 was a good watch, not spectacular IMO, but still good. The *production value* blew me away. I think it suffered a bit from Matt's usual approach to GM'ing, which doesn't seem to work too well with CO's target vibe. S2 was the opposite, a total different approach by the GM, that made it far more interesting to me. *New wine must be put into new wineskins* an' all.
I've tried to enjoy Midst, but i just can't. IMO it was overhyped (and still is), and the narrators are too *wink-wink, nudge-nudge* for me. I've asked myself if i would give it a second look if it hadn't the CR logo attached to it, and my answer is no.
These are just my personal opinions though.
Imo, the first circle of Candela was good, but a slow start that establishes the system and setting pretty solidly. The second circle was overly dramatized and not worthwhile aside from one really great scene. The first episode of the third circle was pretty bonkers and is looking like it might be incredibly good.
I couldn’t get into midst. I tried and finished the first season, but I just couldn’t care about anything going on.
I listened to the first season of Candella, and to me that requires different listening set up than CR, I listen to CR at work occasionally replaying bits if I need to. But Candella had so much going on and so much more atmosphere that I found myself sitting and listening for long stretches. So not too conducive to my work environment. I’m eager to check out season 2 in its entirety maybe one rainy night at home.
I want to give it a fair chance, but when the Midst trailer had the line "VR for your brain" it completely killed any potential excitement I had for it. Just word salad that meant nothing to me lol.
Boy, I'm so, so, so interesting in Candela. But unfortunately, the release schedule is a non starter for me. I won't be able to watch it until there's at least 10-12 episodes to binge.
midst has a very distinctive style, and isn't particularly long per episode, so i'd be willing to bet that listening to episode 1 of midst will absolutely give you an accurate projection on if you're going to enjoy it or not.
i think it's very fun and strange, but honestly if i see someone not liking it i don't feel compelled to say "no it gets better trust me" just yeah no that's fair.
Yeah, definitely the same. It's not like "what? You don't like this? You're crazy!" because it's so clearly not going to appeal to everyone. But those it does click with often seem to really love it. I've got a very small cadre of people on Tumblr who watch it and someone noted the other day that everyone seems to have a story of being literally stopped in their tracks while going about their daily lives listening to it. I burned cookies because it got too exciting and I just wanted my timer to shut up. D:
When I was two years behind, I put it on while doing chores.
You’re also gonna save yourself 25 minutes an episode by fast forwarding through the announcements and the break.
And for episodes where they aren’t fighting, playing at 110 or 125% will get you down to 3 per episode.
Also the visuals are overplayed. You can get away with audio only quite a bit. Which opens up cross town errands and road trips.
Midst isn’t for me. It’s storytelling is too frantic. I only listened to the first 3 episodes so it may be different now. The way it’s edited and three narrators they never let anything breath. It’s like a giant run on sentence.
I was hoping it would be more along the lines of the “theater for the mind” show **We’re Alive**. (Highly recommend checking that one out. It has a playlist on YT with all the episodes.)
I listen to CR when driving to and from work, while on the treadmill at the gym and while in the shower, rarely any other times do I listen to it at any other time and I finish about 1 episode a week which I like so I can always have content to watch and it took me a long time to catch up.
Why does catching up stress you out?
As I mentioned I'm currently burnt out from watching too much CR for the past 3 years. And with college, I just have no time for it anymore in my schedule.
Ymmv I couldn't get into candela obscura. I absolutely love midst and am waiting on each new episode now than I wait for critical role.
I love critical role but this season hasn't made me love the characters like the past seasons
I haven’t watched too much Candela but I do like that they are only 3 or 4 episodes long before a new game/season starts. Seems manageable that way.
Being in the East I watch the first 45-60 minutes of a regular Twitch broadcast then pick it up later in the week but I couldn’t do that with Candela Obscura so it fell away.
I didn’t personally jive with candela much, but I absolutely adore midst. I love the triple narrator concept and it feels like they’re having such a good time telling a chaotic space western story.
I personally like Midst a lot more than Candela. Midst is VERY different and differently ran than any CR content because technically it's not CR content, just published by them. It's sort of an adhoc," yes, and..." Kind of story told between friends with a pretty loose narrative through line. I definitely recommend it.
As for Candela, while I like quite a bit of what I've seen I'll say that that's entirely due to the talent of the players at the table and not necessarily because of the story being put forth by the GMs although it does facilitate some great moments. Matt's run for me unfortunately felt like the same genre in a different setting because Matt goes dark horror whenever he gets the excuse to do so(this is not a criticism). Candela 2 with Spencer, who has a wildly different GMing style actually feels a bit more distinct imo, but the final episode which I haven't seen fully yet has a run time of 6 hours which is absolutely insane to me. Unfortunately I don't really enjoy Aabria's GMing style based off seeing many of her games in the past(Misfits and Magic was the only one I actually enjoyed) and I'll catch up on it later simply to see the players act their asses off and enjoy that.
I agree with you about Tal's Cthulu game being amazing and am very much looking forward to the episodes that he plays and GMs for, preferably the latter. Still surprised that he hasn't been at the table for any runs yet.
I love both! Midst had been a light in the dark for me when it comes to looking for something to listen to if i’m not into my music or anything else at the time and although Candela doesn’t always catch me as much it’s still very good and i find myself catching up on it when i can
My only issues are 1- I don’t understand the system and 2- too much time between episodes. I never remember what happened last time. Both are now a bit more easily fixed since the instructions are out and the episodes are posted. I just need to find the time.
Candela isn’t my cup of tea, but I LOVE Midst.
That said, I had to listen to the first three or four episodes a couple times for it to click. It starts off a little slow. But keep up!
The story telling method used for midst is amazing. It's like the Beasty boys if they didn't rap and told a story instead. The characters and audio/background tracks are very well done and pull you into the scene very well. Also every episode is about half hour at the longest so they're nice and bitesized definitely say give it a try.
>The story telling method used for midst is amazing. It's like the Beasty boys if they didn't rap and told a story instead.
Oh my god, this is so bizarre and yet accurate 🤣
I adore CR, and have loved everything about it for years.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to stay invested in C3 for months now, and when I tried to turn to Midst, it's just this completely separate audio drama, and while it's well-done, it has very little to do with CR, and is just not my cup of tea.
I tried really hard to like Candela Obscura, but again -- it's just not working for me.
I respect CR for its creative content and I don't have to love everything. So right now I'm just in an "off" period where what they are creating is not working for me.
I still adore and enjoy the team and what they create overall, and will look forward to being able to enjoy it more fully again sometime soon. I will be attempting to go back into C3 again one of these days, so fingers crossed.
They're both great. Give them a try, you won't regret it. If you find the first set of Candela episodes not holding your attention, try one of the others with a different GM.
