Age of Umbra: Sallowlands feels very different from Critical Role‘s other current campaign. If you’re looking for more of the same while campaign four is on a break, this might not scratch your itch. If you want more top-tier performances with a totally different vibe, though, you’re in very good hands.
Matt Mercer reminds us from the get-go why his Daggerheart setting is so compelling. The Sallowlands is a somber, Soulseborne place. We first see it through the eyes of Sister, a Fungril Hedge Witch whose strange sorority rarely leaves the forest.
Laura Bailey doesn’t say much as Sister, but when she does, you can’t look away. She’s soft-spoken in mysterious, dangerous ways. Before the action even really begins, she almost fells an ally who takes her by surprise.
Luckily, her strike lands on Mercy, a Giant-Fungril Juggernaut. Abubakar Salim plays Mercy as a creature of terrifying strength, one that strangers may recoil from, fearing he has been touched by the dreadful Umbra. But, more importantly, he is a gentle, caring creature.
He and Dillywyn (played by Baldur’s Gate 3’s Jennifer English) are the emotional glue that keeps this band of misfits together. The group they gradually gather is disparate, but their chemistry is smooth as darkness. Vico Ortiz’s Caguama is a nervous wreck, which is lightly played for laughs, but also leads to some of the episode’s most emotional moments.
Honorable mention also goes to Badger, Dillywyn’s bat-like companion. Mercer matches English’s rustic chaos energy perfectly, and the pair are so easy to fall in love with. Plus, speaking as a Brit, Mercer’s Somerset accent is surprisingly good.
Last comes Alphonse, played by Zachery Renauldo. He’s also the grimmest and gruffest of the grimdark group by far. Like everyone else, he hints at secrets held back – this is the first episode of an actual play, after all.
He also kicks off the first of the episode’s two combat scenarios. These are fluid thanks to a mix of Daggerheart’s cinematic rules and Matt Mercer’s vivid descriptions. The vivid often becomes visceral, though. This is a campaign of horrors almost beyond comprehension. Still, Mercer does a great job narrating the guts and gristle.
Combat devours most of the runtime, and there’s a brief lull in pacing when the party begin traversing the Sallowlands proper. Daggerheart deftly handles travel with countdown timers, but the activity is neither action-packed nor character-driven – so it’s a bit less watchable.
Things pick up again towards the finale. The monsters and violence reach peak horror, the drama soars sky-high, and you’ll feel genuinely on edge. It’s a successful Tag Team action fueled by every member of the cast. We may have a smaller team than campaign four, and we get far less time with their backstories, but I’m already invested. Roll on episode two.
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Source: Wargamer
