The gods are dying. Extra particularly, they’re being killed. The world is on the opposite facet of the cataclysmic Nice Divine Warfare, dropping its magic because it waits for a prophesied savior. However that’s not this story. That is the story earlier than that. The story of Ever and Rake, two Godkillers misplaced in their very own grief as they attempt to discover solutions in a world that provides none — till they discover one another.
That is the story of Godkiller: Steadiness. First premiering in August 2024, Godkiller: Steadiness is a status drama precise play podcast that explores how we deal with grief, usually to our personal detriment. The restricted sequence contains a pantheon of visitor performers to play the gods themselves, together with Brennan Lee Mulligan, Matt Mercer, Aabria Iyengar, Anjali Bhimani, Luis Carazo, and Christian Navarro. Whereas these large names deliver a number of the most emotionally resonant performances of their precise play profession to the desk, the guts of the sequence lies with its three core forged members: Gina Susanna as Ever, Jannes Wessels as Rake, and Em Carlson as everybody else.
Over the course of 20 episodes, audiences hearken to the parallel journeys of the tender-hearted, obsessively pushed Ever and the cynically numb Rake. Ever, trying to find a remedy to the illness that took her father-figure, and Rake, obediently following the violent whims of his divine mom, discover mirror pictures of themselves in each other as they uncover that chasing redemption can both save us or destroy us.
A forged member of BlackwaterDND’s essential marketing campaign, Wessels’ portrayal of Rake’s tortured submission evokes Theon Greyjoy’s Reek from Recreation of Thrones. Susanna, an up-and-coming performer within the precise play area, provides a nuanced vary of hope and despair in her efficiency as Ever, biking from tender, mild like to bottomless despair with a degree of expertise that enables her to carry her personal alongside titans of the particular play medium.
Facilitating the sequence is BlackwaterDND forged member Carlson, who wields faer expertise as a psychological well being skilled as each a defend and a sword, creating area for a number of the most emotionally highly effective role-playing I’ve encountered as an precise play critic. Carlson’s modifying and sound design, although refined, helps the forged by balancing gameplay with efficiency whereas leaving room for the heartbreaking silences in between.
This sequence shouldn’t be for everybody, although. Godkiller, a holypunk darkish fantasy sport designed by Connie Chang of Transplaner renown, shouldn’t be a high-paced, action-packed comedy automobile. The sequence takes its time creating these arcs, reveling within the weight of the world it has constructed — although you’ll be rewarded if you happen to decelerate sufficient to carry that weight with it. It doesn’t draw back from navigating the truth of its chosen theme, weaving emotional abuse, substance use, and derealization into its narrative internet (with corresponding content material warnings earlier than every episode).
Although Steadiness is technically a prequel to BlackwaterDND’s earlier sequence Godkiller: Oblivion, the sequence doesn’t require any earlier information of the world — although viewers of BlackwaterDND’s essential marketing campaign will discover easter eggs from the shared universe. As of this writing, 10 of the 20 installment restricted sequence have premiered, which means there may be loads of time to catch up because the sequence strikes into its second act.
Episodes of Godkiller: Steadiness premiere biweekly on BlackwaterDND, or wherever podcasts are discovered.