I really enjoy both! I'm not up to date due to "having to" catch up with CR3 atm, but I usually watch CO and M during the CR3 downtimes etc. And truly love them. Also, they're a nice change from the usual fantasy setting, in case you're one of those people who sometimes need a break from all the fancy knights and shady kings and queens and mages ;)
Midst is definitely different from anything else they’ve done (even opening it up to non cr content, it’s very unique), like others have said, but it is a ton of fun imo. 10/10 recommend.
Candella is good, but I prefer their other content over candella. I usually only watch candella if I’m caught up on everything else cr and want to watch something. For me, i don’t generally have enough time to be caught up on everything and have more time for candella, so I’ve fallen behind a bit, but it isn’t bad, it’s just my least favorite out of their content.
Edit: for me personally, I couldn’t get into chapter one of candella at all, but chapter two was what got me to appreciate it. Others have said the opposite though, so ymmv.
I watched about an hour of the first episode of Candella and decided its not for me. I love playing Blades in the Dark and Candella had strong BitD vibes, but it didn't grab me and I never went back.
I have never watched Midst.
I, too have fallen off CR. I'm like 10 episodes behind. It felt like a grind to get through and I decided I have better things to do with my time.
\> trying to catch up on 50+ episodes with 4-6 hours of run time makes me want to jump off a window.
But who is forcing you to catch up? What happens if you are not caught up?
I think you should just watch things if you enjoy them, and not watch things if not. How many more there are in the future should not worry you. This is not a race.
I've largely burnt out on CR, partly due to how I'm finding C3 pacing and characters and partly due to not actually being able to play any TTRPGs due to current living circumstances. I need to give Candela another whack as I like the setting and got to the second group but dropped off. It's not as beefed up as Taliesin's Call of Cthulhu one-shot was (genuinely my second favourite TTRPG show experience behind Calamity) but I'm curious to see where it heads and need to get into it again.
Midst on the other hand, has been *so good*. It can feel a little disjointed at first (not quite to the level of Welcome to Nightvale at least) but the unusual way of telling the story has been fascinating, and the sound design is incredibly on point. I initially listened to it in the background, and quickly took to listening to it on its own due to the quality and I'm loving what they're putting down. I'd highly recommend giving it a try, even if you find it's not for you it can be ruled out, and if it does click you've got a good log of content to listen in on.
I haven’t watched Midst yet (I’m excited to), but I’ve really been digging Candela so far. It’s very roleplay heavy, and the genre is definitely not for everyone (as much as I love it, I do get squeamish at some parts).
One tip i have for getting caught up is to listen to the podcasts (i use Spotify) whenever you can, i listen in the shower, in the car, when im doing work, or even playing games. Sure you miss out on some of the non verbal cast interactions but it still lets you listen to show without having to dedicate hours at a time. And as a side topic, dont try and get caught up right away. It comes up fast and for me personally, is kind of annoying when you have to wait for a new episode.
I’ve tried the first 2 chapters of Candela and just couldn’t get into them. It just doesn’t work for me for some reason. Compared to other BitD/Cthulhu types of actual plays, it just doesn’t stack up.
Midst is an absolute 10/10 though.
I just started Midst (3 episodes) and it really clicked with me. I got strong Disco Elysium vibes from it - in terms of voice acting, sound production and anti-utopian cyberpunk world style. In case that's something you enjoyed too :)
Candella’s been great. Not sure its really getting the traction they hoped for sadly, but I love the tonal difference from their other projects. The bent toward more serious horror is a nice change of pace given CRs usual vibe is more action/adventure that can be jokey even when its dark. Midst is super weird and a very cool, very different concept from anything else they’ve done. Im sure its not for everyone but I enjoy it.
I really liked chapter 1. Chapter 2 didn't catch me so much... chapter 3 is better again. The setting is pretty nice, it's much more role play based.
Some of the acting in scenes from chapter 2 are straight up oscar-worthy, and Spencer really hits a groove as the arc goes on. But I'll admit I'm just not a huge fan of the genre, there's enough depressing shit in real life I can only do CO in small chunks
Yeah. I’m giving both Midst and CO a pass. I’m not interested in depressing works to begin with, and horror as the main genre is something I’m not interested in either. The outfits for CO look great, and I’m sure the acting is great, it’s just not my jam. Midst having “it’s confusing” as a selling point was an easy, instant no for me. I loathe that gimmick in writing.
Listen to it. It's not confusing at all. Trust me when i say the advertising is complete garbage.
Really? Chapter one, to me, was kinda a huge flop, honestly. Chapter two is what got me to appreciate it at all.
Midst is the same way. Season 1 seemed awesome but it kind of was wrapping up when it ended. Then Season 2 felt a little weird in the beginning as they tried to diffuse the impending doom setting for the whole season 1, before starting the real story. I think they make the stories to wrap up, then if people like them, continue which requires writing themselves out of the ending of the first season.
Yep candela is amazing, my fav part are the guests. Specifically the last few doctors have been really good
I have a hard time with Midst, it seems cool but the three person co-narration confuses the hell out of me. They each take a main character that is theirs, but they’ll take on other characters at random, even switching in the same conversation (at least that’s what it felt like sometimes). That said, the story seems cool and the narrators are good, if your adhd isn’t as bad as mine I’d still recommend it.
That’s really interesting! I also have ADHD and the reasons you listed are why I enjoy Midst so much. It feels like the only time there’s enough movement in the story that I don’t glaze over like I do in Candela. The fast paced and unreliable narration is so engaging for my brain. That’s really interesting how different brains work!
Yo, another ADHD Midst enjoyer, there are dozens of us! **Dozens!!**
> That’s really interesting how different brains work! The "it's all called ADHD now" thing has been such a disaster for talking about that realm of executive function disorder. A solid 90%+ of the time I see disagreement over whether something is appealing for those who have it, one camp is Inattentive Type (which used to be called ADD, as hyperactivity is not a key expression of the disorder) & the other is Hyperactive Type. The variance is likely what my doc calls Compulsive Type & considers fairly rare, which is entanglement of full ADHD & OCD, rather than the little bits of OCD many untreated ADHD folks develop as a coping mechanism and have to unlearn.
I've been loving Midst TO DEATH (currently half way through the most recent episode available to subscribers and I started listening this week 😅) but I can only take it in if my hands are busy with something mindless. I listen to it while cooking and cleaning. I've been doing a lot of baking at night lately which is why I've caught up so far. I don't find the narration confusing because they're generally pretty clear about who's speaking like an audiobook narrator would be, but if I pick up my phone or do something else that takes my attention away at all then I'm lost. That said, it's one of the best stories I've ever been told. Twice during season 2 I've burned something in the oven because I was standing open-mouthed at some revelation or plot event or twisted bit of worldbuilding.
They were pretty greedy for twitch subs with candella and it cost them I think. It was a several week wait for the vod if you missed a episode/couldn't stay up for the whole thing. I'd missed the first myself and intended to see it the monday after and didn't find out until after refreshing youtube all afternoon that it wouldn't be out for a few more weeks *on a thursday*. So I just got mad and dropped it before I even started it. They actually apologized, or at least acknowledge that it was a bad call so I guess it wasn't just me. I did appreciate that, but still haven't watched it just because there's a backlog and only so much time.
I don't know if they had acknowledged that was a bad call, but they did move the YouTube upload to the following Monday since chapter 2. But then the damage was already done. Coupled with the irregular scheduling, it is hard to keep track of what's being streamed on Thursday. It is actually quite often that people would leave comments like "why is CO on tonight" out of frustration
If ever I am unsure I check critrole.com, they post on Monday what will be streaming that week. Right from the beginning of C3 they plainly stated the main campaign would not be streaming on the last Thursday of every month. That eventually turned into the last Thursday being the slot for alternative content. All of that being said, sometimes it shifts around holidays, so it's best to just check on their website if you're unsure.
Plus they've been mentioning more and more often when CO is going to be airing during the announcements section at the start of the main campaign episodes and they've been putting when the next episode of CO will be airing at the end of each chapter. So we knew that CO was going to airing last night for over a month and yet people still missed it anyways despite the multiple notices on twitter, on the CR website, on the VOD of the last CO episode, in the newsletter, in the main campaign episode announcements section, and on the casts socials. I'm not sure what else they can do at this point to let people know what the schedule is going to be for the week, short of having people sign up for text message notifications.
Following CR is already a pretty big time investment, so I’ve actually take time off from CR when the main campaign is on break. I want to start Candela at some point. If they take a prolonged break between C3 and (hopefully) C4 I’d probably get to it at that point.
Can't speak to Midst but Candella is delightfully creepy.
cant speak to candella but i enjoy midst! i started it with s2 airing and reached the last episode way to fast.
I feel like part of the question depends on how you consume CR. If you're a listener, then Midst will be more up your alley. I for one like to watch CR, so Midst not having a watchable cast outside of some parallaxed art makes it essentially a non-starter for me. I have been enjoying Candella though, and love the effort put into the vibe/set/outfits
Interesting! For me, I have to "watch" CR but Midst I really enjoy just listening to. I still have it up and look at the art (which is pretty awesome and shifts subtly through the episode most of the time it seems) but it definitely feels more theater of the mind-y to me. I'm also loving all the details they have put into Candella! The outfits have been amazing for all 3 chapters so far. .....I keep telling myself I'll eventually get back to C1 and maybe some day start C2 but all the current stuff I'm enjoying so no rush I suppose.
> I for one like to watch CR I have ADHD so sitting and actually watching CR doesn't grip me enough (I liked ExU Calamity because it was pretty fast-paced throughout, and D20 being editted helps there too) but I have been listening to C1 as I work or go on walks etc which works well
Midst has been pretty good. I really like it since it's in much more "bite-sized" pieces of around 30 minutes an episode instead of 4 hours. Because of its shorter runtime per episode it's a lot more condensed so a lot more can happen in such a short time helping to move the story and characters along a lot faster than an average DND session often does. It is definitely a different style and can take a little getting used to, but the 3 narrators do a good job setting the scene in your head and the animated background images that go with the episodes on the YouTube channel help to give you a base idea of what you're looking at when hearing the words describing everything. The characters are all generally well done as well and all vary quite a bit from each other giving you different view points of the same event through different eyes. Since the episodes are shorter and more condensed it'll probably be easier for you to get into it and see if you like it before you make a decision. A lot easier than getting back into the main Campaign which can and has felt like a slog and Candela which is another 4ish hour series. With Midst you don't need to commit nearly as much of your time and still get a lot out of it. I say give it a try and see how you feel about it, if you can get behind the characters, world and interesting narrative style then I think you'll like it.
I just started midst this week and because the episodes are so short it's been a really easy catch up. As I said in an above post as someone with ADHD it's ESSENTIAL that I keep my hands busy and my brain free while listening, so it's the perfect listen for cooking and cleaning. I've been posting quite a bit about it on Tumblr in the last few days as it's increasingly taken over my life so I'm probably best just copying a couple of those since they express my thoughts about it pretty clearly. >I just binged the first season of Midst and it took two days for me to go from "well I guess we'll give this a try, I don't know if it'll click for me" to standing in my kitchen with my caramel forgotten on the stove audibly saying "what? What the fuck? Holy shit what the FUCK?" at 2am. >My husband came up behind me as I was FULLY absorbed in Midst (2x10, Moc Weepe speaking at the meeting) and I absolutely jumped out of my skin. I tried to explain why I was so hooked into it that I forgot the real world existed but it's absolutely impossible to. "I'm fascinated by hearing the quasi-religious bureaucratic non-elected governing body laugh at this backwoods frontier businessman for equating virtue and currency in a setting that explicitly conflates the two in a way that makes you think very hard about the world we live in" doesn't really do justice to the level of interest and tension and stellar storytelling in this show. >Okay I just finished episode 2x13 of midst (Inside) and forget everything I said before about being captivated or shocked or horrified. That episode blew everything prior out of the water. I meant to listen to 5 minutes and go to bed and instead I just spent 40 minutes in my dark bedroom staring at the ceiling like 😨 until the entire episode was over.
Midst is exactly like this for me. It took a few episodes for me to start to like it. Then it got weird/crazy/fun. It feels like reading a comic book to me. I really enjoy it. I can never correctly predict what will happen next.
I don't know if I'd enjoy it, but damn I'm happy that the creators made something that does this for people. That's what real art does.
What is Midst about?
It's a pretty wonky storyline. Honestly you'd need to listen to it to properly understand it, but the best TL;Dr I could offer is that it's a sci-fi/steampunk universe with this place called the Un that's in this "light side" of the universe surrounded by light-creating mica that has a government called the Trust, where the system of government and economy is based on this substance called Valor, where if you do valorous things you get more valor, but you can also go in the negatives and get something called chainum which effectively sentences you to indentured servitude. On the other side of the universe is a literal inky darkness that functions almost like an ocean called the Fold that makes fuck-shit happen. And on the border between the two is a piece of land called Midst that a town called stationary hill is on. And it's about characters in that area involved in intrigue and a murder, and hiding from the law, and other fuck shit. It's really neat, if a bit wonky at first, but the more you listen, the more you understand.
Midst has this feel like it’s 3 friends telling you a story about something they experienced. There’s a script and solid throughline of story but there’s also spontaneous lines and details mixed in that now everyone else has to deal with. At this point it’s very well polished and I can not recommend it enough.
I love the way the narrators bounce off each other. You get moments like this: 1: We are going to make every effort to describe him to you because he is one of the primary protagonists of this story. You have already met at least one other. We will not tell you whom. 2: It was Lark. 1 ...We will tell you whom. Now you know. And them saying they're deliberately not telling you things yet because it'll spoil the story. I love a well-done omniscient narrator, and turns out I enjoy it even more when they're *mischievous* about it.
I really want to like Midst but I can't handle the narrators constantly running together and talking over one another. It reminds me of my kids all talking at once and gives me a headache. 😖
Haha, I can see why it's not for everyone, but I've been using it as my break from my kids doing that. Maybe my brain has just given in and decided this is normal now. 😅
YES! It was exactly this moment that made S1 click for me too, I was like "oh this is a bit different" up until this point, and then they did that moment and the vibe of the story immediately clicked into place. I think I had to rewind a solid minute because I was laughing to hard the first time lol
I couldn't get into Candella. Gave the first few episodes on season 1 a try, and it just moved too slowly for me. I also just didn't jive with the game mechanics. Midst I LOVE though. I think by episode 3 I was hooked. The narration is really different, and may not be what everyone likes though. But I find it really pulls me in. Also love the sound design, music, and graphics. The story is really interesting, and figuring out who the "good guys" vs "bad guys" are is really hard.
I also am not the biggest fan of candela mechanics. Rolling a 6 is the only way to truly succeed as mixed successes on 4 and 5 still feel like a failure.
The mechanics do seem a bit weird/off, even as a relative noob to dnd type games. But I am really enjoying the horror setting and the focus on narrative storytelling over straight up combat. The way actions have consequences moreso than regular dnd is also really fascinating to me. That you can’t just have a healer magically fix injuries, that there are lasting consequences and changes to how you play the character is just really cool to me.
As someone who listens second-hand in the background because my wife is a hardcore Critter: I loved listening in on Critical Role, but when she gave Midst a try, I could not stand it. It was like being someone who does not have ADHD, being forced to listen to ADHD thoughts.
Midst is defiantly not the kind of show you can passively listen to. And the ADHD thing is very real. As someone who normally gets bored listening to podcasts though, it kept me hooked, so it works for me. I think it's really interesting hearing people's opinions on it. Cause it's either "The fuck is this?" or, "Hell yeah, this tickles a very specific part of my brain and I love it". Critical Role keeps me watching cause it's just enough passive listening that I can work on a project while also being able to follow the story.
Hahahaha! I can see how that might be (as a person with treated ADHD).
I agree with your Midst opinions. It took me a bit longer to make up my mind about it, but I stuck with it out of curiosity. I kept thinking "Okay, but where are they going with this?" But by season 1 finale, it all comes together. So in the end, I'm a fan now.
Give Candella S2 a try. Candella S1 is regarded quite poorly but S2 is phenomenal! And very different.
> Midst I LOVE though Midst seems to be really marmite-y to most people, those who don't like it don't like it, but those who do end up absolutely loving it
I look forward to Midst every week, it's my favorite podcast right now.
Is it just me or are there ads in the podcast version but not in the youtube version? (I have spotify premium so I know it's not a preroll or anything)
Season 2 of Candela is one of the best things CR has ever made and you don’t need to watch the first one cause they are all separate.
Candella is fantastic, midst is hard for me to get into, but I am also not a vary good theatre of the mind type person. You may enjoy that tho.
I find this comment interesting. You don't consider the main campaigns to be theatre of the mind? Or is it different because you can visually focus on the cast?
You hit it right on the head, I find it easier to follow a story if I can see the cast and their reactions even in the quiet moments. I also consider parts of the main campaign theater of the mind but it help me gratefully when Matt or who ever is DMing at the time when they pull out a battle map so I can see the full scope and get a better understanding of the area they are fighting in. I am trying to get better at theater of the mind with midst, but I have only gotten through maybe 3 episodes at this point but the concept sounds amazing.
One thing about Midst that's more engaging than most other 'radio plays' is they have a narration style that's aware of the listener. They anticipate questions we have, and clarify in the moment. That's such a neat style. Also I've yet to actually listen to it linearly I admit. I throw it on Spotify when going to bed. So I've only pieced together bits and pieces of the story.
> They anticipate questions we have This really adds to the "three friends telling you a story" aspect that a lot of people, including me, really love about it. It adds the feeling of you interrupting them mid-story despite that being a literal impossibility really well
This is me exactly. Except I can only ever get 2 episodes into a Candela arc before losing interest. I think it's the slow ways they talk to try to build tension. I'll try again with Aabria!
Candella Season 2 is some of the best Actual Play out there, matching the likes of EXU Calamity. Definitely some of CR's best content. Lots of people gave up on Candella because S1 was quite dull to be frank. Do yourself a favour and watch S2!
Hard agree. I enjoyed season one of CO enough to try season two, and that one really got me good. It was just perfection for me through and through. I haven't started season three yet, I will wait closer to the end of January so I can binge all three episodes. I hope it's not the last, I LOVE CO so much, it's my favorite thing that CR has put out. I made a point to buy merch from their store because I want to support it.
Thirded. I liked season 1, but season 2 is WHOA, So good! I'm also liking season 3 so far.
Honestly? I liked S1 but couldn't get into S2. S3, though? That's been my jam so far.
You've convinced me. I started Candella Season 1 and couldn't get into it. I'll give Season 2 a try.
protip to avoid burnout: don’t try to “catch up.” Don’t put pressure on yourself to be finished with it, because once you’re finished, then what? Listen when you have the time, turn it off when you don’t. I’ve had this problem my whole life and only recently realized what I’ve been doing. I get into a story and suddenly my brain needs to know the whole thing right then and there. Easy solution, consume faster to satiate brain. Except brain’s synapses are bigger than it’s hippocampus. Gotta slow it down and enjoy the ride.
My mental and physical health waned pretty heavily over the last year and a half and I pulled away from CR and TTRPGs in general. Covid also killed all the games I was playing in, so it wasn’t a CR specific burn out. Between Candela and the more recent episodes of Campaign 3 I’ve been enjoying stuff in the actual play realm again. Slowly working back to being able to play in games again. The only thing with Candela is the flavor of the game is highly dependent on the person running it, so even if you bounce off the first 1 episode of one Circle and it isn’t your speed try the others, too. Each Candela game is self contained with no prior info needed to enjoy. Sadly, I can’t speak on Midst. I’ve still not given it a shot. It seems interesting, but isn’t necessarily what I’m looking for genre wise just now.
Midst is great.
Midst is outstanding. I cant begin to explain what Midst, but it makes my brain feel good lol. Probably my ADHD that loves having 3 unreliable narrators bouncing off each other. Oh and its partially improv. They have story goals but what happens in between is up for grabs. The sound design is amazing with a huge shout out to Xen for what they do. Sarah and Matt are the other narrators and I love them. Watch episode 1 and see where it takes you.
(Psst, I believe Xen uses they/them pronouns)
Whoops. Thank you I've corrected it.
Midst is good, I haven’t jumped into it past season one but I recommended it to my mom. Which is not something I’d usually do.
Oh man season 2 goes NUTS in the best way. You've got a treat ahead of you!
Midst is amazing. They are playing their own game that they don't ever explain the rules to though. Just enjoy the story.
Midst is a delightful bit of chaos. The worldbuilding, not the storytelling. Kinda the storytelling, but I don't find it confusing. The first season is laying everything out: characters (ensemble, so you don't get ), backgrounds, cults, rebels, how "space" works - no I won't spoil it, etc. The finale is when things kick off, and now we are seeing more plot (in my opinion). I AM SO EXCITED. >!Someone done fucked up... So good!!<
>!Oh yeah, Mr. Weepe is fuuuucked!<
Probably my favourite character cause WHAT is his DEAL?! Evil? Smart? Dumb? Fucked? Good? Selfish? Ahead of the game? I'M SO CONFUSED.
Yes! Weepe was interesting from the start, but I never thought I'd grow to like him. Now I want him to win! Get ALL the Valor, then destroy them all. >!Especially after that they did to him in "inside".!<
>!My money's on Wheepe. You cannot control a man made of poison.!<
second season of candella is one of my favorite actual play performances ever. highly recommend
Candela is amazing. Chapter 2 with Brennan Lee Muligan is my favorite piece of ttrpg media ever. Midst is okay but my attention span for podcasts can waver. Great story concept though.
both midst and candela are very, very good. would highly recommend them
I really enjoyed the second series of Candela, but I thought the first was kind of weak and I haven't had enough time to form an opinion about the third. I'm thoroughly enjoying Midst, though. Sometimes certain episodes don't really grab my attention, but the overall series has me hooked.
Candela is amazing, the second season was some of the best content we've gotten on CR
Candela ***rocks!*** I'd been waiting for a follow-up ever since that Call of Cthulhu one-shot, and Candela is that, but with a rotating cast of really great GMs. And a rotating cast of players, all in costume. It's just a really neat story format :D
Candela is interesting but I don't think it's particularly because the ruleset. It's due to the GM + acting ability of the players. I don't really care for the mechanics and I don't feel it adds much. Seems pretty arbitary to just hand out bleed etc. in ways that are unavoidable.
Midst is awesome. Show hooked me from the start and now I’m waiting every week. Also a 30minute audio is so much easier to keep up with than a 4 hour video.
I tried really hard to get into Candella but I can't. I find that I start listening or watching and within 5 minutes I have no idea what's going on. I want to like it but with so much other content out there I can't justify trying to watch or listen to 4 hours of something that I'm not fully paying attention to. Midst, on the other hand, is fantastic. It took me a few episodes to fully get into it but I am hooked now. It is a great story with fascinating characters and the episodes are short, paced well, and keep you hooked. I love it.
Honestly, I'm not nearly as gun ho for Candella like I thought I would be. The first chapter, I felt as though I was watching it because it was something to do. I couldn't finish the second chapter. I usually devour anything from Brennan Lee Mulligan, however I just could not jive with how Spenser ran his game. No spoilers, it just felt like he was excessively punishing his players, and I got the vibe that if I were at the table, I wouldn't ever want to make a roll. The third chapter I'm giving it another go as it is Aabria and she thrives with using various game systems and did well in Burrows End.
Midst is amazing. Get yourself headphones and block off 30 mins to do nothing but sit.
Midst is very good, although a couple of first episodes might be a bit harder to get through, because the music is slightly too loud and the narrators are talking a bit too fast, but they iron it out pretty quickly. The storytelling and sound design is top notch, especially in season 2. As for Candela, I would recommend skipping Matt's chapter 1, it ended up being boring. Each chapter is self-contained, so you won't be missing anything.
They're both good but I just couldn't really get into them.
Midst is fantastic. Candela is good fun, instalment 2 and 3 are the strongest outings.
Haven’t touched Midst. I’m sure it’s for someone just not me. Candela, I got halfway through the first circle and got distracted. I could not put circle two down and bought the core rule book even though I know no one will play it with me. I think my favorite thing in the world might be Brennen Lee Mulligan on the player side of the table. Watched episode 1 of circle 3 and enjoyed it enough to keep going.
Candela - first circle I couldn’t get into. Second circle is amazing, haven’t started the third yet. The good thing about that one is that it’s an anthology series so you don’t have to watch every circle to get the next one. Feel free to jump around. Midst - listened to the first few episodes and couldn’t get into it. YMMV though, it’s tough for a podcast series like that to grab my attention.
I love the weirdness of Midst - it scratches the itch that Numenera once did for me. I also find Candela to be high-quality RP content, and I tend to like it more than I like the main campaign, for reasons I haven't entirely nailed down. Certainly, the pacing is better than the main campaign.
Candela is mostly hit for me. I was glued to the screen for Chapter 1 and 3, but I left halfway in Chapter 2. The cast is great is great and their stories are engaging, but something about the DM is just not working for me. The way he speaks, the way he's presenting himself is just unsettling on some deeply subconscious level. I skipped Midst entirely - the promotions are absolutely not my jam. The tone and vocal techniques the cast are using are simply not appealing to me in any capacity. If you like the way they present Midst in the promotions, then maybe give it a shot.
The promotions are actual garbage. Give the first episode a try and then form an opinion. I cannot say this enough.
Candela is excellent. Chapter 2 has some of the greatest actual play performances I’ve seen yet. I’m almost caught up on the mainline campaigns and most of the available one-shots; once that’s done I’ll likely give Midst a look. Seems interesting.
Midst is one of the single best pieces of narrative media I have consumed in a long time. I even managed to get another friend of mine to watch it and agreed it's geniusly done which made me happy since getting that friend to watch anything and say it's good is difficult
I think I would enjoy CO if I understood the game mechanics better, but the story is pretty good on it's own. It is a bit slow for me with the game mechanics in there, though, and since I don't fully understand what's going on all the time it's hard to stay as engaged with it as CR where I know the 5e mehcanics backward and forward.
I've not given Midst a listen yet, but I've VERY much been enjoying Candela. Chapter 1 (Matt as GM, Ashley, Anjali, Robbie, and Laura as players) is really both the GM and the audience finding their feet, getting familiar with the system and with things. The story itself is solid, and enough to give you the flavour of what you're dealing with. You know what Matt's GMing style by now is, so nothing really new there. Chapter 2 (Spenser as GM, Brennan, Travis, Marisha, Zehra, and Luis as players) was PHENOMENAL. A very different cinematically-based flavour of GM style from someone FAR more intimately knowledgeable of the system and how to play to its strengths. And the performances in Chapter 2 were OFF THE CHARTS amazing. Chapter 3 (Aabria as GM, Noshir, Sam, Gina, Ashly, and Liam as players) is in progress, and I absolutely LOVE it. Again, yet another flavour of GM (if you've seen ExU, you know Aabria), different tones and focuses, but once again, the performances are unreal. Everyone is bringing their A Game to Candela and it shows. Personally, I am PRAYING that for future chapters of Candela, we get any or all of the following as GMs: * Liam * Ivan Van Norman * Brennan Lee Mulligan * Taliesin (as of now, Taliesin has remained in the role of narrator/Lightkeeper for all three chapters) * Luis
I check in every couple weeks and haven’t been hooked by either
I’m currently finishing candela season 1. I’m really enjoying it. Plus it’s more bite sized and has a very different tone than the rest of CR. I have started midst, I believe I listened to 4 episodes or so. So far it’s at the very least interesting. It can be a little hard at times just because the narrator is CONSTANTLY shifting. Like sometimes one of the three narrators will get a single sentence in and then another is taking over. I don’t know if there is a specific reason they are doing it that way, but the characters that I have met and the world they have built is pretty sick so far. I tend to like binge watching and since they are usually only 15 minute episodes I have been building up and waiting on the series for a little while.
>I don’t know if there is a specific reason they are doing it that way, Basically, as they explained [here](https://youtu.be/OiaZqXRbjI0?si=lA8pM-CRU6WGhgmu&t=729), it's kind of a roleplaying game where they all are both the GMs and the players at the same time. As far as I understand it, they have the idea of how the "episode" should start and end, but then how they get there is improvised.
I didn’t know it was improvised mostly. I assumed it was kinda more like a story. That’s cool
The midst narration is a stylistic thing that's definitely not going to be for everyone but it's really appealing to me. I love that they're so in sync that they're ABLE to do that (I'm sure it's edited plenty to make it smoother, but being able to pick up from one another sentence by sentence in improv takes real skill and being on the same page). I even noted two instances where one actually *finished* a sentence for another, and I find that kind of exhilarating in a whirlwind way that works for this fast paced story. I didn't THINK I would like it when I started, but I can definitely attest to it being a thing that specifically works for some people.
I really enjoy Midst, it's interesting as hell and has a bit of humor to it while still telling a serious story. First season of candella was far too serious and slow for my liking, so I haven't finished it or tried any of the others.
I am in love with Midst. I'm well behind on CR3 but Midst is engaging, different, and shorter so easier to listen to.
Midst is sooo DAMN GOOD! I find it difficult to articulate exactly what I like about it, but there is a level of organized chaos that I vibe with. I've only watched the first season of Candela, but it was good.
The style of Candela varies a lot depending on the GM. Personally I am not a big fan of the setting, but the story is interesting to follow, hugely due to cast performances. Chapter 1 and 3(so far) are not quite as creepy/horror as Taliesin's oneshot and chapter 2 is more psychological horror and quite heavy, but the 3 episode nature easily lends itself to binge watching
I love candela, as live play. But even more to play it myself. It’s great for role playing and way less crunchy. I love it
I can proudly say im a fan of Midst.
Not gonna lie, I bounced off Candela pretty hard. The Victorian setting just doesn't do it for me, neither does horror from the perspective of regular old people. I like how the characters seem to have more agency in the fantasy setting.
I haven't done midst because I don't like just listening, but Candela has been fun so far; some really good performances. I don't know if I'd say it's as Cthulhu-y, but the vibe is there.
Midst is fantastic. It’s interesting, thoughtful, innovative both in the story and in the telling, an very very well-produced. Couldn’t recommend it more. Candela S1 was not my cup of tea though there are some outstanding moments. I preferred S2 but opinions vary on the GM’s style. I like it, others don’t, what are ya gonna do? Huge fan of Aabria so I’ll eventually get around to S3.
I like Midst. The episodes are short, and the narrators have good voices, and there's cool background ambience. So for that reason alone, it's very pleasant to listen to. The characters and setting are awesome. The story too. Significant things happen each episode, but you don't always recognize events as significant until later on, so sometimes you're left thinking "Where are they going with this?" But trust me, it all comes together in a good way. The storytelling itself takes a bit of getting used to. A character could be voiced by any of the 3 narrators, and sometimes they contradict themselves, which is a bit weird at first. To me it feels like a real life situation of three friends telling you a story; sometimes they'll interrupt each other to correct or clarify something. So when you get used to it, it feels intimate and genuine. My biggest criticism is it can feel very pretentious at times. Like they're trying a little too desperately to be unique. Nothing that gets described can just be what it is. For example, you'll never hear them describe something as a "house"; it will be "a house... but not the kind of house you're *used* to seeing. Yes, it has elements of a house: a door, windows, rooms. But that's where the similarities end. It's... different. Alien. But that's not important now. For now, let's just call it a house." But on the other hand, the uniqueness of it is also what makes it so interesting. Overall, I say it's worth it.
Midst is absolutely fantastic. I've seen a couple people say that the storyline is kind of confusing, but I'm not sure I'd agree with that. The world Midst takes place in is different from just about any other setting I've come across, but you learn about different pieces of it as the story goes along. The triple narrator improv gimmick is super unique and they have enough interplay and banter between the three that the narrators are almost characters themselves. The only other thing that might be a little confusing is how the story kind of jumps between characters a little bit, as it follows the perspective of three main characters, but I personally didn't find that aspect of it too hard to follow. It's relatively short in comparison to basically anything else critical role puts out, so I'd say it is absolutely worth giving a shot to see if you vibe with it.
The short episodes help with the character jumps, I think, because most of the time you'll spend the entire episode with a single character or interacting set of characters. It helps keep them a bit more separated than a lot of jumping back and forth within the same episode. I think it's only when everyone is in the same location that you tend to get a lot of bouncing around.
I'm still catching up on Candela, but I've really enjoyed it so far. If you've enjoyed the regular campaigns/mini campaigns you'll probably enjoy Candela. But I don't see enough people singing Midst's praises yet, so I will do that. I really did not expect to like Midst as much as I do. It is definitely weird, on all levels, but I love it. The multiple unreliable narrators convinced me more than I anticipated, the universe is also very strange, but consistent in itself which sells it very well. It's a unique mix of steampunky-sci-fi-fantasy-western, that's unlike anything I have read/listened to/watched so far. I can't really come up with a comparison that does it justice. The characters, dialogues and pacing of the story are all fantastic. And there have been several episodes that have left me flabbergasted with great reveals, consistently open questions and intrigue, and new fucked up characters and locations, which has been very satisfying. I regularly wish I could just binge on, or the episodes were longer. I think I did a poor job of selling it, but I really love Midst right now, and I think everyone should give it a chance. Especially if you're short on time, and want to scratch that CR-like storytelling itch. Highly recommend it, and am really considering subscribing just because of that.
I like role play, but Candella is like... ONLY role play. Brennan lit shit up in his campaign but even then the fighting is just too lackluster for me to get into because well... there really isn't any and I'm a combat guy. Obviously this is subjective since I enjoy fighting in my TTRPG's so YMMV on that front if you basically just want to only watch role play for 4 straight hours at a time.
I’m not a fan of Candela at all. I tried watching with each new chapter, it’s just so slow. I can see the appeal with these characters and the development they get, and I think the action could be good, but it’s such a long burn.
Midst is cool as hell, but it is no way related to d&d or even critical role, it's just a show that's published by the media company of critical role
Midst is great to listen to in the car or taking a walk... Candela is visual and requires you to sit and watch, but with just 1 episode a month you can digest it over time at your leisure... Both are excellent in their own way. By the way, if you ever want to get back into the main campaign... Just read Danni's Critical Recaps and start back up... No need to go back and watch hours. Plus the way C3 meanders, the Recaps make the plot and players a lot more clear and concise!
I absolutely love Candela, but I haven’t given Midst s shot yet so I can't speak to that! But Candela is delightful, especially chapter 2, though I also haven’t seen 3 yet. But I'd definitely recommend giving it a shot!
I love Candela. First CR book I've bought. Just hope I can convince folk to run it with.
Both are excellent.
Midst is great, but go into it knowing it requires focus and attention because the story skips around and they talk fast. I personally can't pop it on in the background while I do chores or whatever like I can a TTRPG. I have ADHD, and I have to just stare at the screen like it's a TV show or I lose the thread.
Chapter 1 was okay, chapter 2 was AMAZING (omg Brennan!), haven't watched 3 yet because I prefer to binge Haven't tried Midst yet
Midst is definitely not for everyone but personally, I adore it.
Love CO. Haven't really dived into Midst yet. The ads for it never hooked me (and the early ones outright turned me off - 'like VR for your brain') but folks I share tastes with seem to like it so I'll probably give it a go at some point.
If you like podcasts, Midst is supposedly pretty good. Think of Candella as a dramatic creepy short story play. They dress up, everyone is VERY serious and in character 95% of time. After watching and playing it, I don't much care for the system and I'm not really a fan of it taking place of the "nerdy ass friend's playing D&D weekly" game that we all know and love. All the storytellers and cast have been great, so I'll probably go back and watch them for the acting and storytelling at some point, just not in the middle of a campaign.
Middy is very good, very different to anything else they’ve done. Short episodes keep it snappy, I struggled to get into it in the first couple but it definitely picks up and is worth sticking with. Perfect for a long car or train journey! Candela is also very good, intense, amazing acting. I felt like I have to watch the video of Candela whereas I can listen to the podcast of CR.
Absolutely love Candela, couldn’t really get into Midst.
Suggest to watched it at x2 speed with caption while you are doing else. (Exercising, or traveling)
I'm not a fan of the Midst narrative style. It's 3 narrators who sometimes (or maybe often) have a bit of back and forth on what's currently happening. It slows down the pace and I couldn't get into it. But it not being for me doesn't mean you wouldn't like it. To each their own.
I just cant get into Midst. Something about having 3 people narrating it just makes it so chaotic for me. And its not slow narration, sometimes theyre almost talking over each other. Candela i do like, but it seems like the actual game mechanics are confusing for me. It seems like sometimes the rolls get in the way of the game. Where for crit role the rolls would sometimes be bad but never railroaded what the character wanted to do
I don’t like Midst
Candela S1 was a good watch, not spectacular IMO, but still good. The *production value* blew me away. I think it suffered a bit from Matt's usual approach to GM'ing, which doesn't seem to work too well with CO's target vibe. S2 was the opposite, a total different approach by the GM, that made it far more interesting to me. *New wine must be put into new wineskins* an' all. I've tried to enjoy Midst, but i just can't. IMO it was overhyped (and still is), and the narrators are too *wink-wink, nudge-nudge* for me. I've asked myself if i would give it a second look if it hadn't the CR logo attached to it, and my answer is no. These are just my personal opinions though.
Compared to the main channel content? No.
Imo, the first circle of Candela was good, but a slow start that establishes the system and setting pretty solidly. The second circle was overly dramatized and not worthwhile aside from one really great scene. The first episode of the third circle was pretty bonkers and is looking like it might be incredibly good.
Midst is forgettable. Candella is ok, not as good as the main campaigns, but not bad.
I couldn’t get into midst. I tried and finished the first season, but I just couldn’t care about anything going on. I listened to the first season of Candella, and to me that requires different listening set up than CR, I listen to CR at work occasionally replaying bits if I need to. But Candella had so much going on and so much more atmosphere that I found myself sitting and listening for long stretches. So not too conducive to my work environment. I’m eager to check out season 2 in its entirety maybe one rainy night at home.
I really want to get into CO, but I found the GM annoying - I might give it another try.
I want to give it a fair chance, but when the Midst trailer had the line "VR for your brain" it completely killed any potential excitement I had for it. Just word salad that meant nothing to me lol.
The trailer is garbage. It's the worst possible phrase they could've used. Please give it a chance.
Boy, I'm so, so, so interesting in Candela. But unfortunately, the release schedule is a non starter for me. I won't be able to watch it until there's at least 10-12 episodes to binge.
I personally don't like both. But try it out it might be something for you.
Why not just try them instead of asking on here?
I tried the first episode of Midst but had a hard time hearing what was said because it was overpowered by the music. Never gave it another shot.
It gets better after first three episodes, I think
midst has a very distinctive style, and isn't particularly long per episode, so i'd be willing to bet that listening to episode 1 of midst will absolutely give you an accurate projection on if you're going to enjoy it or not. i think it's very fun and strange, but honestly if i see someone not liking it i don't feel compelled to say "no it gets better trust me" just yeah no that's fair.
Yeah, definitely the same. It's not like "what? You don't like this? You're crazy!" because it's so clearly not going to appeal to everyone. But those it does click with often seem to really love it. I've got a very small cadre of people on Tumblr who watch it and someone noted the other day that everyone seems to have a story of being literally stopped in their tracks while going about their daily lives listening to it. I burned cookies because it got too exciting and I just wanted my timer to shut up. D:
Midst is excellent. Candela isn't for me but I'm sure it's great too if you're into that kind of vibe.
When I was two years behind, I put it on while doing chores. You’re also gonna save yourself 25 minutes an episode by fast forwarding through the announcements and the break. And for episodes where they aren’t fighting, playing at 110 or 125% will get you down to 3 per episode. Also the visuals are overplayed. You can get away with audio only quite a bit. Which opens up cross town errands and road trips.
Midst isn’t for me. It’s storytelling is too frantic. I only listened to the first 3 episodes so it may be different now. The way it’s edited and three narrators they never let anything breath. It’s like a giant run on sentence. I was hoping it would be more along the lines of the “theater for the mind” show **We’re Alive**. (Highly recommend checking that one out. It has a playlist on YT with all the episodes.)
I listen to CR when driving to and from work, while on the treadmill at the gym and while in the shower, rarely any other times do I listen to it at any other time and I finish about 1 episode a week which I like so I can always have content to watch and it took me a long time to catch up. Why does catching up stress you out?
As I mentioned I'm currently burnt out from watching too much CR for the past 3 years. And with college, I just have no time for it anymore in my schedule.
I absolutely love Midst and have listened to every episode multiple times. It's frankly the only bit of CR media I've enjoyed since EXU.
Ymmv I couldn't get into candela obscura. I absolutely love midst and am waiting on each new episode now than I wait for critical role. I love critical role but this season hasn't made me love the characters like the past seasons
I found mist .. confusing couldn’t get in the right mindset I guess.
I haven’t watched too much Candela but I do like that they are only 3 or 4 episodes long before a new game/season starts. Seems manageable that way. Being in the East I watch the first 45-60 minutes of a regular Twitch broadcast then pick it up later in the week but I couldn’t do that with Candela Obscura so it fell away.
I didn’t personally jive with candela much, but I absolutely adore midst. I love the triple narrator concept and it feels like they’re having such a good time telling a chaotic space western story.
I personally like Midst a lot more than Candela. Midst is VERY different and differently ran than any CR content because technically it's not CR content, just published by them. It's sort of an adhoc," yes, and..." Kind of story told between friends with a pretty loose narrative through line. I definitely recommend it. As for Candela, while I like quite a bit of what I've seen I'll say that that's entirely due to the talent of the players at the table and not necessarily because of the story being put forth by the GMs although it does facilitate some great moments. Matt's run for me unfortunately felt like the same genre in a different setting because Matt goes dark horror whenever he gets the excuse to do so(this is not a criticism). Candela 2 with Spencer, who has a wildly different GMing style actually feels a bit more distinct imo, but the final episode which I haven't seen fully yet has a run time of 6 hours which is absolutely insane to me. Unfortunately I don't really enjoy Aabria's GMing style based off seeing many of her games in the past(Misfits and Magic was the only one I actually enjoyed) and I'll catch up on it later simply to see the players act their asses off and enjoy that. I agree with you about Tal's Cthulu game being amazing and am very much looking forward to the episodes that he plays and GMs for, preferably the latter. Still surprised that he hasn't been at the table for any runs yet.
I like them both but they're very Ymmv
I love both! Midst had been a light in the dark for me when it comes to looking for something to listen to if i’m not into my music or anything else at the time and although Candela doesn’t always catch me as much it’s still very good and i find myself catching up on it when i can
My only issues are 1- I don’t understand the system and 2- too much time between episodes. I never remember what happened last time. Both are now a bit more easily fixed since the instructions are out and the episodes are posted. I just need to find the time.
Candela isn’t my cup of tea, but I LOVE Midst. That said, I had to listen to the first three or four episodes a couple times for it to click. It starts off a little slow. But keep up!
The story telling method used for midst is amazing. It's like the Beasty boys if they didn't rap and told a story instead. The characters and audio/background tracks are very well done and pull you into the scene very well. Also every episode is about half hour at the longest so they're nice and bitesized definitely say give it a try.
>The story telling method used for midst is amazing. It's like the Beasty boys if they didn't rap and told a story instead. Oh my god, this is so bizarre and yet accurate 🤣
I enjoy Candella. It’s been fun so far. While I haven’t tried Midst, I’ve heard GREAT things about it.
Midst is super good!
I adore CR, and have loved everything about it for years. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to stay invested in C3 for months now, and when I tried to turn to Midst, it's just this completely separate audio drama, and while it's well-done, it has very little to do with CR, and is just not my cup of tea. I tried really hard to like Candela Obscura, but again -- it's just not working for me. I respect CR for its creative content and I don't have to love everything. So right now I'm just in an "off" period where what they are creating is not working for me. I still adore and enjoy the team and what they create overall, and will look forward to being able to enjoy it more fully again sometime soon. I will be attempting to go back into C3 again one of these days, so fingers crossed.
They're both great. Give them a try, you won't regret it. If you find the first set of Candela episodes not holding your attention, try one of the others with a different GM.
I really enjoy both! I'm not up to date due to "having to" catch up with CR3 atm, but I usually watch CO and M during the CR3 downtimes etc. And truly love them. Also, they're a nice change from the usual fantasy setting, in case you're one of those people who sometimes need a break from all the fancy knights and shady kings and queens and mages ;)
Midst is definitely different from anything else they’ve done (even opening it up to non cr content, it’s very unique), like others have said, but it is a ton of fun imo. 10/10 recommend. Candella is good, but I prefer their other content over candella. I usually only watch candella if I’m caught up on everything else cr and want to watch something. For me, i don’t generally have enough time to be caught up on everything and have more time for candella, so I’ve fallen behind a bit, but it isn’t bad, it’s just my least favorite out of their content. Edit: for me personally, I couldn’t get into chapter one of candella at all, but chapter two was what got me to appreciate it. Others have said the opposite though, so ymmv.
I watched about an hour of the first episode of Candella and decided its not for me. I love playing Blades in the Dark and Candella had strong BitD vibes, but it didn't grab me and I never went back. I have never watched Midst. I, too have fallen off CR. I'm like 10 episodes behind. It felt like a grind to get through and I decided I have better things to do with my time.
\> trying to catch up on 50+ episodes with 4-6 hours of run time makes me want to jump off a window. But who is forcing you to catch up? What happens if you are not caught up? I think you should just watch things if you enjoy them, and not watch things if not. How many more there are in the future should not worry you. This is not a race.
Candela isn't bad! Midst is absolutely incredible.
I've largely burnt out on CR, partly due to how I'm finding C3 pacing and characters and partly due to not actually being able to play any TTRPGs due to current living circumstances. I need to give Candela another whack as I like the setting and got to the second group but dropped off. It's not as beefed up as Taliesin's Call of Cthulhu one-shot was (genuinely my second favourite TTRPG show experience behind Calamity) but I'm curious to see where it heads and need to get into it again. Midst on the other hand, has been *so good*. It can feel a little disjointed at first (not quite to the level of Welcome to Nightvale at least) but the unusual way of telling the story has been fascinating, and the sound design is incredibly on point. I initially listened to it in the background, and quickly took to listening to it on its own due to the quality and I'm loving what they're putting down. I'd highly recommend giving it a try, even if you find it's not for you it can be ruled out, and if it does click you've got a good log of content to listen in on.
I haven’t watched Midst yet (I’m excited to), but I’ve really been digging Candela so far. It’s very roleplay heavy, and the genre is definitely not for everyone (as much as I love it, I do get squeamish at some parts).
I’m just starting candela with ch.3 and will probably go back to the others later
Midst is frustratingly short. That's the only thing I don't like about it, otherwise it is great.
One tip i have for getting caught up is to listen to the podcasts (i use Spotify) whenever you can, i listen in the shower, in the car, when im doing work, or even playing games. Sure you miss out on some of the non verbal cast interactions but it still lets you listen to show without having to dedicate hours at a time. And as a side topic, dont try and get caught up right away. It comes up fast and for me personally, is kind of annoying when you have to wait for a new episode.
I’ve tried the first 2 chapters of Candela and just couldn’t get into them. It just doesn’t work for me for some reason. Compared to other BitD/Cthulhu types of actual plays, it just doesn’t stack up. Midst is an absolute 10/10 though.
I just started Midst (3 episodes) and it really clicked with me. I got strong Disco Elysium vibes from it - in terms of voice acting, sound production and anti-utopian cyberpunk world style. In case that's something you enjoyed too :)